The First Millenium

[Vince]

664

Synod of Whitby; Oswy, King of Northumbria, abandons the Celtic Christian Church and accepts the faith of Rome. He rules that the Catholic Church received its authority from the Apostle Peter, while the Celtic Church received its authority only from Saint Columba. The decline of the Celtic Church in Britain then begins.

And in Wales, King Cadwaladr dies of the plague. The last king of the Britons, he and his father had hoped to exterminate the English and restore British rule to the entire island. With his death, any hope of ridding Britain of the Germans died as well.

The Shiite and Sunni Moslems end their civil war and return to attacking their neighbors. Arab Moslems capture Kabul, which is now the capital of Afghanistan.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 665.

In England, the Second Battle of Badon is fought, and the Anglo-Saxons, as a group, convert to Christianity. The problem is, this battle might not have actually taken place. There is only one historical reference to it, with no other confirmation.

Sighere, King of Essex along with his brother, however, strives to re-convert his people back to paganism.

 

[Vince]

Is 666 going to be a bad year?

Not really.

In England, Churtsey Abbey and Barking Abbey are founded. Neither one has survived.

Wilfrid becomes bishop of York. He works hard, but clashes with Theodore, King of Northumbria, who wants to reform the English Church his own way. When the Pope later rules in Wilfrid's favor, King Theodore exiles him.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 667!

Although the Lombards control most of northern Italy, they did not control Oderzo, a city in northeastern Italy. But this year they destroy the city. The surviving population flees to nearby areas that are still under Byzantine control.

In southeastern Turkey, Edessa had been a Persian city captured by the Moslems. This year it is badly damaged by a flood, but the city still survives.

 

[Vince]

668 is a bad year for rulers.

Byzantine Emperor Constans II was still in Italy, busily robbing churches and losing battles to the Lombards. Fearing that he is going to move the capital of Byzantium from Constantinople to Sicily, the Italians assassinate him. The army in Sicily declares General Mezezius to be the new Emperor, while Constantine IV is declared Emperor in Constantinople. It only takes a few months for Constantine IV to have an army kill Mezezius.

Childeric II manages to seize almost all of France by invading his brothers' kingdoms. It takes him another five years to conquer the small remaining areas and become sole ruler of the Franks. Two years later, his disgusted nobles assassinate him.

Kotrag overthrows his brother and becomes king of the Khazars. For unknown reasons, he founds the kingdom of Volga Bulgaria deep inside Asia (it is not even close to modern Bulgaria). The kingdom survives for six centuries, but little is known about it.

Arab Moslems conquer the Garamantes, a minor branch of the Berbers that lived in the Sahara.

The Japanese start experimenting with their newly-discovered petroleum.

Eight years after gaining control of the southern part of Korea, China conquers Goguryeo, which had controlled all of northern and central Korea. After six and a half centuries, Korea’s division into three kingdoms comes to an end. Silla, the small southeastern kingdom that had allied with China, survives, but is controlled by China.

 

[Vince]

669

Moslems begin an unsuccessful nine year siege of Constantinople.

Theodore becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, and for the first time, the entire Church of England recognizes the Archbishop’s authority over them.

 

[Vince]

670

In England, Caedmon writes a hymn that is the oldest surviving English poem. A cow herdsman who became a monk, he is most famous for translating portions of Scripture into Olde English as part of sermons to the common people. But Caedmon's Biblical poems were very successful in his time, and the few that survive are considered outstanding literary works (which, being written in Olde English, most people can't understand).

A Japanese inventor designs the first folding fan.

Moslems found the city of Kairouan near Africa's northern coast. It rapidly becomes a center of learning and today is considered Islam's fourth-holiest city.

Tibet conquers the small kingdom of Khotan, which is located on the Silk Road, a major trading route.

 

[Vince]

671 is a year of revolts.

The Picts of Scotland had been partially conquered by Northumbria. They launch a major revolt but are badly defeated at the Battle of the Two Rivers. For the next 14 years, the Picts are firmly under Northumbrian control.

China had conquered all of Korea, but they have a revolt going on in the central part. Suddenly, Silla, the southeastern kingdom which China now controls, seizes a major Korean city from the Chinese.

