Religion & Belief in the 8th century

217 sourced entries, 700 CE to 799 CE, oldest first. Also see Religion & Belief across every century or everything else in the 8th century.

• 700The famous Catholic Eucharistic Miracle occurs in Lanciano (Italy).source
• 700The Amida Buddha, a fresco in the kon-dō (Hōryū-ji Temple), is made (Nara period) (approximate date).source
• 700Mohammad ibn al-Ash'ath revolts against Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the Sistan and Balochistan regions (Iran).source
• 700Adomnán, Irish abbot, convinces 51 kings to adopt the Cáin Adomnáin, which defines the relationship between women and priests.source
• 700King Geraint of Dumnonia receives a letter from Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, who insists that the Celtic Church comply with the doctrines of Rome.source
• 700The Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated manuscript (Gospel Book), is produced in Northumbria.source
• 700The Beverley Grammar School (East Yorkshire) is founded by bishop John of Beverley (approximate date).source
• 700Maya civilization: Tikal Temple I, called the "Temple of the Giant Jaguar" (tomb of Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I), Tikal, (Guatemala), is built.source
• 702Berhtwald, archbishop of Canterbury, calls the Council of Austerfield to decide the rights of Wilfrid, some-time bishop of York. He is offered Ripon Abbey if he will relinquish his claims as bishop. Wilfrid rejects this offer and appeals to Rome.source
• 703Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon bishop, travels to Rome again, and is supported in his struggle to retain his see of York by the pope. On his way Wilfrid stops in Frisia (modern Netherlands), to visit Willibrord.source
• 703Elias I becomes Catholicos of All Armenians.source
• 705Duke Gisulf I of Benevento captures the cities of Sora, Arpino, and Arce (Central Italy). He marches as far as Horrea, plundering and burning, before he is confronted with gifts by the ambassadors of Pope John VI, who ransom many of his captives.source
• 705King Geraint of Dumnonia grants land at Maker (Cornwall) to Sherborne Abbey, in an attempt to strengthen his position in the disputed regions of Dorset (approximate date).source
• 705Al-Walid I commissions the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem (approximate date).source
• 705Prince Osred of Northumbria, assisted by ealdorman, defeats the usurper Eadwulf I. He becomes king at the age of nine; the government is controlled by the powerful bishop Wilfrid.source
• 706February 15 – Emperor Justinian II presides over the public humiliation of his predecessors, Leontios and Tiberios III, and their chief associates in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, after which they are executed. Patriarch Kallinikos I is also deposed, blinded and exiled to Rome, and succeeded by Kyros.source
• 706Berhtwald, archbishop of Canterbury, is obliged by the pope's insistence to call the Synod of Nidd (Northumbria).source
• 706Caliph Al-Walid I commissions the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus (Syria).source
• 708January 15 – Pope Sisinnius succeeds Pope John VII as the 87th pope.source
• 708March 25 – Pope Constantine I succeeds Pope Sisinnius as the 88th pope.source
• 708Island Mont Tombe is dedicated to Michael and renamed Mont Saint-Michel.source
• 708Tea drinking gains popularity among the Chinese. It is also valued for its alleged medicinal values (approximate date).source
• 709June – Emperor Justinian II sends a punitive expedition to Italy under the patrikios Theodore, to intervene in the dispute between Pope Constantine I and Archbishop Felix of Ravenna, who claims to be independent of the pope's authority. Theodore captures Ravenna, and arrests Felix and other Italian leaders. He deports them to Constantinople, from whence they are exiled to Cherson (Crimea).source
• 709Mont Saint-Michel, built by Aubert, bishop of Avranches, has its beginnings in an oratory on Mont Tombe, on the coast of Normandy (approximate date).source
• 710October 5 – Pope Constantine departs for a year-long visit to Constantinople. He will be the last pontiff to visit the capital for more than a thousand years.source
• 710Salih I ibn Mansur founds the Muslim Kingdom of Nekor (Morocco). He converts the local Berber tribes to Islam.source
• 711Reconstruction of the Hōryū-ji Temple in Japan is completed (approximate date).source
• 713Arab–Byzantine wars: The Umayyad Arabs under al-Abbas ibn al-Walid, son of caliph al-Walid I, sack Antioch in Pisidia (modern Turkey), which never recovers.source
• 713Xuan Zong allots the money of 20 million copper coins, and assigns about 1,000 craftsmen to construct a hall at a Buddhist monastery with tons of painted portraits of himself, and of deities, ghosts, etc.source
• 714Rupert, bishop of Salzburg, founds Nonnberg Abbey in modern-day Austria.source
• 714Emperor Xuan Zong forbids all commercial vendors and shops in the Chinese capital city of Chang'an to copy and sell Buddhist sutras, so that the emperor can give the clergy of the Buddhist monasteries the sole right to distribute written sutras to the laity.source
• 714Musa ibn Nusayr and Tariq ibn Ziyad are summoned back to Damascus by caliph Al-Walid I. They are ordered to deliver all the spoils of war. Musa complains and is stripped of his rank. Abd al-Aziz, son of Musa, becomes governor of Al-Andalus (modern Spain).source
• 714Civil War within the Pepinid clan: A revolt erupts between the Neustrian Franks and Frisians. King Radbod forces bishop Willibrord and his Benedictine monks to flee, and advances as far as Cologne (Germany). Frisia (modern-day Netherlands) once again becomes independent.source
