text: Gregorian Mission: Augustine of Canterbury lands with a group of missionaries on the Isle of Thanet (South East England). He is welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, who accepts baptism (along with the rest of his court) at the behest of his Christian Frankish wife, Bertha. Æthelbert assigns Augustine and his 40 monks a residence at Canterbury, where they found a Benedictine monastery that will make the town a centre of Christianity (or 596).


section: Religion & Belief

text: Emperor Maurice writes his last will, in which he describes his ideas for governing the Byzantine Empire (his eldest son, Theodosius, will rule the East from Constantinople, and his second son, Tiberius, the West from Rome).

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


section: Science & Discovery

text: England gets her first written code of laws from Æthelbert. The code is concerned with preserving social order, through compensation and punishment for personal injury (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Law


section: Births

text: Fursey, Irish missionary saint (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Chu Suiliang, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 658)


date: June 9

section: Deaths

text: June 9 – Columba, Gaelic Irish missionary (b. 521)

source_section: Deaths


text: June 9 – Columba, Irish missionary, dies in Iona (Inner Hebrides) and is buried by his monks in the abbey he has created. He works successfully towards the conversion of northern Britain.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Queen Fredegund defeats her old rival Brunhilda of Austrasia, who supports the claims of her grandsons Theudebert II and Theuderic II to the Frankish throne, against those of Fredegund's son Chlothar II. She dies a few months later at Paris and is buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Mangalesha becomes king of the Chalukya dynasty, after his brother Kirtivarman I dies. He rules as regent of Kirtivarman's son Pulakeshin II, and invades the territory of Khandesh and Gujarat (northwestern India).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Ceol, king of Wessex (England)


text: Kirtivarman I, king of the Chalukya dynasty (India)


text: Brenainn mac Cairbre, king of Uí Maine (or 601)


text: Zhiyi, de facto founder of Tiantai Buddhism (b. 538)


text: Fredegund, queen and regent of Neustria


date: March 30

section: Conflict & Security

text: March 30 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege of the fortress city of Tomis (modern Romania). A Byzantine army under Comentiolus crosses the Balkan Mountains, and marches along the Danube River to Zikidiba.


date: August 4

text: August 4 – Goguryeo War: Emperor Wéndi orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo (Korea) during the rainy season, with a Chinese army (300,000 men).


text: Battle of Catraeth: The Gododdin under Mynyddog Mwynfawr, Brythonic king of Hen Ogledd ("The Old North"), defeat the Angles of Bernicia and Deira, at the stronghold of Catraeth in Northern England (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Hye becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.


text: The Chinese fleet engages in battle against the Goguryeo fleet (50,000 men) under Admiral Kang I-sik, and is destroyed in the Bohai Sea. During the invasion the Sui forces are all defeated, and Yang Liang is forced to retreat.


text: King Yeongyang sends an embassy to Daxing; Wéndi accepts a peace agreement with Goguryeo. He claims a hollow victory, as the Sui dynasty lost nearly 90% of his army and navy during the disastrous campaign.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Emperor Maurice pays tribute to the Avars and concludes a treaty with their leader Bayan I, allowing Byzantine expeditions in Wallachia. He reorganises his army and strengthens the Long Walls (west of Constantinople).


text: The Guoqing Temple is built on Mount Tiantai (Zhejiang), and becomes the site for the teachings of Chinese Buddhism.


text: Maurice makes peace with King Agilulf, conceding northern Italy. Pope Gregory I the Great negotiates a truce, ending 30 years of Lombard terror. Agilulf expands the Lombard Kingdom by occupying Sutri and Perugia.


text: Missionaries begin to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity throughout much of what will later be the British Isles (approximate date).


section: Health & Medicine

text: The Avars rout the Byzantine forces of Comentiolus (south of Haemus Mons), and capture Drizipera (Thrace). A large part of their troops are killed by the plague, after many cities are devastated in the Balkan Peninsula.


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Taizong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 649)


text: Pingyang, princess of the Tang dynasty (d. 623)


text: Du Fuwei, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty (d. 624)


text: Brahmagupta, Indian mathematician and astronomer (d. 668)


text: Gomentrude, Frankish queen consort (fl. 630)


text: Dou Dexuan, high official of the Tang dynasty (d. 666)


text: Áed mac Ainmuirech, High King of Ireland


text: Wideok, king of Baekje (Korea) (b. 525)


text: Dallán Forgaill, Christian Irish poet


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Tardu declares himself to be ruler (khagan) of the united Turkic Khaganate (east and west). His new status is not recognised widely in the empire.


text: Rædwald becomes king (bretwalda) of East Anglia (East of England), under the overlordship of Æthelberht of Kent (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle).


text: Emperor Maurice refuses to pay ransom for 12,000 Byzantine soldiers taken prisoner by the Avars. Their leader Bayan I orders the execution of the prisoners, and slaughters them all. His failure to buy back the captives destroys Maurice's popularity with the Byzantine troops in the Balkan Peninsula.


text: Priscus pursues the fleeing Avar tribes and invades their homeland in Pannonia. He devastates the land east of the Tisza River, deciding the war for the Byzantines and ending the Avar and Slavic incursions across the Danube.


text: Summer – Balkan Campaign: The Byzantine generals Priscus and Comentiolus join their forces at Singidunum (modern Belgrade), and move downstream to the fortress city of Viminacium (Serbia). The Byzantines cross the Danube River and invade Upper Moesia, where they defeat the Avars in open battle.


text: Beop becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.


text: Callinicus, governor (exarch) of Ravenna, repulses attacks of the South Slavs in Istria (Croatia). The region is pillaged, but the Byzantines drive them all out.


text: Autumn – Comentiolus reopens the Gate of Trajan pass, near Ihtiman (Bulgaria). This strategic mountain pass, whose fortress "Stipon" defends the border between the provinces Thrace and Macedonia, is not used for decades.


text: King Khosrau II sends a Persian expedition to South Arabia and conquers Yemen. He establishes a military base to control the sea trade with the East (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Venantius Fortunatus, Latin poet and hymnodist in the Merovingian court, is appointed bishop of Poitiers.


section: Crime & Justice

text: Callinicus breaks the truce by kidnapping the Lombard daughter of King Agilulf, beginning a war with the Exarchate of Ravenna (approximate date).


text: The Maya city of Palenque (southern Mexico) is plundered by King Scroll Serpent of Calakmul (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 649)


text: Taliesin, Brythonic poet (approximate date)


text: Anastasius I, patriarch of Antioch


text: Tulan Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks


year_label: 6 CE

text: AD 6 – Iudaea and Moesia become Roman provinces.

source_section: Events › Roman Empire


text: AD 6 – Candidates for government office must take civil-service examinations.

source_section: Events › China


text: AD 6 – Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, is deposed and banished to Vienne in Gaul.


text: AD 6 – Marcus Plautius Silvanus is made governor of Galatia and Pamphylia and suppresses an uprising of the Isaurians in Pamphylia.


text: AD 6 – Troops are levied in Rome to send to Illyricum from freedmen and slaves freed specifically for the purpose.


text: AD 6 – The Princeps Augustus sets up a treasury, the aerarium militare (170 million sestertii), with the specific purpose of paying bonuses to retiring legion veterans. This is financed by a 5% tax on inheritances, a system said to have been suggested in Julius Caesar's memoirs.


text: AD 6 – The Illyrian tribes in Dalmatia and Pannonia revolt and begin the Bellum Batonianum or Great Illyrian Revolt.


text: AD 6 – Quirinius conducts a census in Judea (according to Josephus), which results in a revolt in the province, led by Judas of Galilee, and supported by the Pharisee Zadok. The revolt is repressed, and the rebels are crucified, but it results in the birth of the Zealot movement, the members of which regard the God of Judaism as their only master.


text: AD 6 – Gaius Caecina Severus is made governor of Moesia, and is heavily involved in the first battles of the Bellum Batonianum or Great Illyrian Revolt.


text: AD 6 – Tiberius marches back from the northern border to Illyricum to commence operations against the Illyrians.


text: AD 6 – The imperial Liu clan suspects the intentions of Wang Mang and foment agrarian rebellions during the course of Ruzi Ying's reign. The first of these is led by Liu Chong, Marquess of Ang-Zong (a/k/a Marquis of An-chung), with a small force starting in May or June.


text: AD 6 – Tiberius makes Carnuntum his base of operations against Maroboduus; The Roman legion XX Valeria Victrix fight with Tiberius against the Marcomanni.


text: AD 6 – The Temple of Castor and Pollux is rededicated in Rome by Tiberius after being destroyed by fire in 14 BC.


section: Economy & Finance

text: AD 6 – Due to a food shortage in Rome, Augustus doubles the grain rations distributed to the people, sends away his slave retinue, and places the senate in recess indefinitely.


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: AD 6 – The building of a Roman fort signifies the origin of the city of Wiesbaden.


text: AD 6 – Princeps Augustus banishes Agrippa Postumus, one of his adopted sons, to the island of Planasia.


text: AD 6 – Due to a catastrophic fire in Rome, the barracks system - the vigiles, initially manned only by freedmen - is created by the Princeps Augustus to allow quicker response to outbreaks of fire in the city.


text: AD 6 – A pamphletting campaign in Rome is quashed by the Princeps Augustus. Publius Plautius Rufus is accused but found innocent of the crime.


text: AD 6 – John the Apostle, Jewish Christian mystic (d. AD 100)


text: AD 6 – Gaius Manlius Valens, Roman senator and consul (d. AD 96)


text: AD 6 – Nero Julius Caesar, son of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder (d. AD 30)


text: AD 6 – Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Roman politician (d. AD 39)


text: AD 6 – Milonia Caesonia, Roman empress (d. AD 41)


text: AD 6 – Orodes III, king (shah) of the Parthian Empire


text: AD 6 – Terentia, wife of Marcus Tullius Cicero (b. 98 BC)


text: AD 6 – Cleopatra Selene II, Egyptian ruler of Cyrenaica and Libya (b. 40 BC)


year_label: 60 CE

text: Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Roman governor of Britain, captures the island of Mona (Anglesey), the last stronghold of the Druids.

source_title: AD 60

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Agrippa II of the Herodians rules the northeast of Judea.


text: Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants by the thousands.


text: The Roxolani are defeated on the Danube by the Romans.


text: Nero's exploration of the Nile: Emperor Nero sends an expedition which reaches the historical city Meroë (Sudan). (approximate date)


text: Vitellius is (possibly) proconsul of the province of Africa.


text: The First Epistle of Peter, if by Peter, is probably written between this year and c. AD 64.


text: Paul of Tarsus journeys to Rome, but is shipwrecked on Malta. He stays for three months and converts Publius, the first bishop of Malta.


text: Paul's Epistle to the Philippians is written from Rome. (approximate date)


text: AD 60–79 – House of the Vettii, Pompeii, is rebuilt.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art and science


text: Hero of Alexandria writes Metrica, Mechanics, and Pneumatics.


