The First Millenium

[Vince]

Things go live in 645.

In Japan, the Empress abdicates in favor of her son, who has successfully assassinated his rivals.

Kotoku Tenno, Japan’s new Emperor, strengthens imperial power over aristocratic clans (Taika Reform), turning their states into provinces. Still using assassination as a diplomatic tool, he has rebellious leaders killed quickly.

Goguryeo, one the three Korean kingdoms, has expanded to control all of north and central Korea, and the northern part of southern Korea. The power Tang Dynasty of China invades, but Goguryeo drives them out.

The Byzantines recapture Alexandria from the Moslems.

China builds the Great Wild Goose Pagoda. Originally five stories tall, it has been renovated at different times and is currently seven stories high.

 

[Vince]

646

The empires of Constantinople and Persia have been weakened by war and lack of support, and Muslim warriors have conquered as far north as Syria, much of Mesopotamia and all of Egypt. Feeling that the Moslems are usually no worse that their current leaders, the common people generally do not resist them.

A Byzantine invasion of Egypt fails, and the Moslems are now in solid control. After almost 1,000 years, Egypt is permanently lost to the Roman Empire.

China conquers and absorbs Xueyantuo, an empire in central and northern Asia that had once been their ally.

Japan bans human sacrifice in honor of the dead.

 

[Vince]

We have now reached 647.

The southern Korean kingdom of Silla constructs Cheomseongdae, a star-gazing platform that is the oldest surviving scientific building in east Asia.

Having seized Egypt, Moslems seize most of north Africa.

 

[Vince]

648

Pope Theodore I of Rome excommunicates patriarch Paul II of Constantinople for believing that Jesus only had one will.

Silla, the small kingdom in southeast Korea, allies itself with the powerful Tang Dynasty of China. The two nations prepare for war against the rest of the Korean peninsula.

China completes "The Book of Jin." Going back four centuries, this major historical work used surviving documents to compile a history of the Jin Dynasty as well as the Sixteen Kingdoms.

 

[Vince]

649

Pope Saint Martin I was pope from 649 to 653. He called The Lateran Council, which was attended mostly by Italian bishops, and condemned the doctrines that Jesus had one Nature and one will. Never approved by the Byzantine Emperor, he was arrested by the governor of Italy and banished to the Crimean peninsula, where he died shortly afterwards.

Moslems invade and conquer Cyprus.

Recceswinth begins his twenty-three year reign over the Visigoths. He appoints all bishops but forms them into a ruling council that actually rules his kingdom.

 

[Vince]

So much happens in 650 that we'll be spending two days here.

Islam arrives in China.

Bulgaria is founded by Bulgars who have migrated away from defeats further east.

Assyrian Church of the East missionaries reach China and Japan.

Final defeat of Arianism as Lombards convert to Orthodox Christianity.

About this time, the alliterative epic poem Beowulf is composed at least 100 years before it is written down. Describing the Danish king’s victories over three monsters, the story seems to be a compilation and editing of various folk tales and legends.

 

[Vince]

We're still in the year 650.

About this time, the Khazars become a major empire. Located in European Russia, western Asia, and northeast Turkey, they are a multi-ethnic nation that includes Turks, Bulgars, Germans, and anyone else they absorb. For centuries, they serve as a buffer state that holds off the Moslems from most of Europe.

Defeated by the Khazars and others, some Bulgars head west and found the nation of Bulgaria.

Recceswinth becomes king of the Visigoths. Although he is supreme ruler, he appoints all the bishops and then forms them into a ruling council whom he allows to rule the country.

 

[Vince]

651

Drawing on written documents, memories, and traditions, the Koran is written thirty years after Mohammed’s death. Various Moslem groups revolt, as they have different memories of what he taught.

Yazdegerd III, the last king of Persia, had been made a general by the Chinese. He is assassinated by his own followers this year, and the Sassanid Dynasty, which had ruled Persia for centuries, comes to an end.

The Moslems invade Afghanistan.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 652.