• 714In Septimania, local Visigothic nobles of the anti-Roderick party are offered peace terms similar to those of Prince Theodemir (see 713), and accept Muslim overlordship. Other Visigoths revolt and proclaim Ardo as king. Visigothic refugees gather in the Picos de Europa in the mountains of Asturias.source
• 715The newly-appointed Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople organises a council propagating Dyothelitism, and attempts to improve relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church.source
• 715King Nechtan mac Der-Ilei invites the Northumbrian clergy to establish Christianity amongst the Picts.source
• 715Egyptian military commander Abd al-Malik ibn Rifa'a al-Fahmi is appointed governor of Egypt for the Umayyad Caliphate.source
• 716Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, leaves England and travels to Frisia (the western parts of the modern-day Netherlands) to assist Willibrord, bishop of Utrecht, in his work to convert the pagan Frisians.source
• 716Arab-Byzantine Wars: Umayyad Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd Al-Malik begins the preparations for his campaign on Constantinople; he orders new ships be built in the port-cities in Palestine, Egypt & Ifriqiya. General Umar ibn Hubayra raids southern Anatolia by sea and conquers Lycia, where another Arab fleet joins him, and they spend winter. As the navy advances, Sulayman sends land armies into Anatolia, which settle at Caesarea.source
• 716Abd al-Aziz ibn Musa, governor of Al-Andalus (modern Spain), is assassinated on order of Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik. He is succeeded by his cousin Ayyub ibn Habib al-Lakhmi, who becomes interim "protector" (wali) for 6 months, and moves the capital to Córdoba, until replaced by Al-Hurr ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Thaqafi.source
• 717March 25 – Emperor Theodosios III is deposed after a reign of 1 year and 10 months. He is succeeded by the 32-year-old Leo III the Isaurian, a general (strategos) of the Anatolic Theme (modern Turkey). Theodosios and his son enter the clergy, and he probably becomes bishop of Ephesus. Leo brings an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy in the Byzantine Empire, which marks the beginning of the so-called Isaurian Dynasty.source
• 717Charles Martel consolidates his power, proclaims Clotaire IV king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic, and deposes Rigobert, bishop of Reims, replacing him with Milo. He marches against Radbod, king (or duke) of the Frisians, and pushes him back into his territory (later part of the Netherlands). Charles sends the Saxons back over the Weser River, and secures the Rhine border—in the name of Clotaire.source
• 718Hugh of Champagne, cousin of Charles Martel, enters the monastery of Jumièges (Normandy), and embraces the religious life as abbot.source
• 718The Wessex-born missionary Boniface sets out for Frisia a second time. He travels to Rome, where Pope Gregory II sends him on a mission to convert the Saxons in Lower Saxony (modern-day Germany).source
• 719The Church of Nubia transfers its allegiance, from the Eastern Orthodox Church to the Coptic Church (approximate date).source
• 720King Ine of Wessex builds a stone church at Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset (approximate date).source
• 721Prüm Abbey is founded by Bertrada, daughter of former king Theuderic III, and her son Charibert, count of Laon (approximate date).source
• 721Summer – Charles Martel restores the authority of the Austrasian palace throughout the Frankish Kingdom, including against Frankish-claimed Aquitaine and Provence (Southern France). He exiles Rigobert, bishop of Reims, to Gascony.source
• 722November 30 – Wessex-born Boniface is ordained as bishop of Germany by Pope Gregory II. Under the protection of Charles Martel (mayor of the palace), he concentrates his religious work in Hessia and Thuringia.source
• 722Emperor Leo III enforces the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the Byzantine Empire.source
• 723Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, fells Thor's Oak (a sacred tree) near Fritzlar in Hesse, marking the decisive event in the Christianization of the northern Germanic tribes (approximate date).source
• 723Boniface makes Büraburg, a fortified Frankish settlement, his temporary religious base.source
• 724March 6 – Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the son of the Caliph Abd al-Malik, is appointed as the Umayyad Governor of Egypt after Hanzala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi resigns. He serves for only two months.source
• 724December 29 – K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat becomes king (ajaw) of the Maya city-state of Quiriguá, now in Guatemala), and serves for more than 60 years until his death in 785.source
• 724Pirmin, Visigothic monk, is appointed abbot of Mittelzell Abbey at Reichenau Island, which he has founded.source
• 724Hugh of Champagne, grandson of Pepin of Herstal, is appointed bishop of Bayeux.source
• 726Council of Manzikert in Armenian and West Syriac churchessource
• 726Benedictine abbey of Neuwiller founded by bishop Sigibald of Metz.source
• 726Abbo of Provence, Frankish nobleman, founds Novalesa Abbey in Piedmont (Northern Italy).source
• 726Emperor Leo III issues a series of edicts banning the veneration of images (726–729), and launching the iconoclastic controversies. Most of the clergy – particularly in Italy and Greece – are opposed to these edicts with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Byzantine Empire the people refuse to obey his religious reforms.source