section: Climate & Environment

text: The city of Laodicea on the Lycus is destroyed by an earthquake


section: Culture & Society

text: The following events in Roman Britain (Britannia) take place in AD 60 or 61:


text: Buddhamitra, Indian Buddhist nun (approximate date)


text: Nicomachus, Greek mathematician (approximate date)


text: Marcus Vitorius Marcellus, Roman politician (approximate date)


text: Prasutagus, king of the Iceni (modern East Anglia), dies leaving a will which passes his kingdom to his two daughters and the Roman Empire. The Roman army, however, annexes the kingdom as if conquered, depriving the nobles of their hereditary lands and plundering the land. The king's widow, Boudica, is flogged and forced to watch their daughters publicly raped. Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, call in their loans.


text: Boudica, British queen of the Iceni tribe (approximate date)


text: Abdagases I, king of the Parthian Empire (approximate date)


text: Peter of Rates, first bishop of Braga (approximate date)


text: Battle of Watling Street: Paulinus defeats the rebels, using a flying wedge formation, imposes wide-ranging punishments on native Britons, and the Romanization of Britain continues. Boudica either poisons herself, or falls sick and dies.


text: The first of the Japanese embassies to Imperial China is sent (approximate date).


text: The Britons of Strathclyde (Scotland), Wales, and Cornwall are all separated by the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.


text: Namri Songtsen becomes the new king of Tibet (approximate date).


text: Rome continues as part of the Byzantine Empire. The Italian mainland is divided into independent cities and duchies.


text: The Wari Empire is established in The Andes (approximate date)

source_section: Events › By place › Meso- and South America


text: Mu becomes king of the Korean kingdom of Baekje.


text: According to the Ynglinga saga, king Ingvar Harra of Sweden invades Adalsysla (present day Lääne County in Estonia), but is killed by the locals (approximate date).


text: The Welsh bard, Prince Aneirin of the Pennines (North West of England), writes the poem, "Y Gododdin", recording the events of the Battle of Catraeth.


text: King Chlothar II of Neustria is defeated by his nephews, Theudebert II and Theuderic II, at Dormelles (approximate date).


text: Moravians gain independence, by holding off the attacks from the Avars and the Franks who try to invade.


text: Germanic and Slavic peoples have tremendous population growth, with the Slavs colonizing the Balkan Peninsula.


text: The Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbott) recounts a 7-year trip to a land across the sea by the Irish saint and a band of acolytes about this time.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences


text: The Germanic peoples, due to the more abundant food supply available, use the "moldboard" plow, introduced by the Slavs in Eastern Europe. The plow works the land with horses and oxen.


text: Venice continues as an independent realm, having been built up from fishing villages and settled by fugitives.


text: The Middle Horizon period starts in the Andes.


text: Early settlers from the Marquesas build the Alakoko fishpond and taro fields on Kauai, Hawaii.

source_section: Events › By place › Pacific Ocean


text: Dorestad, lying in a fork between two branches of the Rhine, is established by the Franks as a trade center.


text: 600-900 - Palace and Temple of the Inscriptions (tomb-pyramid of K'inich Janaab' Pakal), Palenque, Mexico, are built. Maya culture.


text: Augustine of Canterbury converts Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity (approximate date).


text: Irish missionaries preach in Scotland and Germany (approximate date).


text: Nubian rulers become Christian (approximate date).


text: The oldest inscription in Mon language dated from 600 AD. later found at Wat Phorang, Thailand.


text: Yangdi, a Sui emperor, extends the Grand Canal. He reportedly assumes power by poisoning his father. Ma Shu-mou, aka Mahu, was one of the canal overseers and was said to have eaten a steamed 2-year-old child each day he worked on the canal. On completion the canal extended for 1,100 miles. 5.5 million people were pressed into service to complete the 1,550 mile canal.


text: Chinese-influenced sculptures of Buddha begin to be created in Japan.


text: Quill pens, made from the outer feathers of crows and other large birds, became popular. The first books are printed in China.


text: The Persians begin to use windmills for irrigation (approximate date).


text: King Agilulf of the Lombards and Queen Theodelinda build a palace complex at Monza, northeast of Milan.


text: The population of the Earth rises to about 208 million people (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › World


text: Smallpox arrives in Western Europe for the first time (approximate date).


text: Chaturanga is played in its current form in India (approximate date).


text: Sumatra, Java, and the surrounding islands are converted to Buddhism.


text: Moche culture ends in the Andes (approximate date).


text: Loma Caldera (El Salvador) erupts, burying the Maya village of Joya de Cerén (approximate date).


text: Nazca culture ends in the Andes (approximate date).


text: 600-900 - Cylindrical vessel is made. Maya culture. It is now kept at the Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey.


text: The Hopewell tradition (North America) ceases to be the dominant culture (approximate date).


text: 600-750 - Maguey Bloodletting Ritual, fragment of a fresco from Teotihuacan, Mexico, is made. Teotihuacan culture. It is now kept at the Cleveland Museum of Art.


text: Possibly the first reference to chess is made in the Persian work Karnamak-i-Artakhshatr-i-Papakan.


date: September 11

text: September 11 – Yuknoom the Great a Maya ruler of Calakmul


text: Yan Liben, Chinese painter (approximate date)


text: Li Shimin, son of Chinese General Li Yuan (the Duke of Tang)


text: Audomar, bishop of Thérouanne (approximate date)


text: Cunibert, bishop of Cologne (approximate date)


text: Judoc, Breton noble and Catholic saint (d. 668)


text: Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muslim caliph and Shī‘ah imām (approximate date)


text: Birinus, bishop of Dorchester (approximate date)


text: Candrakīrti, Indian Madhyamaka philosopher


text: Remaclus, bishop of Maastricht (approximate date)


text: Bhāskara I, Indian mathematician (approximate date)


text: Wandregisel, Frankish monk and abbot (approximate date)


date: March 13

text: March 13 - Leander, bishop of Seville possibly in 601)


text: Venantius Fortunatus, bishop of Poitiers, one of the last representatives of Classical Latin poetry


text: Uatu mac Áedo, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Yang Jun, prince of the Sui dynasty (b. 571)


text: Bhavavarman I, king of Cambodia


text: Cainnech of Aghaboe, Irish abbot and saint (b. c.515)


text: Aedh Buidhe, king of Uí Maine (Ireland)


text: The Franks, Merovingians and Carolingians successively control most of Europe, while strong feudal lords rise in power to gain the allegiance of the people.


text: Balkan Campaign: A Byzantine army under command of Peter, brother of Emperor Maurice, crosses the Danube and advances to the Tisza River, where it defeats the Avars.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: The Lombards under King Agilulf expand into Northern Italy, establishing a settlement with the Franks and maintaining intermittent relationships with Rome.


text: The future Archbishops of Canterbury (Mellitus, Justus, and Honorius), and the future Archbishop of York Paulinus, are sent to England by Pope Gregory I to aid Augustine in his missionary work. Gregory writes the decretal Libellus responsionum to Augustine.


text: Food production increases in northern and Western Europe as a result of agricultural technology introduced by the Slavs, who employ a lightweight plow with a knife blade (coulter), that cuts deep into the soil at grassroots level, together with a shaped board, or "moldboard", that moves the cut soil to one side.

source_section: Events › By topic › Agriculture


text: The Qieyun, a Chinese character rhyme dictionary, is published.


date: September 13

text: September 13 – Ali, central figure in Shia Islam (d. 661)

source_section: Births


text: Zhangsun, empress of the Tang dynasty (d. 636)


text: Hongren, Chán (Buddhist) patriarch of the Tang dynasty (d. 674)


text: Sigebert II, king of Austrasia and Burgundy (d. 613)


text: Ma Zhou, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 648)


text: March 13 or 600 – Leander, bishop of Seville

source_section: Deaths


text: Bertha of Kent, Frankish-born Anglo-Saxon queen consort, canonized (b. c.565) (approximate date)


text: Liuva II, age 18, succeeds his father Reccared I as king of the Visigoths. Reccared dies a natural death at the capital in Toledo after a 15-year reign.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Reccared I, king of the Visigoths (b. 559)


text: Sophia, Byzantine Empress consort (approximate date)


text: Third Chinese domination of Vietnam: The Early Lý dynasty ends; Hậu Lý Nam Đế, last ruler of Vąn Xuân (North Vietnam), abdicates the throne and becomes a vassal of the Sui dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II launches an offensive against Constantinople, to avenge Maurice's death, his "friend and father", and tries to reconquer Byzantine territory. Narses, governor of Upper Mesopotamia, rebels against Phocas at the city of Edessa and requests aid from the Persians. Khosrau sends an expeditionary force to Armenia and crosses the Euphrates.


text: Khosrau II annexes the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq), and puts king Nu'man III to death.


text: Emperor Maurice succeeds in winning over the Avars to Byzantine rule, but his campaigns against the Avars, Lombards, Persians and Slavs drain the imperial treasury, requiring an increase in taxes. He orders the troops to stay for winter beyond the Danube, but a mutiny breaks out under Phocas. He brings the Byzantine forces back over the Danube and marches on to Constantinople.


text: Spring – Witteric is appointed commander-in-chief of the Visigoth army, and receives orders from King Liuva II to expel the Byzantines from Hispania.


date: November 27

text: November 27 – A civil war breaks out and Phocas enters Constantinople. Maurice is captured trying to escape; he is forced to witness the slaughter of his five sons and all his supporters, and is then executed (beheaded) after a 20-year reign. His wife, Constantina, and his three daughters are spared, and sent to a monastery. Phocas is proclaimed the new emperor of the Byzantine Empire.


text: Augustine of Canterbury meets with the Welsh bishops at Aust near Chepstow. He accuses them of not adopting the Roman Christian way of dating Easter, and persuades them to accept the teaching of baptism (according to the Roman Rite).