The Muslims have conquered Persia, where people and the Zoroastrian religion were a greater barrier to conquest than were the people of previous territories. Muslims see Zoroastrianism as evil, and in Persia, its homeland, persecution is minor but effective. Founded before the 6th century BC, the Zoroastrian Empire had been the largest empire in history (up until that time) by 480 BC. Today, there are about 180,000 Zoroastrians left in the world.

Rodoald becomes king of the Lombards, Recently converted to Catholicism from Arianism, the Lombards are disgusted at his lecherous behavior and he is quickly assassinated, A king approved by the Catholic Church replaces him.

For the second time, Black African Christians defeat the Moslems. For the next five centuries, Nubia grows into a powerful African empire.

Japan divides the entire nation into townships consisting of fifty houses, with each township guided by an elder. The system survives until World War 2.

 

[Vince]

653 is a rough year to be the Pope.

After two bungled assassination attempts, the Byzantine Emperor has Pope Martin the Confessor arrested for insisting that Jesus had two Natures and two wills. He dies after two years of imprisonment.

Japan sends ambassadors and students to China, but the ship sinks, with only five survivors.

In England, Sigeberht the Good becomes king of Essex. He quickly converts to Christianity and works diligently to re0convert Essex, which had returned to paganism. He reigns successfully for ten years before being assassinated.

 

[Vince]

654

Pope Saint Eugene I or Eugenius I, was pope from 10 August 654, to 1 June 657. He calmly dealt with furious attempts by the Patriarch of Constantinople to gain control over the Papacy, and Moslem victories over Byzantium made it impossible for the Byzantine Emperor to arrest him. Eugene carefully avoided references to how many wills Jesus had, infuriating the Emperor who demanded that the Pope acknowledge that Jesus only had one nature and will.

Catholicism is growing rapidly in England, as two pagan kingdoms convert this year.

Moslems invade the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean.

A Japanese ambassador arrives safely in the capital of China.

 

[Vince]

We have now reached the year 655.

After two decades of defeats, Oswy, king of Northumbria, defeats and kills Penda of Mercia.

Having abdicated in favor of her son, the Empress Saimei (655-661) re-ascends the throne of Japan at his death. She prepares a massive invasion of Korea but dies before it is carried out.

After two years of abuse and starvation, Pope Martin the Confesssor dies in exile. He is the last Roman Pope to suffer martyrdom.

The Moslems launch a 200-ship fleet into the Mediterranean to finish their conquest of Rhodes and safeguard Egypt. Byzantine Emperor Constans II personally commands a 500 ship navy that attacks them. Both sides suffer heavy losses at The Battle of the Masts, but the Moslems win. For the next few centuries they will be a major naval power in the Mediterranean Sea.

 

[Vince]

656 is a good year to be a European, or Asian, or African, as long as you're not a Moslem.

The Moslem empire erupts into civil war after one group assassinates its way into leadership. This is a Godsend to the Byzantine Empire, which had suffered a major naval defeat from the Moslems the previous year. Moslem expansion is held up while they fight among themselves.

In England, Northumbria annexes Mercia, but within a few years Mercia rebels and regains its independence.

Following custom, Japan's Empress builds a new wooden palace in Asuka, the capital city. Every new Emperor built a new wooden palace for fear that the spirit of the last Emperor still haunted his old palace. None of these wooden structures have survived, but Asuka, a small village today, is still with us.

 

[Vince]

657

Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672. He successfully ended the breach with Constantinople and the Emperor and solved problems dividing the English Catholic Church, while insisting that the Pope was the head of the entire church. He might have introduced organ music into the Mass, and it was during this period of time that organ music in church appeared. When the archbishop of Ravenna, Italy, declared his area independent of the Pope, the Emperor backed the archbishop. The Pope and the archbishop then excommunicated each other.

The Chinese complete a medical encyclopedia listing 833 drugs.

The Chinese also defeat a Turkish army.

Syrian Moslems revolt and fight as major but inconclusive battle with the Moslem Empire.

 

[Vince]

658 is a very bad year for the Turks.