• 727July – Pope Gregory II condemns iconoclasm at Rome, causing Italy to break with the Byzantine Empire. He becomes the virtual temporal ruler of most Byzantine possessions.source
• 728King Liutprand of the Lombards occupies all of the Exarchate of Ravenna. He advances towards Rome along the Via Cassia, and is met at the city of Sutri by Pope Gregory II, near the borders of the Duchy of Rome. Liutprand signs the Donation of Sutri, by which parts of Latium are given to the papacy (the first extension of papal territory in Italy). This marks the historical foundation of the Papal States.source
• 730Emperor Xuan Zong has four palace walls in the northeast sector of the capital city Chang'an dismantled and reassembled to construct a new Daoist abbey, the grounds of which are formally a large garden for the Bureau of Agriculture.source
• 730Tiberius Petasius proclaims himself emperor in Tuscia. Eutychius defeats him with the support of Pope Gregory II, and Tiberius is killed in Monterano, with his head sent to the Byzantine emperor Leo III as a gift.source
• 730Leo III of the Byzantine Empire orders the destruction of all icons, beginning the First Iconoclastic Period. Many monks flee to Greece and Italy (taking smaller icons with them, hidden in their clothing); others flee to the caves of the Cappadocian desert.source
• 731June 10 – The Mercian Tatwine is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.source
• 731November 1 – Synod of Rome: Gregory III summons a council at the shrine of Saint Peter. All western bishops participate, including the Roman nobility. Gregory condemns Iconoclasm as a heresy.source
• 731Bede, Anglo-Saxon monk and historian, completes his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum at the monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth.source
• 731Autumn – King Ceolwulf of Northumbria is deposed by opponents, and forced to enter a monastery. His supporters subsequently restore him to the throne (or 732).source
• 731Ragenfrid, ex-mayor of the palace of Neustria, meets Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, to accept his rule and independence from the Frankish Kingdom. Fearing an alliance against him, Charles Martel exiles Ragenfrid's supporter Wandon of Fontenelle, and imprisons bishop Aimar of Auxerre.source
• 732September – Charles Martel leads his Frankish army (30,000 men) to Orléans and crosses the Loire River, probably accompanied by Eudes of Aquitaine, with his remaining troops. He makes camp near Tours, probably at Ballan-Miré south-west of the fortress city, in order to protect the abbey of Saint Martin. Charles defeats or forces back Umayyad scouts or an advance guard, between the rivers Indre and Creuse. Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi pulls back to establish a position at the Vienne River.source
• 732Autumn – King Ceolwulf of Northumbria is deposed by opponents, and forced to enter a monastery. His supporters subsequently restore him to the throne (or 731).source
• 732Ecgbert is appointed bishop of York, by his cousin Ceolwulf of Northumbria. He founds a library, and makes the city a renowned centre of learning (approximate date).source
• 732Muslim forces withdraw southwards to Septimania; a separate part probably pulls back along the road it originally came through, across the Pyrenees Mountains. Eudes of Aquitaine pursues the main Muslim army via La Marche, before returning to Bordeaux; Charles Martel withdraws to Frankish territory through Orléans and Auxerre, demoting those bishops whom he thought unreliable. Abd al-Malik ibn Katan al-Fihri becomes the new governor (wali) of Al-Andalus; a separate Muslim force raids the Rhône region.source
• 732Pope Gregory III confers on Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, the pallium as archbishop, with jurisdiction over Bavaria (modern Germany). He orders him to forbid the consumption of horseflesh by his Christian converts.source
• 733Emperor Leo III confiscates the papal territories in Sicily and Calabria (Southern Italy), from which Pope Gregory III derives most of his income tax. He transfers ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the former Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum to Anastasius, patriarch of Constantinople. Gregory begins his support of a revolt in Italy against iconoclasm. By now the break between the papacy and the Byzantine Empire is almost complete.source
• 733Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, aged almost 80, abdicates and retires to a monastery. His lands are divided between his sons Hunald I and Hatton, who continue the conflict with Charles Martel, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Austrasia. In battles at Benest in Charente and La Rochefoucauld (near Angoulême), Charles probably defeats the Aquitainians. He also campaigns against the Burgundians.source
• 734September 8 – Frithubeorht is consecrated Bishop of Hexham.source
• 735The Khöshöö Tsaidam Monuments of Bilge Khan, ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate, and his brother Kul Tigin, are erected. (Bilge has already erected Kül Tigin's monument and Bilge's son erects Bilge's monument.)source
• 735The see of York receives the pallium from pope Gregory III, and is elevated to an archbishopric. Ecgbert becomes the first archbishop.source
• 736King Æthelbald of Mercia is described in the Ismere Diploma as ruler (bretwalda) of the Mercians, and all the provinces in southern England. He is also named "Rex Britanniae" (king of Britain).source