Perctarit returns from exile and seizes the throne of Lombardy. He makes Catholicism the state religion but decrees that it is not under the authority of the Pope.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 672.

Pope Adeodatus II or Pope Deodatus II reigns as Pope from April 11, 672 to June 17, 676. Little is known about him. Most records which remain indicate that Adeodatus was known for his generosity, especially when it came to the poor and to pilgrims.

One of the least competent kings in history, Wamba begins his eight yer reign over the Visigoths in Spain. Much of the country quickly revolts. The Jews, suffering from persecution, enthusiastically support the revolt, assassinating nobles loyal to Wamba. After four years, Wamba wins, exiling all Jews who refuse to convert. He is plagued by Moslem pirates who raid and devastate various port cities, with the civilian population refusing to fight for their kingdom. He is finally assassinated, but the decline of the Visigothic kingdom continues.

When his brother dies, Temmu overthrows his nephew and becomes Emperor of Japan. He strengthens the military and later allies with Silla against China.

About this time, the Venerable Bede, one of the greatest historians who ever lived, is born.

 

[Vince]

673

Callinicus of Heliopolis, a Syrian Jew, had invented Greek Fire, a flaming liquid that could be fired at ships and soldiers attacking Constantinople. This year, the besieged forces at Constantinople use his invention to defeat an Arab fleet besieging the city. His invention helped the Byzantines hold off the Moslems for centuries. It also illustrates how technology can affect the course of history.

In England, the city of Ely is formed. Today it is England's third-smallest city, but it has a cathedral and it still exists.

 

[Vince]

And now it is 674!

In Korea, the kingdom of Silla constructs a small pond. So? When it was excavated from 1975 to 1986, over 33,000 objects were found it, making it one of the greatest archaeological treasure troves in history. And yes, the pond is still there.

About this time, glass windows are first used, being installed in English churches.

In Northumbria, the Wearmouth-Jarrow Abbey is founded. It consists of two nearby abbeys that were built about twenty years apart, and it became a center of English learning. It was here that the Venerable Bede was trained. It is still in use today as a church and abbey, after being rebuilt a few times.

Moslem Arabs resume their siege of Constantinople but cannot breach its walls.

 

[Vince]

And now it is 675.

With the conversion of their king, the English kingdom of Surrey becomes Christian.

On his way to visit his father, Wang Bo stops at a banquet and finishes his classic Chinese poem "Tengwang Ge Xu." Shortly afterwards, he is drowned in an accident.

The Japanese construct their first astronomical observatory. And Emperor Temmu has a busy year. He abolishes serfdom and the granting of lands to royalty and temples. He distributes rice to the poor. He outlaws eating various meats, including beef and chicken. He then banishes some of his opponents to an island.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to the year 676!

For those without long memories, Ravenna is a city in northern Italy that had been made the capital of the Roman Empire because it was easier to defend than the city of Rome. When the Byzantines reconquered the Italian Peninsula, they made Ravenna its capital. But before that, the Emperor had made the bishop of Ravenna his representative and ruled that Ravenna was not under the authority of the Pope.

Pope Donus was Pope from November 2, 676 to April 11, 678. Reigning a little less than 18 months, he improved and repaired Roman church buildings and managed to restore Ravenna, Italy, back to fellowship with the Catholic Church.

Eight years after they conquered the Korean peninsula, the Chinese are driven out by Silla. A small kingdom in southeast Korea, Silla briefly unites the entire Korean peninsula.

In Japan, Emperor Temmu decrees that commoners with ability may enter government service.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 677!

The Onogurs were nomadic horsemen who lived on the Russian plains. Defeated by the Khazars, they migrate west into central Europe and found the nation of Hungary.

The Chinese had lost Korea last year, when Silla successfully revolted and united the peninsula. China declares its deposed monarch to be ruler of the entire peninsula. Now they appoint Bojang, the last king of Goguryeo, as commander of a small peninsula northwest of Korea and declare him king of all Korea. The Koreans ignore him.

 

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678 is a good year for senior citizens.

Pope Saint Agatho (c. 577 – January 10, 681) was pope from June 26, 678 to January 10, 681.