China defeats the western Turkish kingdom and makes it tributary. The Turkish Empire, which never included any parts of modern Turkey, effectively disappears.

It's also a bad year for the Slavs of southeastern Europe. With the death of their king, their union collapses.

Finding themselves pushed steadily backwards, the Welsh launch their last offensive against the English, and are defeated again. The Welsh are a mixture of Romans and local peoples who successfully resisted the Germans, but were pushed westwards.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 659.

In England, Mercia revolts against Northumbria and declares Wulfhere as their king. During his successful 16 year reign, Wolfhere becomes the most powerful king in southern Britain, but he fails to re-establish authority over Northumbria, as his father had. He actually conquers territory and gives it to other kings who are under his authority.

China's powerful Tang Dynasty is looking for areas to conquer. The Emperor receives a group of Japanese envoys and then has them arrested so they can't report what they have learned.

 

[Vince]

660

Heavily contradicting itself, the Koran is completed. Various passages call for goodness and peace, while other passages teach that murdering non-Moslems is the greatest good and the way to peace.

Twelve years earlier, Silla, the small kingdom in southeast Korea, had allied with the powerful Tang Dynasty of China. Now they conquer Baekje, the small kingdom in southwest Korea. Japan sends forces to help Baekje, but they arrive too late. China now releases the Japanese envoys it had arrested last year.

But China's Emperor suffers a stroke, and his powerful wife assumes control for the next 45 years. Evil and competent, Wu Zetian appoints various sons as Emperor while she holds the actual power. Despised by Confucian historians, she is regarded today as an effective ruler.

Japan's Emperor builds a public water clock that accurately tells the hour.

Carantania emerges as the first Slavic nation, located north of Italy. It survives for three centuries.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 661!

It's a bad year to be a Japanese Empress.

It is not clear why the Empress ordered the Japanese navy to invade Kyushu, the third largest of Japan's four home islands. Kyushu is the closest of the four islands to mainland Asia, and she might have feared a Chinese invasion. And, since Japan had been unable to stop China's seizure of southwest Korea last year, she might have wanted a distraction. She then builds a new capitol building from wood taken from Kyushu shrines, and when she dies two months later, the local population attributes her death to the gods.

Tenji becomes Emperor of Japan from 661 through 671. He assassinates the Soja clan out of their attempt to seize the throne and maintains a stable government.

And a successful assassination divides the Moslems into the Shiites and Sunni Moslems. The two usually get along, although there is sometimes persecution by one against the other.

 

[Vince]

662 is a rough year.

Buyeo Pung, one of the sons of the king of Baekje, had been in Japan when his nation fell to a combined Chinese-Silla invasion. Japan's Emperor sends an army to return him to his throne.

Grimoald I had been regent of Lombardy for some time. He had won a series of border wars against the Franks, Germans, and Byzantines, as well as putting down some rebellions. This year he kills all the rulers and makes himself king for the next nine years. Surprisingly, he is merciful and just, and the Lombards love him. Although an Arian, he supports the growing worship of Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of Lombardy.

 

[Vince]

Folks, I posted this yesterday, but it didn't stick.

Welcome to the year 663!


The small south-western Korean kingdom of Baekje rebels against their Chinese overlords and unites with Japan for a naval invasion of the Korean peninsula. At the Battle of Baekgang, China wins such a decisive victory that Japan is forced to abandon Korea and stay out of Korean affairs. For centuries now, we have been following the history of the three kingdoms on the Korean peninsula, but now Silla absorbs Baekje, and Baekje disappears forever.

The Byzantines invade southern Italy. Much of Italy is part of the Lombard Kingdom, and Byzantia wants it back. Emperor Constans II is the last Eastern emperor to set foot in Rome; he declares the Pope of Rome to have no jurisdiction over the Archbishop of Ravenna, since that city is the seat of the exarch, his immediate representative.

The Black Plague reaches Britain.

At over two miles in height, the beautiful Mount Fuji has become a symbol of Japan. This year, an anonymous monk becomes the first person known to climb to the summit.