• 736Rōben, scholar-Buddhist monk, invites Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at Kinshōsen-ji (later Tōdai-ji); this event is considered to be the roots of the Kegon school of Buddhism founded in Japan.source
• 738Felice Cornicola is appointed hypatos (Byzantine consul) and magister militum of Venice.source
• 738Boniface visits Rome, and is made papal legate of the Frankish Kingdom. He establishes many bishoprics in Bavaria.source
• 739Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary who has been Christianizing Bavaria, founds the bishoprics of Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau.source
• 739Theodatus Ursus is appointed hypatos (Byzantine consul) and magister militum of Venice.source
• 739The Lombards under King Liutprand sack the Exarchate of Ravenna, and threaten Rome. Pope Gregory III asks Charles Martel, Merovingian mayor of the palace, to help fight the Lombards (he also requests assistance in fighting the Byzantines and the Arabs). Liutprand signs a peace accord, and pulls back his forces to Pavia. After the pope's appeal to the Franks, a relationship begins that will continue as the Frankish Kingdom gains power.source
• 740Duke Thrasimund II recovers the duchy of Spoleto and kills Hilderic with Papal-Beneventian aid. He does not return the confiscated papal cities, and his alliance with Pope Gregory III ruptures.source
• 741Japanese authorities decree that Buddhist temples should be established throughout the country (approximate date).source
• 741A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau island is first mentioned. In 744, the nunnery is sold to Einsiedeln Abbey. (Unclear significance)source
• 741In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village of Kempraten as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata. (Unclear significance)source
• 742The Holy Face of Lucca is transferred to Lucca from Luni (approximate date).source
• 742Teodato Ipato succeeds his father Orso Ipato, as the fourth doge of Venice. He moves the capital from Heraclea to Malamocco.source
• 742Chrodegang, chancellor of Charles Martel, is appointed bishop of Metz and embarks on a reorganisation of the Frankish church.source
• 742King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom.source
• 742Emperor Xuan Zong begins to favor Taoism over Buddhism, adopting the new reign title Tianbao ("Heavenly Treasures"), to indicate his divine mandate. The total number of enlisted troops in the Tang armies has risen to about half a million, due to Xuan Zongs's earlier military reforms.source
• 742After a 40-year vacancy, Stephen IV becomes Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, at the suggestion of caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.source
• 742Sturm, disciple of Boniface, establishes the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda (present-day Hesse) in Germany (or 744).source
• 743Summer – Emperor Constantine V defeats his brother-in-law Artabasdos, who has led a two-year insurrection in an attempt to usurp the Byzantine throne. He heads for Constantinople, and captures the capital three months later. Artabasdos and his son Niketas are publicly blinded, and relegated to the monastery of Chora. Constantine renews his policy of Iconoclasm.source
• 743The Concilium Germanicum: First major Church synod held in the eastern parts of the Frankish Kingdom. Organized by Carloman, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, and presided over by Saint Boniface, who is solidified in his position as leader of the Frankish church.source
• 744June – Pope Zachary gives his approval by sending Abel, Grimo and Hartbert their palliums for the metropolitan sees of Reims, Rouen and Sens.source
• 744October – Hildeprand is deposed by the council of nobles, for his incompetence as ruler. He is succeeded by Ratchis (formerly duke of Friuli) as king of the Lombards, who makes peace with Pope Zachary.source
• 744December – Marwan ibn Muhammad rebels against Yazid's designated successor Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, defeats the Umayyad forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham, and becomes caliph.source
• 744In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village of Kempraten as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata.source
• 744Sturm, disciple of Boniface, establishes the Benedictine Abbey of Fulda (Hesse), as part of Boniface's mission to bring Christianity to the pagan tribes in Germany (or 742).source
• 744A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau Island is first mentioned, and is in this year sold to Einsiedeln Abbey.source
• 744Synod of Soissons. Called at the instigation of Pepin the Short and Boniface, archbishop and metropolitan, it secures the condemnation of the Frankish bishop Adalbert.source
• 745Hunald I, duke of Aquitaine, retires to a monastery, probably on Île de Ré. He is succeeded by his son Waifar, who struggles during his rule for independence against the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 746The Hida-Kokubunji Temple in Japan is built to pray for peace and prosperity (approximate date).source
• 746Council of Cannstatt: Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, convenes an assembly of the Alemanni nobility at Cannstatt (modern Stuttgart), and has most of the magnates, numbering in the thousands, arrested and executed for high treason. This ends the independence of the tribal duchy of Alamannia, which is thereafter governed by counts or dukes appointed by their Frankish overlords.source