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: 602 Surb Karapet Monastery earthquake. It affected the Surb Karapet Monastery, located in the district of Taron.


text: Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of Canterbury (d. 690)


text: Xuanzang, Chinese Buddhist monk and traveler (d. 664)


text: Li Chunfeng, Chinese mathematician and historian (d. 670)


text: Zhiyan, Chinese (Buddhist) patriarch (d. 668)


text: Adaloald, king of the Lombards (d. 626)


text: Liu Rengui, general and official of the Tang dynasty (d. 685)


text: Muawiyah bin Abi-Sufyan, Caliph of Syria (d. 680)


text: Muawiyah I, founder of the Umayyad Caliphate (d. 680)


date: September 10

text: September 10 – Dugu Qieluo, empress of the Chinese Sui dynasty (b. 544)


text: November 27 – Maurice, Byzantine emperor (b. 539)


text: Theodosius, Byzantine co-emperor


text: Peter, Byzantine general (curopalates)


text: Bayan I, ruler (khagan) of the Avars


text: Lady Xian, Chinese general (b. 512)


text: Ariulf, Lombard duke of Spoleto


text: Nu'man III, king of the Lakhmid kingdom


text: Comentiolus, Byzantine general (magister militum)


text: Heshana Khan succeeds his father Tardu as ruler of the Göktürks, and levies heavy taxes on the Tiele people.


text: Prince Shōtoku of Japan establishes a twelve level cap and rank system, and is said to have authored a seventeen-article constitution.


text: The last mention of the Roman Senate on the Italian mainland is made (according to the Gregorian register). It mentions that the Senate has acclaimed new statues of Emperor Phocas and Empress Leontia.


text: Spring – Witteric, counting on the support of the nobles, attacks the royal palace in Toledo, and overthrows King Liuva II. He cuts off his right hand, and has him executed. Witteric becomes the new king of the Visigoths.


text: Battle of Degsastan: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeats the combined forces of the Strathclyde Britons and Scots under Áedán mac Gabráin, establishing the supremacy of the Angles in the northern part of what will become known as the British Isles.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Rebellious Göktürks depose and kill the ambitious ruler (khagan) Tardu, of the Western Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).


text: King Agilulf besieges Cremona, and with the assistance of the Slavs the city is destroyed. He captures Padua and Mantua (Northern Italy); its territory is divided between the Lombard duchies of Brescia and Bergamo.


text: Schuttern Abbey (Germany) is founded by the wandering Irish monk Offo.


text: The future Pope Boniface III is appointed papal legate to Constantinople.


text: Agilulf, under the influence of his wife Theodelinda, abandons Arianism for Catholicism, and is (with his son Adaloald) baptised in the Cathedral of Monza, where later the Iron Crown of Lombardy is installed.


text: Emperor Wéndi stabilises the Chinese Empire; the agricultural acreage increases greatly, and shipbuilding technology reaches a new high level.


text: Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali, Muslim scholar (approximate date)


text: Dagobert I, king of the Franks (d. 639)


text: Yŏn Kaesomun, dictator of Goguryeo (d. 666)


text: Muyeol, king of Silla (Korea) (d. 661)


text: Li Daozong, prince of the Tang dynasty (approximate date)


text: Li Yuanji, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 626)


text: Pacal the Great, ruler (ajaw) of Palenque (d. 683)


text: Liuva II, king of the Visigoths (b. 583)


text: Mungo, Brythonic bishop (or 614)


text: Fintan of Clonenagh, Irish abbot


text: Tardu, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks


text: Prince Shotoku, imperial regent of Empress Suiko, issues a Seventeen-article constitution, based on both Confucian and Buddhist principles in Japan.


date: December 25

text: December 25 – Battle of Ėtampes: Theuderic II, with the aid of Berthoald, defeats the Frankish forces under King Chlothar II of Neustria, at Étampes (near Paris).


text: The Avars regroup after they are almost destroyed; together with the Slavs they start pillaging through the Byzantine provinces, west and south of the Danube. Due to the new Persian war, Emperor Phocas has few imperial troops available to defend the Balkan Peninsula.


text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II captures the Byzantine positions east of the Euphrates; the Persians destroy many cities in the Levant region, after prolonged sieges such as the Byzantine fortress of Dara (modern Turkey).


text: Æthelfrith of Northumbria invades Deira and kills its king, Æthelric. Prince Edwin, son of the late king Ælla of Deira (possibly a nephew of Æthelric), flees to the court of King Iago of Gwynedd (northwest Wales).


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury, is succeeded by Laurence. He is a member of the Gregorian mission (see 596).


text: The See of Rochester is established, and Justus is appointed as bishop. He founds Rochester Cathedral (Kent).


text: Æthelberht of Kent founds St. Paul's Cathedral. Mellitus is appointed the first Saxon bishop of London (and Essex).


text: Sæbert succeeds his father Sledd as king of Essex. He is persuaded to convert to Christianity through the intervention of his uncle, King Æthelberht of Kent.


text: Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia conspires to have Berthoald, Mayor of the Palace, assassinated. She convinces King Theuderic II to send him to inspect the royal villae along the Seine. Brunhilda then has the noblemen who actually carried out the murder arrested and killed.


text: Oswald, king (bretwalda) of Northumbria (approximate date)


date: March 12

text: March 12 – Pope Gregory I (the Great) dies at Rome, after a 14-year tenure. He has laid the foundations which claim papal absolutism, pioneered the conversion of Britain to Roman Catholicism and enunciated what will come to be known as the "seven deadly sins". Gregory is succeeded by Sabinian as the 65th pope of the Catholic Church.


text: March 12 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church


text: May 26 – Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury (approximate date)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui dynasty (b. 541)


text: August 13 – Emperor Wéndi dies, age 63, presumably assassinated by his son Yángdi, after a 23-year reign in which he has attacked hereditary privilege and reduced the power of the military aristocracy. He is succeeded by Yángdi, who becomes the second emperor of the Sui dynasty.


date: November 4

text: November 4 – Yohl Ik'nal, female ruler of Palenque (Mexico)


date: December 16

text: December 16 – Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (b. 553)


text: Xiao Mohe, general of the Sui dynasty (b. 532)


text: Yang Yong, prince of the Sui dynasty


text: Colmán Rímid, High King of Ireland


text: Sledd, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Berthoald, Mayor of the Palace (Burgundy)


text: Æthelric, king of Deira (approximate date)


text: King Æthelfrith annexes the neighboring kingdom of Deira (Northern England). The region between the Forth and Humber rivers will hereafter be known as Northumbria, the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.


text: Yángdi introduces an imperial examination, designed to select the best administrative officials (after they receive the jinshi) for the state; this begins a long bureaucratic tradition of scholar-officialdom in China.


text: Aj Ne' Yohl Mat becomes ruler (ajaw) of the Maya city of Palenque (Mexico). During his reign his kingdom is invaded by people from Calakmul.

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Emperor Phocas recognizes Agilulf as king of the Lombards, and signs a peace treaty. He pays a tribute and cedes Orvieto (Central Italy), among other towns. The Byzantine army is withdrawn from the Balkan Peninsula.


text: As a result of a quarrel between the Lakhmid kingdom (Southern Iraq) and King Khosrau II, the Persian frontier with Arabia is no longer guarded (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Amshuvarma becomes king of the Licchavi in Nepal. He is credited for opening trade routes to Tibet. His ruling period is known as the "Golden Period".


text: The Zhaozhou Bridge is completed under the Sui dynasty, the earliest known fully stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge in the world (although the earlier Roman Trajan's Bridge featured segmental arches).


text: Emperor Yángdi orders the capital to be transferred from Chang'an to Luoyang. He begins the construction of the Grand Canal, that will link existing waterways to the new Chinese capital; it will be built by a million laborers.


text: Phocas has Constantina, empress consort of Maurice, and her three daughters arrested. He accuses her of conspiracy, and has them executed at Chalcedon (Bithynia).


text: Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne (approximate date)


text: Yang Tong, puppet emperor of the Sui dynasty (d. 619)


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


text: Yang You, puppet emperor of the Sui dynasty (d. 619)


text: Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad (or 615)


text: Songtsän Gampo, emperor of the Tibetan Empire (d. 649)


text: Alexander of Tralles, physician (approximate date)


text: Brandub mac Echach, king of Uí Ceinnselaig (Ireland)


text: Damian, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria


text: Constantina, Byzantine empress (approximate date)


text: Shashanka is the first recorded independent king of Bengal. He establishes his capital in modern-day Murshidabad (approximate date).


text: King Harsha of Thanesar establishes a northern Indian Empire, and unites the small monarchical states, from Punjab to the Indus Valley (modern Pakistan).


text: Cearl succeeds Pybba as king of Mercia (English Midlands).


text: The diocese of Aquileia becomes a patriarchate (approximate date).


text: Queen Brunhilda pressures her grandson Theuderic II to go to war against his brother, Theudebert II of Austrasia. She puts Protadius, Mayor of the Palace, in charge of the Burgundian army. At the palace of Quierzy (Picardy), Theuderic assembles his army. The soldiers under Uncelen, Duke of Alemannia, refuse to fight against their countrymen, and declare that the king orders Protadius' death. He is killed by the Frankish warriors, and Theuderic is forced to sign a peace treaty.


text: Han Yuan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 659)


text: Hafsa bint Umar, daughter of Umar and wife of Muhammad


date: February 22

text: February 22 – Sabinian dies at Rome after a two-year reign, and will not be replaced until 607.


text: Paterius, bishop of Brescia (Italy)


text: Colmán of Cloyne, Irish monk and poet


text: Cyriacus II, patriarch of Constantinople


text: Yang Su, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Yang Zhao, prince of the Sui dynasty (b. 584)


text: Jianzhi Sengcan, patriarch of Chán


text: Pybba, king of Mercia (approximate date)


text: John Climacus, monk and writer


text: Protadius, Mayor of the Palace (Burgundy)


date: August 1

text: August 1 – Empress Suiko appoints Ono no Imoko as official envoy to the Sui Court (Japanese missions to Imperial China). She sends him to pay tribute to Emperor Yángdi, and let him deliver the famous letter from prince-regent Shōtoku which begins: "The Son of Heaven where the sun rises (Japan), to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets (China), may good health be with you." (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).


text: Yángdi is offended by his general Gao Jiong, who makes several comments critical of the emperor's policies, against Tujue submissive Yami Qaghan. He is executed (beheaded), and Gao's sons are exiled to the border provinces (Northern China).


text: King Ceolwulf of Wessex fights the South Saxons.


date: October 11

text: October 11 – Thomas I is appointed as the 60th patriarch of Constantinople.


text: Emperor Phocas bestows the title "Universal Bishop" upon Boniface III, in an effort to improve relations with Rome.


text: The Hōryū-ji Buddhist temple in Ikaruga, near Nara (Japan), is constructed.


text: Queen Brunhilda has Uncelen, Duke of Alemannia, removed from office after his foot is cut off as revenge for Protadius' death (according to the Lex Alamannorum).


text: Visigoths, Austrasians, Neustrians and Lombards form an alliance against King Theuderic II of Burgundy, whose grandmother and sister have murdered Theuderic's wife Ermenberga, daughter of Witteric, king of the Visigoths. Fighting takes place around Narbonne, but little is known of the details or outcome (approximate date).


text: Yang Gao, prince of the Sui dynasty (d. 618)


text: Hao Chujun, general of the Tang dynasty (d. 681)


text: Shenxiu, Chinese Zen Buddhist patriarch (d. 706)


text: Ali ibn Abi Talib, ruler of the Rashidun Caliphate (d. 661)


date: February 19

text: February 19 – The vacancy (sede vacante) that has existed on the papal throne, since the death last year of Sabinian, ends with the election of a Rome-born deacon of the Catholic Church. Pope Boniface III is appointed as the 66th pope, but dies the same year.


text: Desiderius, archbishop of Vienne (approximate date)


text: Gao Jiong, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Trudpert, Irish missionary (or 644)


text: Heraclius proclaims himself and his son as consuls, claiming the imperial title—and mint coins with the two wearing the consular robes. Syria and Palaestina Prima revolt.


text: Eochaid Buide succeeds his father Áedán mac Gabráin as king of Dál Riata (modern Scotland).


text: Heraclian revolt: Heraclius the Elder, exarch of Africa, and his son (also named Heraclius) revolt against Emperor Phocas, whose regime in Constantinople has become unpopular and violent.


text: Byzantine–Persian War: King Khosrau II invades Armenia, and raids deep into Anatolia through the Byzantine provinces of Cappadocia, Phrygia, Galatia, and Bithynia.


text: Sui dynasty Emperor Yang of Sui expresses the desire to control routes to the West, leading to two and a half centuries of Chinese military and trading activities in Central Asia.


text: August 1 – The Column of Phocas at Rome is dedicated in honour of Phocas. The Corinthian column has a height of 13.6 m (44 ft).


