The First Millenium

[Vince]

Welcome to 813!

Byzantine Emperor Michael I Rangabe is defeated in a war against the invading Bulgarians. Shortly afterwards, a revolt puts Leo V on the throne of the Byzantine Empire. Michael retires to a monastery. The new Emperor quickly begins persecuting statue-worshipers.

Charlemagne crowns his son Louis the Pious as his co-Emperor.

Mamum the Great becomes ruler of the Moslem Empire and immediately forms the Baghdad School of Astronomy. The school translates Ptolemy's works and begins collecting astronomical knowledge from around the world. Others forms of science and art also flourish during his reign.

The Third Council of Tours orders priests to preach in the language of their listeners.

 

[Vince]

Already it is 814.

The big event of the year is the death of Charlemagne, and his son Louis the Pious begins his 26 year reign as ruler of the Carolingian Empire. He immediately grants more rights and freedoms to the Jews.

It's a bad year for Byzantium, as invading Bulgarians besiege the city of Constantinople. However, their leader, Krum the Horrible, dies of natural causes.

The Rashtrakuta Empire controls most of western India at this time. Amoghavarsha I begins his 64 year reign, the longest of any known Indian ruler. He brings in a period of peace, prosperity, and education, and is known as one of India’s greatest rulers. The new Emperor is a devout Jainist, a religion that teaches pacifism.

During the next three years, three civil wars break out in the Moslem empire.

Although moderate in his persecution of statue-worshipers, Byzantine Emperor Louis V deposes Nicephorus, the Patriarch of Constantinople. Nicephorus excommunicates Leo.

 

[Vince]

815 is here!

Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire sign a thirty-year peace treaty. Both nations had an economy in turmoil, and they both needed a break. The new ruler of Bulgaria quickly begins persecuting Christians, while Byzantium persecutes statue-worshippers. Except for a few incidents, the two nations never go to war again.

Egbert of Wessex controls most of southern England, and he now invades the extreme south-western tip.

 

[Vince]

816

After twenty years as Pope, Saint Leo III dies. He is followed by Stephen IV. Stephen immediately orders the people of Rome to swear loyalty to Louis the Pious, the new King of the Franks. Stephen ends his predecessor’s policy of favoring the clergy over lay authorities. The Pope quickly crowns Louis as "Holy Roman Emperor," returns to Rome, and dies six months after becoming Pope.

With all of his legitimate brothers having died natural deaths, Emperor Louis the Pious quickly confines all his unmarried sisters to nunneries so he won't have to give them in royal marriages. He also confines various relatives to monasteries so they can't give him any trouble.

 

[Vince]

817 is interesting.

The day after Pope Stephen IV dies, Paschal I is made Pope by the Roman clergy, without anyone’s permission. Reigning for seven years, he protected the murderers of two papal officials who were testifying against Pascal. The two officials had been trying to restore the authority of the Frankish king over the Papacy, and Pope Pascal declared that the victims had been traitors. When he died, the people refused to let him be buried in the Church of Saint Peter, but the Catholic Church later made him a saint, anyway.

Repeating a normal French mistake, Louis the Pius divides the Frankish Empire (now called "The Carolingian Empire") among his sons. The civil wars he hoped to prevent now become inevitable.

Without consulting the eastern bishops, the Catholic Church adds to the Nicene Creed, stating that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father "and from the Son." The Orthodox Church refuses to recognize the change, arguing that a change that important should have been made by the entire Church.

 

[Vince]

Things are keen in 818!

You might recall that southern Spain and Morocco are the Umayyad Empire, which had revolted against the Abbasid Empire (“the Moslem Empireâ€). Frustrated in every attempt to invade France, the Umayyads begin capturing islands in the Mediterranean. At the same time, they have a major rebellion near Cordoba, Spain.

In France, the bishop of Orleans is imprisoned for conspiring against Louis the Pious.

 

[Vince]

What happens in 819?

His first wife having died, Louis the Pious marries Judith of Bavaria. She ensures that her only son gets a share of the kingdom, along with Louis's three sons from his first wife. This adds to the guarantee that there will be civil war later on.

 

[Vince]

820

On Christmas day, Michael the Stammerer assassinates his friend Leo V and becomes Byzantine Emperor. He seemed to belong to a sect that kept most of the Jewish laws, and he practices tolerance towards the Jews during his nine year reign. But Thomas the Slav, a senior military officer, rebels and is rapidly joined by large areas of Byzantium. A bizarre part of this massive three year rebellion is that nobody knows why it happened.

About this time "The History of Britain" is written. The works compiles various records, many of which no longer exist, and it is difficult to prove or disprove its accuracy. It contains the first written records of King Arthur. To complicate matters, it has been revised and edited many times over the centuries.