• 746King Ratchis codifies the Lombard laws, promulgated in Latin, and advised by his council and the Lombard army (approximate date).source
• 747August 15 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo, and withdraws from public life. He retires to a monastery near Rome, being tonsured by Pope Zachary, and leaves his brother Pepin the Short as sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 747Empress Kōmyō founds the Shin-Yakushi-ji Buddhist temple in Nara (Japan).source
• 748King Æthelbert II of Kent sends a message to Boniface, archbishop of Mainz, requesting two well-trained goshawks for hunting. He had earlier made a gift of two falcons and a goshawk to King Æthelbald of Mercia (approximate date).source
• 748In Rome, Pope Zachary closes down a slave market, where Venetian merchants had been selling Christian captives to the Muslims in North Africa.source
• 749October 28 – Abdullah ibn Muhammad is proclaimed caliph at Kufa by his supporters and adopts the title of al-Saffah (the "Slaughterer of Blood").source
• 749King Æthelbald of Mercia calls the Synod of Gumley, at the instigation of Boniface, bishop of Mainz, and issues a charter that releases the Catholic Church from all public burdens.source
• 749King Ratchis of the Lombards besieges Perugia, but is convinced to lift the siege by Pope Zachary. His decision to lift the siege of Perugia undermines his authority among the Lombard nobility, and ultimately results in the nobility deposing him at a council in Milan. King Ratchis is forced to retire with his family to the monastery at Monte Cassino.source
• 749Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad prince, is executed by crucifixion on orders of the first Abbasid caliph, Abdullah ibn Muhammad, at Al-Hirah (or 750).source
• 749Ḥawthara ibn Suhayl takes the Coptic patriarch, Michael I, hostage to Rosetta, and threatenes to have him killed if the Egyptian rebels did not lay down their arms. The Egyptians attacked Rosetta and sacked it, massacring its Arab inhabitants. There was an offensive as far as Pelusium against an Umayyad army. In response, Marwān ordered the pillaging and razing of Egyptian villages and monasteries throughout the Delta. His campaign was a failure and in 750 he was overthrown in the Abbasid Revolution.source
• 750King Eadberht of Northumbria imprisons Cynewulf, bishop of Lindisfarne, at Bamburgh Castle. King Eadberht does this in order to punish the bishop for sheltering one of his enemies, Prince Offa. He then besieges Prince Offa, son of the late King Aldfrith, in Lindisfarne Priory. Almost dead from hunger, he is dragged from his sanctuary and put to death.source
• 750Borobudur, or Barabudur (a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, as well as the world's largest Buddhist temple, and also one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world) is built (approximate date).source
• 751November – Pepin the Short, youngest son of Charles Martel, forces the last Merovingian king Childeric III to retire to the monastery of Saint-Bertin. He proclaims himself as king of the Franks with the support of Pope Zachary, and is crowned at Soissons by Boniface, bishop of Mainz, becoming, as Pepin III, the first Carolingian monarch of the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 751The oldest surviving printed document, a Buddhist scripture, is printed in Korea.source
• 751Theodore succeeds Theophylact as Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.source
• 751Kim Daeseong, chief minister of Silla, orders the construction of the Bulguksa and Seokguram temples at Gyeongju (South Korea).source
• 751King Aistulf of the Lombards captures Ravenna and the Romagna, ending the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. The last exarch Eutychius is killed by the Lombards. Aistulf threatens Rome, claiming a capitation tax. Pope Zachary, alarmed, appeals for aid from the Byzantine Empire, but his request is declined.source
• 752March 26 – Pope Stephen II (sometimes referred to as Stephen III) succeeds Zachary as the 92nd pope of the Catholic Church. He marks the end of the Byzantine Papacy.source
• 752Emperor Shōmu (retired since 749) takes part in the dedication ceremony of the Great Buddha, (15 metres) at Tōdai-ji in Nara (Japan), and declares himself a Buddhist.source
• 753Eoban is appointed bishop of Utrecht (modern Netherlands), by the missionary bishop Boniface.source
• 753Fall – Pope Stephen II travels to the Lombard capital of Pavia, for negotiations with Aistulf. His terms for returning the Exarchate of Ravenna are declined.source
• 754February – Council of Hieria: Emperor Constantine V summons a Christian council in the palace of Hieria in Constantinople. The council, under the presidency of Bishop Theodosius of Ephesus, supports the policy of Iconoclasm and condemning the use of religious images (icons) in the Byzantine Empire. Constantine increases the persecution of the monasteries; hundreds of monks and nuns are mutilated or put to death.source
• 754June 5 – Boniface, Anglo-Saxon missionary, is killed by a band of pagans at Dokkum in Frisia, while reading the Scriptures to Christian converts. He is later buried in the Abbey of Fulda, entrusted to his Bavarian disciple Sturm.source
• 754July 28 – Pope Stephen II re-consecrates Pepin III (the Short) as king of the Franks, at the Basilica of Saint-Denis outside Paris, bestowing upon him the additional title of Patricius of the Romans. This marks the first recorded crowning of a civil ruler by a pope. Pepin assumes the role of ordained protector of the Catholic Church.source