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Pope Boniface IV succeeds Boniface III, as the 67th pope of Rome.


text: The observance of Halloween in the Roman Catholic Church is first recorded.


text: The Georgian Orthodox Church returns to Chalcedonism (approximate date).


text: Philibert of Jumièges, Frankish abbot (approximate date)


text: Charibert II, king of Aquitaine (approximate date)


text: Áedán mac Gabráin, king of Dál Riata


text: Nicetas, cousin of future emperor Heraclius, launches an overland invasion in Egypt. He defeats a Byzantine army under Bonus (comes Orientis) outside Alexandria, sent from Constantinople.


text: Battle of Dhi Qar: Arab tribesmen of Bakr ibn Wa'il defeat a Persian force (5,000 men), at a watering place near Kufa (Southern Iraq).


text: Shibi Khan becomes the ninth ruler (khagan) of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (approximate date).


date: May 13

text: May 13 – The Pantheon in Rome is consecrated as "St. Mary and the Martyrs" (informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda") by Pope Boniface IV (or 610).


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Muhammad claims to have received what was to become the first wahy of Islam.


text: Emperor Yángdi completes the Grand Canal; it provides an unbroken inland ship transport between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The canal network is 1,776 km (1,400 miles) long—linking five river systems—and extends from Beijing to the city of Hangzhou.


text: The Sui dynasty government records a tax census of roughly 9 million registered households in the Chinese Empire, a population size of roughly 50 million people.


text: Hafsa bint Umar, wife of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Audoin, bishop of Rouen (d. 686)


text: Yang Lihua, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 561)


text: Venantius Fortunatus, Latin poet and bishop (or 600)


text: Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma, Arabian poet (approx.)


text: Qamishoʿ, Syriac Orthodox Grand Metropolitan of the East.


year_label: 61 CE

text: Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, Roman governor of Britain, captures the island of Mona (Anglesey), the last stronghold of the Druids.

source_title: AD 61


text: Publius Petronius Turpilianus and Lucius Caesennius Paetus become Roman consuls.


text: Galba becomes governor of Hispania Tarraconensis.


text: Boudica leads a rebellion of the Iceni against Roman rule in alliance with the Trinovantes, Cornovii, Durotriges and Celtic Britons. The Iceni and Trinovantes first destroy the Roman capital Camulodunum (Colchester), wipe out the infantry of the Legio IX Hispana (commanded by Quintus Petillius Cerialis) and go on to burn Londinium (London) (probably destroying London Bridge) and Verulamium (St Albans), in all cases massacring the inhabitants in their thousands.


text: The following events in Roman Britain (Britannia) take place in AD 60 or 61:


text: Pliny the Younger, Roman author and statesman (d. c. 113)


text: Battle of Watling Street: Paulinus defeats the rebels, using a flying wedge formation, and imposes wide-ranging punishments on native Britons, but is removed from office after an enquiry instituted by Gaius Julius Alpinus Classicianus (appointed procurator 61) and the Romanisation of Britain continues. Boudica either poisons herself or falls sick and dies.


text: Lucius Pedanius Secundus, Roman politician and prefect


text: Boudica, British queen of the Iceni tribe (approximate date)


text: Publius Memmius Regulus, Roman politician


text: Ma Wu, Chinese general of the Eastern Han Dynasty


text: Barnabas, Cypriot Jew and bishop of Milan (approximate date)


text: Prasutagus, king of the Iceni (modern East Anglia), dies leaving a will which passes his kingdom to his two daughters and the Roman Empire. The Roman army however annexes the kingdom as if conquered, depriving the nobles of their hereditary lands and plundering the land. The king's widow, Boudica, is flogged and forced to watch their daughters publicly raped. Roman financiers, including Seneca the Younger, call in their loans.


text: Selyf ap Cynan succeeds his father Cynan Garwyn as king of Powys (Wales).


date: October 3

text: October 3 – Heraclian revolt: Heraclius arrives with a fleet from Africa at Constantinople. Assisted by an uprising in the capital, he overthrows and personally beheads Emperor Phocas. Heraclius gains the throne with help from his father Heraclius the Elder. His first major act is to change the official language of the Byzantine Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population).


text: King Witteric is assassinated during a banquet at Toledo, by a faction of Catholic nobles. He is succeeded by Gundemar, duke of Narbonne, who becomes king of the Visigoths in Hispania.


text: King Theuderic II loses Alsace, Champagne and Thurgau to his elder brother Theudebert II of Austrasia. His Burgundian army is defeated east of the Jura Mountains against the Alemanni.


text: Columbanus and Gallus begin their missionary work in Bregenz, near Lake Constance (Switzerland).


text: The Volga Bulgaria arises on the territory of modern Russia, being the first civilization in the region to arise from the Early Slavs (approximate date).


text: John V (the Merciful) becomes patriarch of Alexandria (approximate date).


text: Pope Boniface IV presides over a Council of Rome for the restoration of monastic discipline. Attendees include Mellitus, first bishop of London.


text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, begins at 40 years old to preach a religion which will be called Islam. According to Islamic teachings, the angel Gabriel appears to him in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca (Saudi Arabia) and calls him: "The Prophet of Allah". Muhammad gathers followers, reciting to them the first verses of Qur'an(Iqra), thus beginning the revelation of the Qur'an.


text: Paper technology is imported into Japan from China by the Korean Buddhist priest, Dam Jing (approximate date).


text: Nanthild, Frankish queen (approximate date)


text: Barbatus, bishop of Benevento (approximate date)


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


text: Lai Ji, official of the Tang dynasty (d. 662)


text: Grimoald, King of the Lombards (approximate date)


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


text: Anania Shirakatsi, Armenian astronomer (d. 685)


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Phocas, Byzantine emperor


text: The Avars invade the Duchy of Friuli, an important buffer between the Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy and the Slavs. During the fighting Gisulf II dies and his duchy is overrun (approximate date).


text: Tassilo I, King of Bavaria (b. 560)


text: Gisulf II, Lombard duke of Friuli (approximate date)


text: Witteric, king of the Visigoths


text: Heraclius the Elder, Byzantine general


text: Waraka ibn Nawfal, the paternal first cousin of Khadija, the first wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.


text: Byzantine–Persian War: The Persian army under Shahrbaraz captures Antioch, and most of the remaining Byzantine fortresses in Syria and Mesopotamia. King Khosrau II is re-establishing a neo-Persian Empire, and intensifies his war effort. The Byzantine army, ruined by defeat and corruption, offers only half-hearted opposition.

source_section: Events › By place › Persian Empire


text: The Four Gates Pagoda, located in central Shandong Province (East China), is completed.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Eudoxia Epiphania, daughter of Byzantine emperor Heraclius


text: Leo II, Pope of the Catholic Church (d. 683)


text: Comentiolus, Byzantine general (approximate date)


text: Romilda of Friuli, regent duchess of Friuli (approximate date)


text: Cynegils becomes king of the West Saxons, or Wessex, after the death of his uncle Ceolwulf (according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). He rules from 611 to 643 and shares power to some extent with his eldest son, Cwichelm, who may have been given Upper Wessex (approximate date).


text: Arnoald, Bishop of Metz (approximate date)


text: Ceolwulf, king of Wessex (approximate date)


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Sak Kʼukʼ succeeds her father Ajen Yohl Mat, as queen of the Maya state of Palenque (modern Mexico).


text: King Theudebert II is defeated by his brother Theuderic II at Toul (northeastern France). He is captured in battle and, after having his royal paraphernalia taken, is handed over to his grandmother Brunhilda. He is put in a monastery, and assassinated with his son Merovech. Theuderic, age 25, becomes sole ruler of Austrasia and Burgundy.


text: Battle of Salsu: A Sui force of 305,000 men is defeated by the Korean general Ŭlchi Mundŏk at the Yalu River; only 2,700 troops survive.


text: Sisebut succeeds Gundemar as king of the Visigoths. He begins a campaign against the remains of Byzantine power in Spania.


text: Goguryeo–Sui War: Emperor Yángdi invades Goguryeo (Korea) with an expeditionary force of over one million men, named the "24 Armies".


text: Columbanus moves to Italy and establishes the monastery of Bobbio (approximate date).


text: The Holy Sponge is brought to Constantinople from Palestine.


text: Gallus founds the monastery of St. Gallen (Switzerland).


text: Arnulf, counselor of Theudebert II, becomes bishop of Metz.


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Constantine III, Byzantine emperor (d. 641)


text: Germanus of Granfelden, Frankish abbot (approximate date)


text: Oswiu, king of Northumbria (approximate date)


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Janaab' Pakal, king of Palenque


text: August 13 – Fabia Eudokia, Byzantine empress consort


text: August 13 – Empress Eudokia, wife of Heraclius, dies of epilepsy. She leaves two children, and is buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.


text: Ajen Yohl Mat, king of Palenque


text: Theudebert II, king of Austrasia (b. 586)


text: Áed Uaridnach, High King of Ireland


text: Conall Laeg Breg, king of Brega (Ireland)


text: c. February–March – Gundemar, king of the Visigoths


text: Isanapura becomes the capital of the Cambodian kingdom of Chenla (approximate date).


text: Battle of Antioch: Heraclius mobilises a Byzantine expeditionary force to Antioch (Syria), but is completely defeated outside the city by the Persians. Shahin Vahmanzadegan makes further inroads into Central and Western Anatolia. In Syria, Shahrbaraz captures the cities of Damascus, Apamea and Emesa.


text: Byzantine–Persian War: Heraclius appoints himself commander-in-chief, along with his brother Theodore (curopalates), to solidify command of the army.


text: Goguryeo–Sui War: Emperor Yángdi crosses the Liao River again, and puts Manchuria under siege. During the campaign Yang Xuangan, an official of the Sui dynasty, starts a rebellion near Luoyang. Fearing attacks from two fronts, Yáng is forced to retreat his army.


text: Battle of Chester: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria invades Gwynedd (northwest Wales), in order to route out his old enemy, Edwin of Deira. A united Brythonic force (Gwynedd, Powys, Pengwern and Dumnonian warriors) is defeated near Chester.


date: January 22

text: January 22 – Constantine is crowned co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius and shortly after betrothed to his cousin, Gregoria, daughter of Nicetas. Only 8 months old, Constantine has no real power and his dynastic title is purely ceremonial.


text: Islam: Muhammad begins preaching in public. He spreads the message of Islam and encourages a personal devotion to God. Quraysh leaders of Mecca oppose any change in the traditional tribal and religious customs.


text: Chlothar II reunites the Frankish Kingdom by ordering the murder of Sigebert II. He accuses Brunhilda, age 70, of killing ten kings of the Franks (according to the Liber Historiae Francorum). She is dragged to death behind a wild horse at Abbeville.


text: Emperor Heraclius marries his niece Martina; she becomes empress (Augusta) of the Byzantine Empire. This second marriage is considered to fall within the prohibited degree of kinship, and is approved by the Catholic Church in Constantinople.


text: Aisha, wife of Muhammad (d. 678)


text: Woncheuk, Korean Buddhist monk (d. 696)