The great Moslem scientist Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī introduces algebra to the Arab world. Although he did not discover algebra, he made enough discoveries to advance its usefulness. The decimal system is later introduced into Europe by his writings.

 

[Vince]

821

The Turks defeat a Tibetan invasion.

In southeastern Europe, the Croatian Parliament has it first known meeting, but no records have survived.

With the backing of the Moslem Empire, Thomas the Slav surrounds Constantinople but cannot breach its walls.

Meanwhile, the Pope is having trouble with Louis the Pious, ruler of the Carolingian Empire. Louis forces drastic reforms on the Church and monasteries, but the Pope manages to keep his temporal power over the Papal States.

 

[Vince]

Let's see what's new, in 822.

Abd ar-Rahman II begins his thirty year reign over Moslem Spain. Tough and competent, he fights off the Catholics from the north, rebels from the south, and Vikings form the west, building a large and efficient military that included navy and army. As the Catholic population steadily converted to Islam, he tried to stop Catholics from seeking martyrdom by publicly opposing Islam, but he ruthlessly massacred dozens of monks who disobeyed the order.

Thomas the Slav continues his unsuccessful siege of Constantinople, while the Byzantines destroy his navy with Greek fire.

In the Carolingian Empire, Rabanus Maurus Magnentius, "the Teacher of Germany," becomes an abbot. During his lifetime he will write an encyclopedia, dozens of commentaries, a group of poems called "In Praise of the Cross," and regulations for monks.

 

[Vince]

823 is a bad year for Thomas the Slav.


Keeping the terms of the thirty year peace treaty, Bulgaria sends an army to relieve the siege of Constantinople by rebels. The Bulgarians are driven off, but they inflict so many casualties that a few months later, the Byzantines counter-attack, defeating the rebels and killing their leader, Thomas the Slav.

Junna begins his ten year reign as Emperor of Japan, going through six Empresses before abdicating peacefully to his adopted son.

Carolingian Emperor Louis the Pious has a son named Charles the Bald (possibly because he was landless). Louis had already divided his empire among his sons, all of whom were adults, and he furthers an already inevitable civil war by trying to take lands away from them to give something to Charles. Perhaps trying to avert the inevitable, Louis has the Pope crown Louis's son Lothair as co-Emperor.

 

[Vince]

824 is a good year for the Franks...but only in Italy.

Eugene II becomes Pope. Supported by the Frankish nobility against the Roman people, he co-operated in restoring the authority of the Frankish king over the Papacy. Lothair, the son of Louis the Pious who was recently made co-Emperor, required that only the Frankish nobility could appoint the Pope, and that the Carolingian Emperor had to approve their choice. Lothair also cleaned up various abuses in the Papacy.

But in Spain, Moslems defeat Catholic forces loyal to the Franks. And Pamplona successfully revolts against the Catholic kingdom, establishing a kingdom right on the border with the Franks. Pamplona will form and break alliances with both the Moslems and the Catholics as they strive to keep the Carolingian Empire from expanding into Spain.

in the Mediterranean, Moslems invade and capture Crete.

 

[Vince]

825 is a busy year for pirates.


Ravaged by pirates off its western coast, the kingdom of Silla, which controls the entire Korean peninsula, establishes a maritime military force. Under the command of Jang Bogo, a 10,000 man army mans coastal fortifications, one of which still stands. A steadily growing fleet eventually controls the Yellow Sea. But Jang Bogo gets too ambitious and conspires to marry the king’s daughter two decades later. He is assassinated and his fleet is eventually disbanded.

Egbert of Wessex defeats Mercia, and five other British kingdoms then submit to him, but Wessex does not.

Louis the Pious begins a series of wars against scattered Slavic people living in or near Germany.

It's very debatable when it began, but it is a proven fact that classes are being taught at Oxford, England, this year. Another four centuries will pass before the school becomes Oxford University.

Japan figures out an effective way to lower the budget. They make a lot of the royal family into commoners.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to 826!

Tang Wen Zong becomes Emperor of China after his brother is assassinated. He tries hard to be a good ruler, curbing waste and listening to his counselors. But he he indecisive, frequently changing his mind after committing himself to a certain course. His reign is troubled by rebellious warlords and factional struggles, and he is unable to strengthen the tottering Tang Dynasty.

Harald Klak, King of northern Denmark, converts to Christianity and forms an alliance with Louis the Pious.

Moslems complete their conquest of Crete.

Archbishop Agobard, of Lyon, France, had already been an active persecutor of Jews. Now he starts demanding that the King remove Jews from high office and re-enact old anti-Jewish laws that were being ignored.