• 754July – Stephen II anoints Pepin's sons, Charles (later known as Charlemagne) and Carloman, consecrating them as patricians. At Quierzy he proclaims the Carolingian dynasty holy, and appeals for help against the Lombards. Finally, the Frankish nobles give their consent to a campaign in Lombardy.source
• 755Trisong Detsen becomes emperor of Tibet. During his reign he plays a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism, and the establishment of the Nyingma or "Ancient" school of Tibetan Buddhism.source
• 756King Aistulf of the Lombards again threatens Rome with a view to making it his capital, but the Franks under Pepin III ("the Short") arrives with his sons Charles and Carloman, defeats Aistulf, and confers the Donation of Pepin, which establishes the Papal States (including the lands of Ravenna and the Pentapolis). Pepin has taken territory that legally belongs to the Byzantine Empire; he gives it to Pope Stephen II.source
• 756Ibn al-Muqaffa', Muslim writer and thinker, is tortured at Basra (modern Iraq), on orders from Caliph al-Mansur. His limbs are severed and he is thrown, still alive, into a burning oven (approximate date).source
• 758King Eadberht of Northumbria abdicates the throne in favour of his son, Oswulf. He enters the monastery attached to the cathedral of York.source
• 759The Tōshōdai-ji Buddhist Temple is founded in Nara, Japan.source
• 759Caliph al-Mansur of the Abbasid Caliphate launches the conquest of Tabaristan (on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea). Its ruler, Khurshid II, flees into the mountainous region of Daylam.source
• 760The Kailasa Temple is built on the orders of King Krishna I, of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty (modern India) (approximate date).source
• 760The Church of Santa Sophia is founded by the Lombard duke Arechis II in Benevento (approximate date).source
• 760Bregowine is appointed archbishop of Canterbury in England.source
• 761The Japanese priest Dōkyō cures Empress Kōken by using prayers and potions. He may have become her lover and certainly becomes her court favorite, arousing the jealousy of Emperor Junnin.source
• 761The city of Oviedo (Northern Spain) is founded by the monks Nolan and John (approximate date).source
• 762July 30 – Caliph al-Mansur moves the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate from Kufa to the new capital of Baghdad.source
• 762Schäftlarn Abbey (Bavaria) is founded by Waltrich, a Benedictine monk of noble family, south of modern-day Munich, Germany.source
• 763Ciniod I succeeds Bridei V, as king of the Picts (modern Scotland).source
• 764Cancor, a Frankish count (possibly of Hesbaye), founds Lorsch Abbey (modern-day Germany).source
• 764Domenico Monegario is deposed, after Pope Paul I demanded donations from Venice. Monegario is blinded and exiled, and succeeded by Maurizio Galbaio as the 7th doge of Venice. During his reign, Venetian wealth is increased via trade.source
• 765King Pepin III ("the Short") restores the papal privileges (see Donation of Pepin) in Benevento and Tuscany territory (and partially in Spoleto).source
• 766August 25 – Emperor Constantine V publicly humiliates 19 high-ranking officials in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, after discovering a plot against him. He executes the leaders, Constantine Podopagouros and his brother Strategios, and blinds and exiles the rest.source
• 766Baghdad nears completion as up to 100,000 labourers create a circular city about 1 or 2 km in diameter (depending on the source). In the center of the "Round City" is a palace built for Caliph al-Mansur. The capital is ringed by three lines of walls (approximate date).source
• 766Summer – Patriarch Constantine II is deposed and jailed, after the discovery of Constantine Podopagouros' plot against Constantine V. Nicetas I is appointed patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 766Metten Abbey, near the town of Deggendorf (Bavaria), is founded by Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch.source
• 768August 7 – Pope Stephen III succeeds Paul I as the 94th pope of the Catholic Church. The antipope Constantine II is overthrown at Rome, through intervention by King Desiderius of the Lombards, after a brief reign (see 767).source
• 768Archbishop Elfodd of Gwynedd persuades the Welsh Church to accept the Roman dating of Easter, as agreed by the British Church at the Synod of Whitby (see 664).source
• 768Lebuinus, Anglo-Saxon missionary, founds the city of Deventer (modern-day Netherlands), and builds a wooden church on the bank of the River IJssel (approximate date).source
• 768The Kasuga Shrine is erected at Nara (Japan), by the Fujiwara family. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the stone lanterns that lead up to the Shinto shrinesource
• 769April 12–15 – Pope Stephen III holds a Lateran Council: the papal election procedure (abuse of which has led to the election of antipopes) is changed, and the iconoclasm of the Council of Hieria is anathematized.source
• 769Hersfeld Abbey (modern-day Hesse-Nassau), Germany, is founded by Lullus, archbishop of Mainz (approximate date).source
• 769Tallaght Monastery is founded in Ireland by Máel Ruain; it becomes a centre of learning and piety, particularly associated with the Culdees' (Céli Dé) spiritual reform movement.source