Elected at the age of 101, he refuses to pay tribute to the Byzantine Emperor in return for being elected. He called an Ecumenical Council that met in several locations so that all bishops could attend. The Council ruled that Jesus had two wills, ending the conflict between the eastern and western churches.

He also resolved a major conflict in England between the bishop of York and the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop had deposed the bishop of York and divided his diocese among three bishops. The Pope upheld the division, but ordered that the bishop of York be allowed to appoint the three bishops.

With their land forces unable to breach the walls, and with their sea forces defeated by Greek Fire, the Arabs retreat from Constantinople, ending their siege.

In Japan, thirty year old Princess Toshi dies, just before her father made her an important religious leader. Returning to her father's palace after her husband's death, she had practically disappeared from history. But when she died, she became a national legend, and shrines in her honor still exist.

 

[Vince]

679 is a good year to be a Bulgarian.


Large numbers of Bulgars are flowing into Bulgaria, an area that Byzantium claims. But busy with fighting the Moslems, the Byzantines can’t fight the Bulgars.

Adamnan becomes abbot of the monastery on Iona, which still exists. From this Scottish island, Adamnan writes his famous "Law of Innocents," designed to protect civilians in combat zones. But his greatest work is a history of the Picts that provides us more information from this time than any other source.

 

[Vince]

680 is a rough year for Monothelites.


With Mecca in their possession, Shiite Moslems begin an unsuccessful twelve-year civil war against the Sunni Moslems. Led by Mohammed's grandson, a group of them are slaughtered at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople affirms that Christ has both a human will and a divine will; Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople and Pope Honorius of Rome are both explicitly anathematized for their support of Monothelitism (the doctrine that Jesus had only one will). Pope Honorius, who had died 142 years earlier, remains an embarrassment tot the Catholic Church for believing that Jesus had only one will.

Migrating Bulgars complete their conquest of southeastern Europe, forming the modern nation of Bulgaria.

Erwig becomes king of the Visigoths in Spain. Completely controlled by the bishops, he issues 28 anti-Jewish laws.

 

[Vince]

681

It’s official. Bulgars sign a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire, and the modern nation of Bulgaria is founded. Under the leadership of Asparukh, about 55,000 Bulgars had taken advantage of the Moslem siege of Constantinople to settle in south-eastern Europe. With the siege ended, Byzantium attacked the Bulgars and was soundly defeated. Located in south-eastern Europe across from Turkey, at one time Bulgaria ruled northwestern Turkey and all of the Balkans. Today this parliamentary democracy is Europe’s fifteenth-largest nation.

From Turkey to eastern Europe, civil war breaks out as Moslems rebel against their empire.

On January 10, Pope Agatho dies. Another Pope is quickly elected, but the Byzantine Emperor refuses to confirm him.

 

[Vince]

682

On January 3, Venus passes in front of Jupiter. No big deal.

Pope Saint Leo II was Pope from August 17, 682 to June 28, 683. He had been elected Pope for eighteen months before the Emperor would agree to let him be consecrated. He helped abolish the tax that all new Popes had to pay the Emperor when elected, and he also abolished the tax that the bishop of Ravenna had to pay to the Pope when appointed.

Ilterish Qaghan, a Turk living in China, heads west to the former eastern Turkish kingdom and leads a revolt against the Chinese. When he dies twelve years later, the second Eastern Turkish kingdom is almost as big as the first one.

For the next 650 years, "The Chronicles of the Princes" will be the most important source of Welsh history. Written in Latin by monks, the original copy is gone, but several Welsh translations survive.

A combination of droughts, plagues, locusts, and floods ruins China's once-prosperous economy. Famine breaks out in China's two most important cities.

In Japan, Emperor Temmu is still on the move. He abolishes a variety of Japanese customs in favor of Chinese customs. Among other things, women must now wear their hair tied close to their heads, and must straddle horses instead of riding side-saddle.

 

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Welcome to the year 683.

In southern Mexico, Pakal the Great dies. During his 68 year reign, he constructed large numbers of buildings that are an archaeological treasure and today are a major tourist attraction.

Emperor Temmu bans silver coins, and three days later changes his mind.

Pope Leo II dies.