 

[Vince]

You have reached the year 827.

827

Valentine, a deacon, becomes Pope and dies five weeks later. Nothing else is known about him.

In December, Gregory IV begins his sixteen year reign as Pope. He clearly teaches that the Frankish Emperor has authority over the Pope. Later, he gets involved in wars between the Emperor’s three sons, fails to solve the problem, and starts asserting that no human ruler can tell the Pope what to do.

The Saracens invade Sicily from the south. Still part of the Byzantine Empire, the war for Sicily will last 51 years before the Moslems win. During this time, they introduce spinach to the island.

Honest but incompetent, Emperor Wenzong of China, who was awarded the throne last year, actually begins his thirteen year reign. At one point, he fires a general for cheating a foreigner.

After occupying Copan for two thousand years, the Mayans abandon it. The once-great capital, located in Central America, had been defeated too many times by its former vassals. Today, about three thousand people live in the area, which is a United Nations World Heritage Site.

Using a variety of means, including stars, Moslem scientists measure the size of the earth, getting it accurate to 99.26%.

 

[Vince]

828 is a great year in the history of England...maybe.

It depends on who you ask and how they reckon, but some sources say that Egbert of Wessex becomes the first King of England. He has conquered some of the surrounding kingdoms and is overlord of others. But other experts point out that "England," at this time, is only an area south of Scotland that still consists of more than one kingdom.

In Moslem Spain, the city of Merida rebels, loses, and rebels again.

And we have another controversy. Mark, author of the gospel of Mark, had been buried in Alexandria, Egypt, where he had started the Coptic Orthodox Church. Two merchants steal his remains and bring them to Venice. Catholics cover them with pork so Moslems won't steal them, and bury them in a basilica. Two centuries later, the remains are missing, but others are found. But the head remains in Alexandria. The Catholic church has returned a small portion of bone to the Orthodox Church but insists that it still has all the rest of Mark's remains, including the head.

The first Christian church is built in modern Slovakia.

 

[Vince]

829

Egbert of Wessex (who some consider the first King of England) conquers Mercia...again.

Across the waters east of Italy, the Moslems ravage the coastline but do not attempt to hold it. And on Dalmatia's eastern border, the Bulgarians conquer Slavonia.

The Croats, a Slavic ethnic group, throw off the Carolingian Empire and become independent.

With the death of his father, Theophilos becomes Byzantine Emperor for the next thirteen years. He increases his attacks on statue worshipers, begins a life-long war against the Arabs, losing more often than not. He establishes a strict but fair justice system. His father had been part of a conspiracy that had murdered the previous Emperor, and Theophilos quickly executes all surviving conspirators. Despite his many military failures, he produced a flourishing economy and honest government.

Strange weather in Africa. The Nile River freezes.

The Bai ("White People") are a minor Chinese ethnic group who like the color white. They suddenly seize part of China.

Louis the Pious sends Oscar, a successful Catholic missionary to the Germans and the Danes, to Sweden, where he successfully establishes a religious community before returning. Oscar finds that captured women have introduced both Catholicism and Islam to Sweden, but the majority of the nation is still pagan.

 

[Vince]

Welcome to the year 830 AD.

Egbert of Wessex, the first (?) King of England is still on the move, attacking the Welsh on Britain's western coast. The Welsh are descended from Romans, Celts, and other native Britains and have little German in them.

The Moslems continue their invasion of Sicily. It seems that they had hired Arab troops who then wanted to rebel, so they sent the Arab troops to invade Sicily.

 

[Vince]

In the year 831:

China's honest but incompetent Emperor fires a general for helping his son cheat a Turk.

Byzantium suffers three military defeats from the Moslems, giving the victorious Moslems new territory and cities in Turkey. In a fourth major defeat for Byzantium, Moslems capture Palermo, the capital of the island of Sicily.

Malamir, the grandson of Krum the Horrible, becomes ruler of Bulgaria. His older brother was rejected as ruler because he had become a Christian, and two years later Malamir executes him for refusing to renounce Christianity.

Meanwhile, Oscar, the missionary sent to Sweden by Louis the Pious, establishes the first Catholic church in Sweden.

 

[Vince]

832 is an interesting year.

Advancing through Turkey, victorious Moslems capture a vital Byzantine fortress at Loulon.

Louis the Pious had divided the Carolingian Empire between his sons, with himself as overall Emperor. But two of his sons join forces in rebellion, and Louis leads an army against his two sons.

Vikings from Denmark raid Ireland's east coast, sacking Clondalkin and burning its monastery to the ground.

Byzantine Emperor Theophilus throws off all restraint and launches a vigorous persecution of statue worshipers.