• 769King Charlemagne (Charles "the Great") begins a military campaign against the Duchy of Aquitaine and the Duchy of Gascony. He leads a Frankish army to the city of Bordeaux, where he sets up a fort at Fronsac. His younger brother Carloman I refuses to help his brother fight the rebels, and returns to Burgundy. Hunald, duke of Aquitaine, is forced to flee to the court of Gascony. Lupus II, fearing Charlemagne, turns Hunald over in exchange for peace, and is put in a monastery. Aquitaine and Gascony are subdued into the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 770King Charlemagne signs a peace treaty with Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria, and marries the Lombard princess Desiderata (daughter of King Desiderius). He travels to the Lombard court at Pavia to conclude arrangements. Pope Stephen III opposes the marriage, and protests about a Frankish-Lombard alliance.source
• 771January 24 – Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat dedicates a 65-ton stele, the largest stone known to be quarried by the Maya civilization, at his city of Quiriguá.source
• 772Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur completes construction of the garrison city of al-Rāfiqah adjacent to Raqqa.source
• 773Summer – King Charlemagne and his uncle Bernard, son of Charles Martel, cross the Alps with a Frankish expeditionary force at the request of Pope Adrian I. At the foot of the mountains in the Susa Valley (Northern Italy), the Franks are hindered by Lombard fortifications. After scouting, Charlemagne attacks the defenders from the flank, and forces the Lombards to flee to the fortified capital Pavia.source
• 774King Charlemagne conquers the Lombard Kingdom, and establishes Frankish rule in Pavia, Venetia, Istria, Emilia, Tuscany, and Corsica. Charlemagne visits Rome; he confirms the Donation of Pepin (see 756) while insisting on his own sovereignty. Pope Adrian I grants him the title of patrician. Charlemagne puts down immediate insurrections in Friuli.source
• 774Saxon Wars: Saxon raiders ravage much of northern Hesse (modern Germany), and burn the abbey at Fritzlar, putting the abbot and monks to the sword. Charlemagne hurriedly returns to Austrasia, assembles local troops, and recaptures Eresburg, before the approach of winter halts further operations.source
• 777Abd al-Rahman ibn Rustam is recognized as imam of the Ibadis, in Maghreb (western North Africa).source
• 777Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria founds Kremsmünster Abbey (modern Austria). During this period, the Tassilo Chalice is possibly donated by Luitpirga, wife of Tassilo (approximate date).source
• 778In Japan, the Kiyomizu-dera Buddhist temple is founded in Kyoto. Its main hall (Hondo) is built in 1633 without a single nail.source
• 778Saxon raiders destroy many churches deep in Frankish territory. The Benedictine monks of Fulda Abbey (modern-day Hesse) hurriedly carry the relics of Saint Boniface over the Rhön Mountains to safety.source
• 780Borobudur, a Buddhist temple complex in Magelang (modern Indonesia), is begun (approximate date).source
• 780Saxon Wars: King Charlemagne decrees the death penalty for any subdued Saxon refusing Christian baptism. Meanwhile Widukind builds up rebel strength in northern Saxony.source
• 781Charlemagne defines the Papal territory (see Papal States). He codifies the regions over which the pope would be temporal sovereign: the Duchy of Rome is expanded by Ravenna, the Duchy of the Pentapolis, parts of the Duchy of Benevento, Tuscany, Corsica and Lombardy.source
• 781Nestorians in China build Christian monasteries, and erect the Nestorian Stele (approximate date).source
• 781Marriage of Abbasid prince Harun ibn al-Mahdi (future caliph Harun al-Rashid) and Zubaidah bint Ja'far.source
• 781King Charlemagne has his son Carloman (renamed Pepin) anointed "King of Italy", and he is crowned by Pope Adrian I with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. His younger brother Charles I is anointed king of Aquitaine, and Louis the Pious (only 3-years old) is appointed sub-king of Italy and Aquitaine, following the conversion of Aquitaine from a Duchy to a sub-kingdom.source
• 781Charlemagne meets Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, in Italy, and invites him to Aachen, where he becomes Charlemagne's chief adviser on religious and educational matters (approximate date).source
• 782Charlemagne summons Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, to Aachen, and appoints him as chief adviser on religious and educational matters. He becomes the leading scholar and teacher at the Carolingian court.source
• 782Arab–Byzantine War: Arab forces (95,000 men) under Harun al-Rashid, son of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mahdi, cross the Taurus Mountains and capture the Byzantine border fortress of Magida. Harun leaves his lieutenant Al-Rabi' ibn Yunus to besiege the city of Nakoleia (Phrygia), while another force (30,000 men), probably under Yahya ibn Khalid, is sent to raid the western coastlands of Asia Minor. Harun himself, with the main army, advances to the Opsician Theme.source
• 782Emperor Constantine VI is betrothed to the 6-year-old Rotrude, daughter of Charlemagne; Irene sends a scholar monk called Elisaeus to educate her in Greek language and manners.source
• 782Nanchan Temple on Wutaishan, Shanxi, is built during the Tang Dynasty (China).source
• 784August 30 – Paul IV abdicates as patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 784December 25 – Tarasios is elected patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 784The Japanese begin a war against the Ainu, in the north, on the main island of Honshu. Emperor Kanmu wishes to be free from the influence of the Buddhist monasteries around Nara (then called Heijō), and moves the capital to Nagaoka, ending the Nara period.source