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Saint Theodore of Sykeon, Byzantine ascetic


text: Bledric ap Custennin, king of Dumnonia (England)


text: Yang Xuangan, official of the Sui dynasty


text: Theuderic II, king of Austrasia


text: Sigebert II, king of Austrasia


text: Uncelen, Duke of Alemannia (Germany)


text: King Theuderic II dies of dysentery in the Austrasian capital of Metz, while preparing a campaign against his longtime enemy, Chlothar II. His grandmother Brunhilda attempts to establish a third regency for her illegitimate great-grandson Sigebert II.


text: The Persians destroy the Ghassanid Kingdom (Arabia), a vassal state of the Byzantine Empire (approximate date).


text: The Sudarium of Oviedo is taken from Palestine, after the invasion of the Sassanid Persians.


text: Battle of Bampton: King Cynegils of Wessex defeats the invading Britons in Dumnonia (modern Devon). They use the Roman road eastward from Exeter to Dorchester, and are intercepted by the West Saxons marching south.


text: Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628:


text: The Levantine cities of Caesarea Maritima, Arsuf, and Tiberias surrender on terms to the Sasanians.


date: October 18

text: October 18 – King Chlothar II promulgates the Edict of Paris (Edictum Chlotacharii), a sort of Frankish Magna Carta that defends the rights of the Frankish nobles and the church, and regulates the appointment of counts (secular officials in charge of law courts, collecting taxes, and assembling contingents for the army), while it excludes Jews from all civil employment in the Frankish Kingdom.


text: Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem: A Persian–Judaean army (26,000 men) commanded by Shahrbaraz captures and sacks Jerusalem, after a 20-day siege against the Byzantine Empire. Somewhere between 57,000 and 66,500 citizens are slain; another 35,000 are enslaved, including the Patriarch Zacharias. Many churches in the city (including the "Church of the Resurrection" or Holy Sepulchre) are burned, and numerous relics, including the True Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Holy Sponge, are carried off to the Persian capital Ctesiphon.


text: First year that didn't happen, according to the phantom time hypothesis.

source_section: Events › By topic › Other


text: The Palace of Diocletian in Split (Croatia) is damaged by the Avars, who sack the nearby city of Salona. The population flees to the walled palace, which is able to hold out.


text: General Xue Rengui of the Tang dynasty (d. 683)


text: Rictrude, Frankish abbess (approximate date)


text: Fujiwara no Kamatari, founder of the Fujiwara clan (d. 669)


text: Eanswith, Anglo-Saxon princess (approximate date)


text: Li Yifu, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (d. 666)


text: Hilda of Whitby, abbess and saint (approximate date)


date: January 13

text: January 13 – Mungo, Brythonic apostle and saint


text: Philippicus, Byzantine general (approximate date)


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Queen Sak Kʼukʼ is succeeded by her son Pacal the Great, as ruler of the Maya city state Palenque (Mexico). He begins a building program at his capital, that produces some of Maya civilization's finest art and architecture.


text: The Balkans are freely overrun by the Slavs, who settle in large numbers in what is now Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia and parts of Greece. The western territories of modern-day Yugoslavia (Bosnia, Croatia and Dalmatia) suffer raids from the Avars, who settle in this region.


text: The city of Epidaurus (Dalmatia) is destroyed by the Avars and Slavic invaders. The Illyrian refugees flee to the nearby island Laus, where they found Dubrovnik (Ragusa). The islands of Rab, Krk and Cres become major food suppliers for the surviving cities of the mainland.


text: The Slavs under Chatzon attack in longboats along the coasts of Thessaly, western Anatolia, and various Greek islands. They besiege the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki in a combined land and sea attack. The Slavs with their families encamp before the city walls.


text: Several of Muhammad's followers begin to emigrate to the Aksumite Empire. They found a small colony there, under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Așhama ibn Abjar.


text: Bangor Massacre: The Anglo-Saxons, under King Æthelfrith of Northumbria, after defeating the Kingdom of Powys, finally reach the Irish Sea and massacre 1,200 Christian monks at their monastery, in Bangor (Wales).


text: Eleutherius succeeds John I as exarch of Ravenna. He persecutes those implicated in the murder of John and the judges of the State. After making a courtesy visit to Pope Adeodatus I, Eleutherius captures Naples and kills the rebel leader John of Conza.


text: Edwin of Northumbria takes refuge in East Anglia; he marries Cwenburga, daughter of king Cearl of Mercia (according to the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum).


text: Leodegar, bishop of Autun (approximate date)


text: Begga, Frankish abbess and saint (d. 693)


text: Æbbe, Anglo-Saxon princess and abbess (approximate date)


text: Fatima, daughter of Muhammad (or 605)


text: Li Jingxuan, official of the Tang dynasty (d. 682)


text: Bertin, Frankish abbot (approximate date)


text: Buyeo Yung, prince of Baekje (d. 682)


date: May 25

text: May 25 – Pope Boniface IV dies after a 7-year reign, in which he has converted the Pantheon into the Church of "Santa Maria Rotonda". He is succeeded by Adeodatus I (also known as Deusdedit) as the 68th pope of Rome.


date: November 21

text: November 21 – Columbanus, Irish missionary (b. 543)


text: Chatzon, chieftain of the Slavs


text: Liu Jingyan, empress of the Chen dynasty (b. 534)


text: John I Lemigius, exarch of Ravenna


text: Pybba, king of Mercia (approximate date)


text: John of Conza, Italian rebel leader (or 618)


text: Máel Coba mac Áedo, High King of Ireland


text: Cadfan ap Iago succeeds his father Iago ap Beli, as king of Gwynedd (Wales) (approximate date).


text: Rædwald installs Edwin as king of Northumbria, effectively confirming him as bretwalda. He takes power in his native Deira and in Bernicia. His reign marks the domination of Northumbria as leading Anglo-Saxon state of the British Isles.


text: The Battle of Chester (Old Welsh: Guaith Caer Legion; Welsh: Brwydr Caer), which separates the (West) Welsh from the 'North' Welsh of Cumbria - marking the formation of Wales, is fought (approximate date).


text: King Rædwald of East Anglia conquers Northumbria (Northern England) at the Battle of the River Idle. King Æthelfrith is killed during the fighting and his children are forced to flee north. His heir, prince Eanfrith (age 26), seeks refuge with his mother's family, probably in Gododdin (modern Scotland), and moves further north into Pictland. Princes Oswald (age 12), Oswiu (age 4) and others escape to the court of King Eochaid Buide of Dál Riata, where they are converted to Christianity by the monks of Iona.


text: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan destroys the city of Sardis, including its synagogue. Its importance is due to a highway, leading from the interior to the Aegean coast. Shahin marches through Anatolia, defeating the Byzantines numerous times.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628: The Jews of Jerusalem gain complete control over the city; much of Judea and Galilee becomes an autonomous Jewish province of the Persian Empire. The Jewish Temple is rebuilt by Nehemiah ben Hushiel (exilarch of Jerusalem), who establishes a High Priesthood.


text: The Quraish clans begins to boycott Muhammad and Banu Hashem, in order to put pressure on his Muslim followers and his Islamic preachings.


text: Mellitus, bishop of London, is exiled by Sexred and his pagan brothers (Sæward and Sigeberht). He is forced to take refuge in Gaul, and returns to England the following year.


text: King Sisebut orders in the Council of Toledo that Jews are to convert to Christianity. Children are taken from their parents and put in monasteries, where they learn the teaching of evangelism in the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: A shrine on the site of the future Westminster Abbey (London) is founded (approximate date).


text: Adaloald, age 14, succeeds his father Agilulf as Lombard king of Italy. He reigns under his mother Theodelinda as regent. The Lombard Kingdom gradually begins to convert to Catholicism, and establishes peace with the Exarchate of the Byzantine Empire.


date: September 28

text: September 28 – Javanshir, king of Caucasian Albania (d. 680)


text: Grimoald the Elder, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (d. 657)


date: February 24

text: February 24 – Æthelberht, king (bretwalda) of Kent


text: February 24 – Æthelberht, the first Christian Anglo-Saxon king, dies in Kent after a 26-year reign. He is succeeded by his pagan son, Eadbald, who promptly marries his stepmother Emma, in accordance with pre-Christian custom.


text: Yŏn T'aejo, prime minister of Goguryeo (approximate date)


text: Iago ap Beli, king of Gwynedd (approximate date)


text: Anastasius, Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria


text: Secundus of Non, Lombard abbot


text: Æthelfrith, king of Northumbria (approximate date)


text: Agilulf, king of the Lombards (approximate date)


text: King Sæberht of Essex dies after a 12-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Sexred. He rules conjointly with his two brothers Sæward and Sigeberht; they throw out the Christian missionaries and return to paganism.


text: John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria


text: Yuwen Shu, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Sæbert, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Nechtan II, king of the Picts (approximate date)


text: Yuan Humo, empress of Northern Zhou


date: September 8

text: September 8 – Battle of Huoyi: Rebel forces under Li Yuān defeat the Sui troops near the Fen River, and capture the Chinese capital, Chang'an. Li has gained support from Shibi, ruler (khagan) of the Eastern Turks, who secures his northern frontier and supplies him with 2,000 horses.


text: Heathens revolt in Kent under King Eadbald. During the uprising Justus, bishop of Rochester, flees to Gaul.


text: Winter – Li Yuan demotes Sui emperor Yángdi to the status of Taishang Huang (retired emperor), and declares Yang You emperor, while he gives himself authority over the western Sui commanderies (prefecture), under the title of "Prince of Tang".


text: Battle of Bu'ath: A pre-Islamic Arabian conflict between the Aws and Khazraj, two major Arabian tribes of Medina.


text: The Avars send envoys to Constantinople for a meeting with Heraclius. He is warned about an ambush, and flees for safety behind the city walls in time. Angry at the failure to capture the Byzantine emperor, the Avars plunder Thrace and return to the Danube River, carrying off 270,000 people.


text: Grasulf II becomes the Lombard Duke of Friuli (Italy), after the assassination of his nephews, Tasso and Kakko, in Oderzo.


text: Byzantine-Sassanid War: The Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan conquers Chalcedon in Anatolia, and reaches the Bosporus, threatening Constantinople. Emperor Heraclius begins peace negotiations, promising an annual tribute of 1,000 talents of gold and silver. Shahin withdraws with his army to Syria, to focus on the invasion of Egypt.


text: Meccans begin a boycott of the Banu Hashim clan, to which Islamic prophet Muhammad belongs. A civil war begins in Medina.


text: Sigeberht becomes king of Essex, after his father Sæward and uncle Sexred are killed in battle against the West Saxons.


text: King Edwin of Northumbria invades and annexes the minor British kingdom of Elmet (approximate date).


text: Lady K’awiil Ajaw, queen regnant of the Maya city State of Cobá (d. 682)


text: Wonhyo, Korean Buddhist monk and writer (d. 686)


date: April 17

text: April 17 – Donnán of Eigg, Gaelic priest


text: Sexred, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Zhai Rang, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Yang Yichen, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Sæward, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Wendelin of Trier, hermit and abbot (approximate date)


text: Yeongnyu becomes ruler of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo.


text: Tong Yabghu Qaghan becomes the new ruler (khagan) of the Western Turkic Khaganate, founding the Khazar Khaganate. He maintains close relations with the Tang dynasty, and possibly marries into the imperial family.


date: October 6

text: October 6 – Battle of Yanshi: Wang Shichong decisively defeats Li Mi, during the transition from Sui to Tang civil war.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Battle of Qianshuiyuan: The Tang dynasty scores a decisive victory over their rival Xue Rengao.


text: Byzantine–Sassanian War: A Persian expeditionary force under Shahrbaraz invades Egypt, and occupies the province. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons in the Nile Valley, the Persians march across the Libyan Desert as far as Cyrene.


text: The Persians besiege Alexandria; the defence of the city is led by Nicetas (cousin of emperor Heraclius). The Byzantine resistance is undermined by a blockade of the harbor; the usual grain supplies are cut off from Egypt to Constantinople.


text: Songtsän Gampo becomes the first emperor of the Tibetan Empire, after his father Namri Songtsen is poisoned. During his reign he expands Tibet's power beyond Lhasa (Tibetan Plateau) and the Yarlung Valley.


date: June 18

text: June 18 – The Sui dynasty ends: Rebel leader Li Yuan captures Luoyang, and has Emperor Yángdi murdered. He proclaims himself emperor Gao Zu and establishes the Tang dynasty, one of the most notable dynasties in Chinese history, which will last for almost 300 years.