• 784Abd al-Rahman I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (Al-Andalus), begins the construction of the Prayer Hall of the Great Mosque of Córdoba. He uses the mosque (originally called Aljama Mosque) as an adjunct to his palace, and names it in honour of his wife.source
• 785Caliph Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi is poisoned by one of his concubines. He is succeeded by his son Al-Hadi, who becomes the fourth ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
• 785Prince (or duke) Višeslav, with the support of Pope Adrian I and the Byzantine Empire, becomes ruler of Dalmatian Croatia (approximate date).source
• 787Second Council of Nicaea: Empress Irene restores the veneration of icons (images of Christ and saints). This is a major victory of the monks, who will advance extensive claims to complete freedom for the Eastern Orthodox Church in religious matters. This ends the iconoclastic period in the Byzantine Empire.source
• 787Kings Offa of Mercia and Beorhtric of Wessex call the Synod of Chelsea in Kent, which is attended by the Papal legates. There, Offa persuades the Papacy to grant Archepiscopal status to the Mercian See of Lichfield. In order to secure the royal succession, he has Hygeberht crown his son Ecgfrith king of Mercia at Brixworth.source
• 788The Enryaku-ji temple complex is founded by Saichō, a Buddhist monk, on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu (Japan).source
• 788King Charlemagne conquers Bavaria, and incorporates it into the Frankish Kingdom. Duke Tassilo III is deposed, and banished to a monastery.source
• 788The period covered in Adam of Bremen's historical treatise of the Archbishopric of Hamburg begins.source
• 789Charlemagne issues the Admonitio generalis, which covers educational and ecclesiastical reforms within the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 790Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon missionary, returns (after an 8-year absence) to England. During his stay at the Carolingian court of King Charlemagne in Aachen, he has educated his sons Charles, Pepin and Louis. Alcuin revises the church liturgy and the Bible, and is responsible for an intellectual movement within the Frankish Kingdom.source
• 790Angilbert, Frankish diplomat (primicerius palatii) of King Charlemagne, is made abbot of Saint-Riquier (Northern France).source
• 790Joseph is consecrated Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antiochsource
• 791Emir Idris I, founder of the Idrisid dynasty and kingdom of Morocco, is poisoned on orders of Caliph Harun al-Rashid. He is succeeded by his son Idris II (only just two months old), who is raised by his mother Kenza among the Berbers of Volubilis.source
• 792Charlemagne's son Pepin the Hunchback attempts to rebel against him with the aid of some Frankish nobles. The plot is discovered and Pepin is banished to a monastery at Prüm.source
• 793June 8 – Viking raiders attack the Northumbrian coast, arriving in longships from either Denmark or Norway, and sacking the monastery of Lindisfarne. Many of the monks are killed or enslaved. It is the first Viking attack on a monastery in the British Isles, although it is not the first known Viking attack in the British Isles. The first attack came in 789, when Vikings raided the settlement of Portland in Dorset.source
• 793August 17 – Quriaqos of Tagrit is consecrated Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch at Harran.source
• 793King Offa of Mercia founds an abbey at St Albans.source
• 794Council of Frankfurt: King Charlemagne calls for a church meeting of the Frankish realm. Bishops and priests from Francia, Aquitaine, Italy, and Provence are gathered in Franconofurd (modern-day Frankfurt am Main).source
• 794Vikings sack the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey in Northumbria (the second monastery target in England of the Vikings, after the raids on Lindisfarne in 793).source
• 795December 26 – Leo III is elected to serve as Pope on the day his predecessor Adrian I is buried, and is consecrated the following day.source
• 795In the earliest recorded Viking raid on Ireland, they attack the monasteries at Iona (Inner Hebrides), Inishbofin and Inishmurray (approximate date).source
• 795King Offa of Mercia receives diplomatic gifts from Charlemagne. He re-founds St. Albans Abbey, supposedly in thanks for overrunning East Anglia (approximate date).source
• 795Paul the Deacon, a Benedictine monk at Monte Cassino, completes the History of the Lombards (approximate date).source
• 796Tō-ji, a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect, is established in Kyoto, Japan.source
• 796Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar, is appointed as abbot by Charlemagne, who puts him in charge of leading Marmoutier Abbey in Tours.source
• 798Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon monk and scholar, writes to his friend, the exiled king Osbald of Northumbria, in order to dissuade him.source
• 798Theodulf, Frankish poet, is appointed bishop of Orléans. He becomes one of Charlemagne's favoured theologians.source
• 799April 25 – Pope Leo III is physically attacked by a band of aristocratic conspirators, under the leadership of a public official who is a nephew of the late Pope Adrian I. After mistreatment and attempted disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Leo flees to the court of King Charlemagne at Paderborn (modern Germany) to seek protection. He sends him back with Frankish agents, and restores him to the papal throne.source
• 799The Vikings raid the island of Noirmoutier, and attack the monastery of Saint Philibert of Jumièges.source