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Emperor Yang of Sui, emperor of the Sui dynasty (b. 569)


date: September 3

text: September 3 – Xue Ju, emperor of Qin


date: November 8

text: November 8 – Pope Adeodatus I dies in Rome after a 3-year reign, in which he has reversed the policies of his predecessors, Boniface IV and Gregory I, who favored monks over the secular clergy. Adeodatus will not be replaced until next year.


date: December 14

text: December 14 – Xue Rengao, emperor of Qin


text: Yeongyang, king of Goguryeo (Korea)


text: Yang Jian, prince of the Sui dynasty (b. 585)


text: Namri Songtsen, king of Tibet (approximate date)


text: Kevin of Glendalough, Irish abbot (b. 498)


text: Shikui Khagan, ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate


text: Yu Shiji, official of the Chen- and Sui dynasty


text: Fíngen mac Áedo Duib, king of Munster (Ireland)


text: Dou Wei, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Yang Xiu, prince of the Sui dynasty


text: Yang Hao, prince of the Sui dynasty (b. 586)


date: November 2

text: November 2 – Tang campaigns against the Western Turks: A khagan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals, with the approval of Emperor Gaozu of Tang.


text: The Meccan boycott of the Hashemites and Muhammad ends.


text: The Avars attack the outskirts of Constantinople. Numerous Slavic tribes rebel against Avar overlordship; they carve out their own sovereign territory in Moravia and Lower Austria (approximate date).


date: December 23

text: December 23 – Pope Boniface V succeeds Adeodatus I as the 69th pope of Rome.


text: Kubrat, ruler of the Bulgars, is baptised in Constantinople.


text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: The besieged city of Alexandria is captured by the Persians. Nicetas, cousin of Emperor Heraclius, and Chalcedonian patriarch, John V, flee to Cyprus. King Khosrow II extends his rule southwards along the Nile.


text: Mellitus becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.


text: Heraclius prepares to leave Constantinople and moves the Byzantine capital to Carthage, but is convinced to stay by Sergius I, patriarch of Constantinople. He begins to rebuild the Byzantine army with the aid of funds from church treasures.


text: Construction begins on the earliest known tide mill, Nendrum Monastery mill in the north of Ireland.


text: The calculation of the Chinese calendar begins to use true motions of the sun and moon, modeled using two offset opposing parabolas.


text: The Chinese begin using large orchestras.


text: Li Chengqian, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 645)


text: Abd Allah ibn Abbas, cousin of Muhammad (d. 687)


text: Li Ke, prince of the Tang dynasty (approximate date)


text: Disibod, Irish monk and hermit (d. 700)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Laurence, Archbishop of Canterbury


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Yang You, emperor of the Sui dynasty (b. 605)


text: Heshana Khan, ruler of the Western Turkic Khaganate


text: Yang Tong, emperor of the Sui dynasty (b. 605)


text: Li Mi, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty (b. 582)


text: Yuwen Huaji, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad (b. 549)


text: Liu Wenjing, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 568)


text: Li Gui, emperor of the short-lived state Liang


text: John Moschus, Byzantine monk and ascetical writer


text: Khadija bint Khuwaylid, wife of Muhammad


text: Muhammad's wife, Khadija, dies after 24 years of marriage in the Year of Sorrow.


text: Ŭlchi Mundŏk, military leader of Goguryeo (Korea) (approximate date)


year_label: 62 CE

text: Battle of Rhandeia: The Roman army (two legions) is defeated by the Parthians under king Tiridates I. Paetus surrenders and withdraws his disheveled army to Syria.

source_title: AD 62

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Lucius Caesennius Paetus advances towards Tigranocerta, but due to lack of supplies he makes camp for the winter in the fortress at Rhandeia in northwestern Armenia.


text: Lucan writes a history of the conflict between Julius Caesar and Pompey.


text: Vologases I leads the Parthian army in a full-scale assault on the Euphrates. Legio X Fretensis and men of the other two legions (Legio III Gallica and Legio VI Ferrata) defend the eastern bank of the river, fighting off a desperate attack.


text: The Parthians invade Armenia and lay siege to Tigranocerta. The city is well-fortified and garrisoned by the Romans. The assault fails and king Vologases I retreats. Instead, he makes preparations to invade Syria.


text: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo strengthens the fortifications on the Euphrates frontier. He builds a strong flotilla of ships equipped with catapults and a wooden bridge across the river, which allows him to establish a foothold on the Parthian shore.


text: Paul of Tarsus is released from imprisonment in Rome (approximate date).


section: Disasters & Accidents

text: A violent storm destroys 200 ships anchored at Portus.


text: A great earthquake damages cities in Campania, including Pompeii (February 5).


text: Emperor Nero marries for the second time, to Poppaea Sabina, ex-wife of Marcus Salvius Otho.


text: The making of Still Life, a detail of a wall painting from Herculaneum, begins (finished in AD 79). It is now kept at Museo Nazionale in Naples.


text: Nero completes the Baths of Nero in Rome.


date: June 8

text: June 8 – Claudia Octavia, wife of Nero (possibly executed) (b. AD 40)


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Aulus Persius Flaccus, Roman poet (b. AD 34)


text: Sextus Afranius Burrus, Roman prefect and friend of Seneca (b. AD 1)


text: After the death of Burrus and the disgrace of Seneca, Nero is free from their influence and becomes a megalomaniacal artist fascinated by Hellenism and the Orient. Tigellinus becomes Nero's counselor. His rule is highly abusive.


text: Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix, Roman consul (murdered) (b. AD 22)


text: James the Just, brother of Jesus (martyred) (approximate date)


text: Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, Roman banker from Pompeii (b. c. AD 14)


text: Gaius Rubellius Plautus, cousin of Nero (executed) (b. AD 33)


text: Isra and Mi'raj (Muhammad's ascension to heaven to meet Allah).


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: King Khosrau II captures Ancyra, an important Byzantine military base in central Anatolia. After the conquest of Egypt and Palestine, he restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 490 BC under Darius I.


text: The Angles under King Edwin of Northumbria invade Rheged ("Old North") in Northern England, and expel King Llywarch Hen. He flees to Powys, and becomes a famous bard. Edwin's armies fight against Gododdin and Strathclyde.


text: King Pulakeshin II defeats the Harsha army on the banks of the Narmada River. Harsha loses a major part of his elephant force and retreats. A truce establishes Narmada as the northern boundary of the Chalukya Kingdom (India).


text: The Slavs invade the area around Thessaloniki, which is unsuccessfully besieged. The city becomes a Byzantine enclave surrounded by Slavic territory. Urban life disappears and many towns in the Balkan Peninsula become villages.


text: The town of Cholula is founded in central Mexico (later said to be the oldest continuously occupied town in all of North America).

source_section: Events › By place › America


text: Weltenburg Abbey in Bavaria (Germany) is founded by Benedictine monks.


text: Cedd, bishop of London (approximate date)


text: Li Tai, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 652)


text: Mirin, Irish monk and missionary


text: Imerius of Immertal, Swiss monk


text: Shen Faxing, official of the Sui dynasty


text: John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria


text: Chuluo Khan, ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate


text: Eleutherius, Byzantine exarch of Ravenna


text: The Chinese establish an imperial bureau for the manufacture of porcelain. Their technology will advance further under the Tang dynasty (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Technology


date: May 28

text: May 28 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin defeats the numerically superior army of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass.


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Wang Shichong, self-declared emperor, surrenders to Li Shimin at Luoyang following Dou Jiande's defeat. Gaozu spares his life, but he is later assassinated.


text: The city of Málaga, in southern Spain in the province of Spania, is conquered by the Visigoths.


text: Emperor Heraclius concludes a peace agreement (in exchange for an annual tribute) with the Avars on the Balkan Peninsula, giving him a free hand to assemble Byzantine forces in Asia Minor, for non-military expenditure against the Persian Empire.


text: Islamic tradition says Muhammad visited heaven aboard the winged mount Buraq, in the Isra wal-Miraj, (the Night Journey), from Mecca to Jerusalem, then to heaven from Jerusalem's Temple Mount, then back to Mecca.


text: Emperor Gaozu delegates control of his military and civil administration in the east to his second son, Li Shimin. He concentrates on reforming coinage (→ Kaiyuan Tongbao) and taxation.


text: Ardashir III, king of the Persian Empire (d. 629)


text: Suraqah al-Bariqi, Arab poet (d. 698)


text: Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess (d. 659)


text: Reccared II, king of the Visigoths


text: Xiao Xian, prince of the Liang dynasty (b. 583)


text: King Sisebut dies after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by his son Reccared II (just a child). Reccared is placed on the throne by the Visigothic nobility, but dies after two months. Suintila, his half-uncle and regent, becomes king of the Visigothic Kingdom.


text: Dou Kang, general of the Sui dynasty


text: Dou Jiande, general of the Sui dynasty (b. 573)


text: Zhu Can, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Sisebut, king of the Visigoths


text: Wang Shichong, general of the Sui dynasty


date: March 28

text: March 28 – Tajoom Ukʼab Kʼahkʼ becomes the ruler of the Mayan city state of Calakmul in southern Mexico and reigns until 630.

source_section: Events › By place › Central America


text: Battle of Issus: Heraclius defeats the Persian forces under Shahrbaraz in Cappadocia. He recaptures Anatolia, but returns to Constantinople to deal with the threat posed to his Balkan domains by the Avars, and puts the Byzantine army into winter quarters in Pontus.


date: September 9

text: September 9 or June 17 – The Islamic prophet Muhammad secretly leaves his home in Mecca to make the Hijrah (emigrate) to Yathrib (later renamed by him Medina), along with his companion Abu Bakr. They take refuge in the Cave of Thawr south of Mecca for three days, departing on September 13 or June 21.


text: The Western Turks conquer the Oxus valley and cooperate with Heraclius against Persia, taking Khorasan (modern Afghanistan).


date: September 20

text: September 20 or June 28 – Muhammad does not enter Yathrib directly, but stops at its outlying environs of Quba. He establishes the Quba Mosque here, the first mosque of Islam. On July 2 (or September 24) he makes his first visit to Yathrib for Friday prayers.


text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sails from Constantinople with an expeditionary force (probably 50,000 men), and starts a counter-offensive against the Persian Empire (his young son, Constantine III, is left behind as regent under the charge of Sergius I, patriarch of Constantinople, and patrician Bonus). He lands a few days later at the junction of Cilicia and Syria, near Alexandretta and ancient Issus.


text: Xuanzang is fully ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of 20.


text: Mezezius, Byzantine usurper (d. 669)


text: Xue Yuanchao, official of the Tang dynasty (d. 683)


text: Bavo, Frankish nobleman and saint (d. 659)


text: Uqba ibn Nafi, Arab general (d. 683)


text: Al-Mukhtar, Islamic revolutionary (d. 687)


date: April 8

text: April 8 – Shōtoku, prince and regent of Japan (b. 574)


text: April 11 – Luo Shixin, Tang dynasty general


text: Liu Wuzhou, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Walid ibn al-Mughirah, chief of the Banu Makhzum clan of the Quraysh tribe.


text: Yin Kaishan, Tang dynasty general


text: Lin Shihong, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: John of Biclaro, Visigoth chronicler (approximate date)


text: Li Zitong, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Andronicus, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria


text: Colmán mac Cobthaig, king of Connacht (Ireland)


text: Samo, reputedly a Frankish merchant, is elected king of the Slavs in Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria. A string of victories over the Avars proves his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects, and he secures the throne to establish his own kingdom, which stretches from the upper Elbe to the Danube.


text: Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius invades Armenia, leaving his son Constantine (age 11) and co-regent Bonus to defend Constantinople against the Persians still at Chalcedon (modern Turkey). He sails with 5,000 reinforcements to join the Byzantine army at Trapezus. Raising additional forces in Pontus, Heraclius strikes through the mountains of Armenia and the northern sub-Caucasian principalities. He plunders Media (Azerbaijan), and avoids the Persian armies who attempt to trap him.


text: Tuyuhun invasion of Gansu: Tang forces under Chai Shao defeat the Tuyuhun, and prevent further incursions into Gansu (China).


text: The Jewish community in Medina (Saudi Arabia) rejects the idea of Muhammad being a leader of Judaism. He and his followers stop bowing toward Jerusalem and start bowing toward Makkah.


text: King Clothar II gives Austrasia to his son Dagobert I, age 20, effectively granting the kingdom semi-autonomy in repayment for the support of its nobles, most notably Pepin of Landen (Mayor of the Palace), and in recognition of calls from the Austrasians for a king of their own. Arnulf, bishop of Metz, becomes advisor to Dagobert.


text: Tori Busshi makes "Shaka Triad", in the kon-dō of Hōryū-ji, during the Asuka period (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Art


text: March 28 – Marwan I, Muslim Caliph (d. 685)


text: Jizang, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 549)


text: Liu Heita, rebel leader during the Tang dynasty


text: Pingyang, princess of the Tang dynasty (b. 598)


text: Lupus of Sens, French bishop (approximate date)


text: Xu Yuanlang, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Su Wei, high official of the Sui dynasty (b. 542)


text: The Visigoths under King Suintila recapture the Byzantine territories of Spania (Andalusia), after 70 years of occupation. Only the Balearic Islands stay a part of the Byzantine Empire.


text: Eorpwald succeeds his father Rædwald, as king (bretwalda) of the independent Kingdom of East Anglia (approximate date). Raedwald is regarded as the most likely occupant of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial which contains the Sutton Hoo helmet.


date: January 26

text: January 26 – (29 Rajab 2 AH) The Raid on Nakhla, the first successful raid the Muslims of Medina, against the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, is carried out by Abd Allah ibn Jahsh, who leads the plunder of a caravan of supplies.

source_section: Events › By date › January–June


date: February

text: February – Chinese General Li Daliang leads an army to retake the Yu prefecture, near Xuancheng in what is now the Anhui province, from the rebel leader Fu Gongshi.


date: March 13

text: March 13 – (17 Ramadah 2 AH) The Battle of Badr takes place in what is now Saudi Arabia as Muhammad and some 300 of his followers from Medina surprise a reinforced Meccan caravan at Badr (modern-day Saudi Arabia) returning from Syria, and defeat about 1,000 Quraysh from Mecca. After having heard that clan leader Abu Sufyan is escorting a rich trade caravan, Muhammad has the wells along its route (southwest of Medina) filled with sand in order to lure him into battle.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – (15 Shawwal 2 AH) The Siege of Banu Qaynuqa is started by the Muslims in what is now Yathrib in Saudi Arabia, four days after Ghalib ibn Abd Allah al-Laythi is dispatched by Muhammad.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Emperor Haraclius celebrates Easter at Nicomedia (now İzmit) then travels to Caesarea (now Kayseri), proceeding during April to Theodosiopolis. He leads troops into Armenia and sacks its capital, Dvin.


date: April 20

text: April 20 – Heraclius invades the Sassanid Empire (now Iran).


date: June 23

text: June 23 – While at Ganzak at what is now northwest Iran, the Sassanid Emperor Khosrow II (Chosroes) is informed by soldiers who had escaped capture that Emperor Heraclius of Byzantium is preparing a surprise attack. Khosrow dispatches an envoy to inform General Shahrbaraz to abandon a campaign in Asia Minor and to accompany him to face Heraclius.


date: June

text: June – (Dhu al-Hijjah AH 2) The Invasion of Sawiq is carried out against the Muslims by the Quraysh leader, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb.


date: August 12

text: August 12 – The Army of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, led by Illig Qaghan, clashes with the army of Tang dynasty China, led by Taizong, Prince of Qin and son of Emperor Gaozu, with fighting taking place west of Binzhou in what is now the Shandong province.

source_section: Events › By date › July–December


date: November 11

text: November 11 – (9th B'ak'tun, 9th K'atun,9th year, 12th month, 3rd day) In what is now Guatemala, a stele is carved to honor a victory in battle by Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I, the Mayan ruler of Piedras Negras


date: December 21

text: December 21 – A group of 1,000 Muslims from Mecca, led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, sets out from Mecca to capture Medina, defended by the Banu Khazraj tribe, led by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. The two forces will fight combat three months later, on March 23, 625, at the Battle of Uhud.


text: Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius advances with an expeditionary force (40,000 men) along the Araxes River, destroying the fortress city of Dvin, capital of Armenia, and Nakhchivan (modern Azerbaijan). At Ganzak, Heraclius defeats the Persian army and destroys the famous fire temple at Takht-e Soleymān, an important Zoroastrian shrine. He winters his army in Caucasian Albania to gather forces for the next year.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Winter – King Khosrow II withdraws most of his troops from Chalcedon (Anatolia); he assembles three armies to trap and destroy Heraclius' forces.


text: Zayd ibn Haritha, the Sahabi and military commander for Muhammad is sent on an expedition to Dhat Irq near Mecca. He then carries out the Al-Qarada raid of a caravan of Meccan merchants after discovering their trade route and captures more that 100,000 dirhams worth of goods


date: February 11

text: February 11 – While praying in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn in Medina, the Islamic prophet Muhammad receives revelations from God on the qibla, the direction of prayer, that he should be facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem during prayer, beginning an Islamic tradition.


text: The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia is completed during the Tang dynasty, by the Chinese calligrapher Ouyang Xun.


date: March 25

text: March 25 – Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, departs from his capital at Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) with his wife, the Empress Martina, and two of his children, and does not return for more than four years.


date: February 17

text: February 17 – Wu Zetian, Empress of the Zhou dynasty (d. 705)

source_section: Births


date: May

text: May – Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Arab sahabi (d. 692)


text: Approximate date – Adomnán, Irish abbot and hagiographer (d. 704)


text: Hasan ibn Ali, second Shia Imam and grandson of Muhammad (d. 670)


text: Yazdegerd III, king of the Persian Empire (d. 651)


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheist

source_section: Deaths


text: April 20 – (27th day of the 3rd month of the 6th year of the Wu'de era) Du Fuwei, a Chinese prince who rebelled against Sui dynasty China and then was rewarded with the title "Prince of Wu" by Emperor Gaozu of Tang, dies suddenly of poisoning, under suspicion that he has been ordered killed by the Emperor.


date: April 24

text: April 24 – Mellitus, Archbishop of Canterbury


text: April 24 – St. Justus is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Boniface V upon the death of Archbishop Mellitus., receiving the pallium — symbol of the jurisdiction entrusted to archbishops. He oversees the dispatch of missionaries to Northumbria in northern England to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.


date: August

text: August – Upon the death of Khunays ibn Hudhafa, a companion of Muhammad, Khunays's widow Hafsa bint Umar becomes eligible to marry Muhammad.


text: Gao Kaidao, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


text: Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, clan leader of the Quraysh


text: Abū Lahab, uncle of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Umayyah ibn Khalaf, clan leader of the Quraysh


text: Du Fuwei, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty (b. 598)


text: Ruqayyah, daughter of Muhammad (approximate date)


text: Fu Gongshi, rebel leader during the Sui dynasty


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


text: Judicaël becomes high king of Domnonée (northern Brittany).


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Battle of Uhud: Muhammad retreats against the inhabitants of Mecca (Saudi Arabia), which they consider a victory.


text: Battle of Sarus: Heraclius is victorious in a Byzantine assault river crossing. The reinforced Persians under Shahrbaraz are defeated along the Sarus River, near Adana (modern Turkey). Heraclius recaptures Cappadocia and Pontus, and returns to Trapezus to spend the winter. Shahrbaraz retreats in good order, and is able to continue his advance through Asia Minor towards Constantinople.


text: King Pulakeshin II of Chalukya receives Persian envoys, who are sent by King Khosrau II at Badami (southern India).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: King Edwin of Northumbria marries Æthelburga of Kent. As a Christian, she brings her personal chaplain, Paulinus, and encourages her husband to convert to Christianity.


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


text: Œthelwald, king of Deira (approximate date)


text: Zhang Jianzhi, official of the Tang dynasty (d. 706)


text: Hasan ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad (d. 670)


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Pope Boniface V dies at Rome after a 6-year reign. He is succeeded by Honorius I as the 70th pope.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: King Cadfan of Gwynedd dies and is buried at Llangadwaladr, where his memorial stone can still be seen. He is succeeded by his son Cadwallon (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Cadfan ap Iago, king of Gwynedd


text: Abd-Allah ibn Jahsh, Arab sahabah


text: Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, Arab sahabah


date: September 4

text: September 4 – Emperor Gao Zu abdicates in favor of his son Li Shimin after an 8-year reign. He passes the throne to him (as Emperor Tai Zong).


text: Penda becomes king of Mercia (approximate date).


date: July 31

text: July 31 – The Avars and Persian allies under Shahrbaraz launch an attack along the entire length of the Theodosian Walls (about 5.7 kilometres); the main effort is concentrated against the central section, particularly the low-lying mesoteichion. After a fierce infantry battle on the walls, the Byzantine army holds off many assaults on the city. Emperor Heraclius makes arrangements for a new army under his brother Theodore to operate against the Persians in western Anatolia, while he returns to his own army in Pontus.


date: August 7

text: August 7 – In the waters of the Golden Horn, the Persian fleet is destroyed while ferrying reinforcements. The Avars, having suffered terrible losses, running short of food and supplies, burn their siege engines. They abandon the siege and retreat to the Balkan Peninsula. The Byzantines achieve a decisive victory at Blachernae, under the protection of the Church of the Virgin Mary.


text: Summer – King Khosrau II plans an all-out effort against Constantinople. He returns to Anatolia with two armies of unknown size, presumably more than 50,000 men each. One of these (possibly commanded by Khosrau himself) is to contain Heraclius in Pontus; another under Shahin Vahmanzadegan is defeated by Theodore.


text: King Edwin of Northumbria defeats the West Saxons under Cynegils, who has tried to thwart the growing strength of Edwin by having him assassinated. Edwin obliges Cynegils to acknowledge Northumbria's supremacy.


text: Byzantine–Persian War: Heraclius, his army reduced by campaigning to less than 30,000 men, is on the defensive in Pontus. Apparently he leaves a strong Byzantine garrison in Trapezus, and withdraws north-eastward along the Black Sea into Colchis, where he halts the Persians by aggressive defensive-offensive operations along the Phasis River. By attracting the Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan in Anatolia, he provides Theodore with the opportunity to defeat them. By the end of the summer he threatens the communication of the Persians at Chalcedon (modern Turkey).


text: Winter – Heraclius makes an alliance with Tong Yabghu Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Western Turkic Khaganate, for a joint invasion of the Persian Empire the following spring. He promises his daughter Eudoxia Epiphania, age 15, in marriage to Tong Yabghu and sends her under escort with wondrous gifts.


date: April 19

text: April 19 – Eanflæd, daughter of Edwin of Northumbria, is born at a royal residence by the River Derwent. She is baptised by Paulinus, bishop of York.


text: Arioald succeeds his brother-in-law Adaloald as king of the Lombards, and afterwards goes insane. Arioald has his wife locked up in a monastery, accusing her of plotting against him with Grasulf II, duke of Friuli (northern Italy).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Muhammad issues a final proclamation against alcohol. Alcohol is subsequently prohibited in Islam, and his followers pour their wine into the streets.

source_section: Events › By place › Religion


text: Heraclius invites the Croats, a Slavic tribe living in Galicia, Silesia, and Bohemia, to settle in Illyricum. They are given the land between the Drava River and the Adriatic Sea for ridding of Avars. The Serbs are allowed to move from their homeland north of the Carpathians to a territory east of the Croats. Heraclius asks Pope Honorius I to send missionaries to both groups.


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Li Shimin travels to the Tang capital Chang'an to bid farewell to his younger brother Li Yuanji, who has been given command of a Chinese expedition against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Hearing of a plot to murder him, he and a few supporters seize the northern entrance to the emperor's palace. Li Shimin ambushes and eliminates his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.


text: Edinburgh (Scotland) is founded by Edwin of Northumbria (approximate date).


text: April 19 – Eanflæd, queen of Northumbria


text: Tenji, emperor of Japan (d. 672)


text: Balthild, queen of the Franks (approximate date)


text: Zaynab bint Ali, granddaughter of Muhammad and member of Ahl al-Bayt


text: Heraklonas, Byzantine emperor (d. 641)


text: Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad and the third Shi'a Imam (d. 680)


date: June 19

text: June 19 – Soga no Umako, leader of the Soga clan


text: July 2 – Li Yuanji, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 603)


text: July 2 – Li Jiancheng, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 589)


text: Sexred, king of Essex (approximate date)


text: Shahin Vahmanzadegan, Persian general (approximate date)


text: Warnachar II, Mayor of the Palace (approximate date)


text: Gaugericus, bishop of Cambrai (approximate date)


text: Cearl, king of Mercia (approximate date)


text: Fatimah bint Asad, mother of Ali ibn Abi Talib (b. 555)


text: Fiachnae mac Báetáin, king of Dál nAraidi (Ireland)


text: Adaloald, king of the Lombards (approximate date)


date: March 31

text: March 31 – Battle of the Trench: Muhammad successfully withstands a siege for 27 days at Medina, by Meccan forces (10,000 men) under Abu Sufyan, whose allies, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, ultimately surrender to Muhammad.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabia


date: December 12

text: December 12 – Battle of Nineveh: Heraclius crosses the Great Zab river and, in a feigned retreat, defeats the Persian army (12,000 men) under Rhahzadh, near the ruins of Nineveh (Iraq). Although wounded, Heraclius refuses to leave the battlefield, and in a final cavalry charge personally kills the Persian general.


text: Third Perso-Turkic War: The Göktürks and their Khazar allies (40,000 men) approach the Caspian Gates, and capture the Persian fortress at Derbent (modern Dagestan). Heraclius marches to the upper Tigris and invades the Persian heartland, leaving the Khazars under Tong Yabghu Qaghan to continue the siege of Tblilisi.


text: Winter – Heraclius plunders the city palace of Dastgerd (Iran) and gains tremendous riches (also recovering 300 captured Byzantine flags). He turns northeastward to Caucasian Albania to rest his army. Khosrau II flees to the mountains of Susiana, to rally support for the defense of the Persian capital Ctesiphon.


text: Spring – Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sweeps through southern Armenia with a 50,000-man expeditionary force, recapturing most of the Byzantine fortresses lost to the Persians ten and fifteen years earlier. The army of Shahrbaraz, still in Anatolia, is now cut off completely. Hearing from Byzantine agents (showing him letters) that King Khosrau II, dissatisfied with his failure to capture Constantinople, is planning to have him executed, he surrenders to Heraclius, refusing to join the Byzantine army against his ungrateful sovereign.


date: April 12

text: April 12 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York, who previously saved his life.


text: Cunibert is elected bishop of Cologne. Throughout his episcopacy, monasticism flourishes in Austrasia (approximate date).


text: Fourth Council of Mâcon: A council of Christian bishops approves the Monastic Rule of Saint Columbanus in the city of Mâcon (Burgundy).


text: King Eorpwald of East Anglia is murdered, and succeeded by Ricberht. He is a member of the East Anglian elite; during his rule paganism is re-established.


text: St Peter's School, York, is founded by Paulinus.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education


text: Cui Zhiwen, Tang dynasty official (d. 683)


text: Bonus, Byzantine general and regent


text: Luo Yi, official of the Sui dynasty


text: King Stephen I of Iberia (Georgia)


text: Feng Deyi, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 568)


text: Zaynab bint Khuzayma, wife of Muhammad (b. 595)


text: Amatus, Benedictine abbot and hermit


text: Cathal mac Áedo, king of Cashel (Ireland)


text: King Eorpwald of East Anglia (approximate date)


text: Pei Ju, official of the Tang dynasty


text: Muhammad, Islamic prophet, leads about 1,400 men on a pilgrimage to Mecca where their passage is blocked. The Quraysh tribe and the Muslim community in Medina sign a 10 year truce (Treaty of Hudaybiyyah).


date: February 25

text: February 25 – Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Third Perso-Turkic War: The Western Göktürks under their leader Tong Yabghu Qaghan plunder Tbilisi (modern Georgia). The Persian defenders are executed or mutilated, Tong Yabghu appoints governors (tuduns) to manage various tribes under his overlordship.


text: Battle of Cirencester: King Penda of Mercia defeats the West Saxons at Cirencester (South West England) in what later will be Gloucestershire. After reaching an agreement, he takes control of the Severn Valley and the minor kingdom of the Hwicce.


text: Muhammad's letters to world leaders explain the principles of the new monotheistic Muslim faith, as they will be contained in his book, the Quran.


text: The Shariah enjoins women as well as men to obtain secular and religious educations. It forbids eating pork, domesticated donkey, and other flesh denied to Jews by Mosaic law (approximate date).


text: Brahmagupta writes the Brāmasphuțasiddhānta, an early, yet very advanced, math book.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences


date: September 6

text: September 6 – Ardashir III, age 7, succeeds his father Kavadh II as the twenty-fourth king of the Sasanian Empire on the latter's death from plague.


text: Gao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (d. 683)


text: Adomnán, Irish abbot and hagiographer (d. 704)


text: John Maron, Syriac monk and patriarch (d. 707)


text: Benedict Biscop, Anglo-Saxon abbot (d. 690)


date: January 22

text: January 22 – Anastasius of Persia, monk


date: February 28

text: February 28 – Khosrau II, king of the Persian Empire


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Suiko, empress of Japan


date: June 3

text: June 3 – Liang Shidu, rebel leader


text: September 6 – Kavadh II, king of the Persian Empire


text: Shirin, wife of Khosrau II (approximate date)


text: Tong Yabghu Qaghan, ruler of the Göktürks


text: Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards


text: Babai the Great, church father and theologian


text: Du Yan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty


text: Suibne Menn, High King of Ireland


text: Li Dashi, Chinese official and historian (b. 570)


text: Emperor Jomei succeeds his great aunt, empress Suiko, and ascends to the throne of Japan.


text: Heraclius styles himself as Basileus, Greek word for "sovereign", and takes the ancient title of "King of Kings", after his victory over Persia.


date: April 27

text: April 27 – Shahrbaraz usurps the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but is himself deposed forty days later by nobility in favour of Borandukht. Khosrow III briefly rules Khorasan in the confusion, until he is assassinated by the governor of the province.


date: May

text: May–June – Battle of Khaybar: Muhammad and his followers defeat the Jews living in the fortified oasis at Khaybar, located 150 kilometers from Medina.


date: September

text: September – Battle of Mu'tah: The Muslims fail to take the lands east of the Jordan River, and are pushed back near Mu'tah by the Ghassanids.


text: September – Jerusalem is reconquered by the Byzantines (after 15 years of occupation), from the Persian Empire.


text: Winter – Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty launches a campaign against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).


text: Charibert II, half-brother of Dagobert I, becomes king of Aquitaine (Southern France), and establishes his capital at Toulouse. Charibert's realm also includes Agen, Cahors, and Périgueux.


text: Battle of Fid Eoin: King Connad Cerr of Dál Riata is killed by the Dál nAraidi of the over-kingdom of Ulaid in north-eastern Ireland (approximate date).


text: Summer – Muhammad, Islamic unifies all nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, converts them to Islam and prepares an expedition against the Jews.


text: The Maya military outpost of Dos Pilas (Guatemala) is founded, in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region. Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil is installed as its leader by his father, K'inich Muwaan Jol II, the ruler of Tikal.

source_section: Events › By place › Americas


text: Xuanzang, Chinese Buddhist monk, sets out for India from the Tang dynasty capital Chang'an on a pilgrimage.


text: Muhammad meets Al-Khansa', Arabic poet, and converts her to Islam.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Emperor Heraclius enters Constantinople in triumph. In a ceremonial parade, accompanied by the True Cross, he is welcomed by the citizens and his son Heraclius Constantine.