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The First Millenium

It is now 873.

We've mentioned how the Vikings loved to raid Dorestad. The did it again this year. The problem was, another group of Vikings had established a small kingdom there with Dorestad as their capital.

Toledo, in Moslem Spain, had rebelled last year and lost. This year they try again.

A spectacular crop failure in China produces nation-wide famine. Formerly, the government has kept food stores and could also redistribute available supplies. But the tottering Tang government can only sit by helplessly.

Al-Kindi, the great Moslem scientist dies. Considered today to be the father of Arab philosophy, he excelled in medicine, science, music, logic, math, and philosophy.
 
Welcome to 874 AD!

Already on the decline, China’s Tang Dynasty is devastated by the Huang Chao Rebellion. At one point, rebels capture and destroy a major seaport, slaughtering thousands of Chinese along with foreign merchants. After ten years, China wins, but the empire will collapse within a few decades as a result.

Ingólfr Arnarson was a Norwegian who got involved in a nasty feud. Packing up his family and some friends, he sails for Iceland and becomes the first permanent settler there. The new settlers encounter some Irish monks who abandon Iceland in disgust, rather than live among such heathen.

Danish Vikings conquer Mercia, a large kingdom in central England.

In November, Scotland is covered with frost--and keeps getting covered with frost for the next six months.
 
It's 875, and British islands are alive...with Vikings.

The Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands are now part of Scotland. But since Vikings were using them as bases, Harold the Fair Haired conquers them both and adds them to his Norwegian kingdom.

Holy Island is just off the English coast, and it held a monastery with a village. The Vikings seize it and the monks flee. Today it is part of England, with a population of 162.

Charles the Bald is King of Western France, and the Pope now crowns him Holy Roman Emperor. His brother, Louis the German responds immediately by invading Western France.

Ever hear of Champa? It was a kingdom that controlled central and south Vietnam, and China couldn't re-annex it. They begin a building program this year, along with a new dynasty, and their kingdom survives until 1832.

It took them 205 years, but Moslems finish the Great Mosque of Uqba in Tunisia. So well-built is this magnificent structure that it still stands and is still in use as a mosque.
 
876 is a slow year.

Eight year old Yozei begins his eight year reign as Emperor of Japan. The country is actually ruled by regents the whole time.

Ludwig the German dies, thus ending his war with his brother Charles the Bald.
 
Things speed up in 877.

Tough year for the Vikings. A storm destroys 120 of their ships off southern England.

Aed of the White Flowers becomes King of Scotland. He is assassinated in one year, and historians agree that he accomplished nothing.

Rushing southward to help the Pope defeat the Moslems, Charles the Bald arrives without his army, and then has to hurry back because the Germans are invading western France. But he dies on the way back, and his son Louis the Stammerer becomes the new Emperor of western France. The nobles make it clear to Louis that they are more concerned about fighting Viking invaders of France than in fighting Moslem invaders of Italy.

Indravarman II becomes King of Cambodia. A peaceful but hard-working man, he improves irrigation, turning large areas of useless land into rice paddies. But neighboring kingdoms keep stealing his territory, and after his death, the rulers destroy most records of his reign.
 
878 has not arrived late.

Arabs complete their conquest of Sicily, making Palermo their new capital.

In a six day battle, Alfred the Great leads Wessex to a decisive victory over the Viking invaders. He then corners the defeated Vikings for a two-week siege before they sign a peace treaty, convert to Catholicism, and return to their kingdom on England’s east coast. They are later weakened by Viking raids on their own territory, and over time are conquered and absorbed into England.

Rhodri the Great, the first King of Wales, is killed battling the English. Wales is then divided among his three sons.

Giric the Son of Fortune begins his eleven year reign as King of Scotland. Sparse and contradictory records tell us that he had to conquer parts of Scotland held by the Picts (who eventually merged with the Scots), and that he forcibly broke the power of the Pictish Church over the Scottish Church.

Black African rebels in Iran win another major victory, seizing a large fertile area that borders the Persian Gulf. With abundant crops and seafood, they establish their own kingdom.
 
Welcome to 879!

Croatia, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, across from Italy, rejects the Orthodox Church, demands that its bishops all be baptized by the Pope, and declares itself independent of France. The Pope recognizes their independence.

Louis the Stammerer dies, and his son Louis III becomes king of France, with his younger brother as co-regent. Louis rapidly unites what's left of his realm and smashes the Vikings. One day, he spies a beautiful girl and gives chase, but falls off his horse and dies, after reigning only three years.

The Moslem Empire launches a major offensive against Black African rebels who have established their own kingdom. It takes them two years, but the Moslems win.

Rejecting the authority of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, the Orthodox Church holds its own Fourth Council, although papal legates are present. The Emperor had recently restored Photius (whom the Orthodox Church regards as a saint) and this Council re-affirmed the Emperor’s decision. Eventually, the Pope gave his approval. But the break between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches was growing.
 
It's time for 880.

Byzantine Emperor Basil I personally supervises the construction of the "New Church" in Constantinople. The magnificent five-domed structure serves as an inspiration for other Orthodox churches, but it is eventually captured by Moslems who use it to store gunpowder, lightning strikes, and six centuries later it is gone.

About this time, Germans establish a village named Dormund. Today it is Germany's eighth largest city.

The Emperor of Japan dies, and the regent comes up with a smart move. He creates the office of Chancellor for himself, and through this office, his family will effectively control Japan for the next three centuries.
 
There's lots of fun in 881.

Three tribes from the Khazar Empire in eastern Europe unite with seven tribes of Magyars, and they all migrate west, raiding and looting throughout central Europe. It takes them another nineteen years, but they form the nation of Hungary.

France's new king, Louis III, has his act together. He hurls his forces into the Danish Vikings who have invaded France, killing 8,000 of them in a single day.

Despite all the Vikings in England, Mercia finds time to invade Wales and suffer a major defeat. But the victorious Welsh send their king to Alfred the Great with an offer: in exchange for Alfred's protection, Wales would voluntarily submit to English authority. Bad move by the Welsh, because England still holds them to that agreement.

The Pope crowns Germany's Charles the Fat as Holy Roman Emperor.

The Moslem Empires begins its siege of the capital of the Black kingdom founded by former slaves.
 
There's much ado in 882.

There is some question about how and why, but Pope John VIII is assassinated. Honest and competent, he had reformed as much of the corruption as his government rulers would allow. Marinus I becomes Pope. A bishop who had served as papal legate to Constantinople under three Popes, he ends mistreatment of Anglo-Saxons in papal territory.

King Louis III of France dies at the age of 19, and his younger brother Carloman becomes king.

Oleg of Novgorod, King of the Rus, moves his capital to Kiev. No, they aren't Russians...yet.
 
Welcome to 883.

The Black slave rebellion in the Moslem Empire is finally crushed. Most are returned to slavery, small bans continue to plunder the country, and about 1,000 die in the desert trying to escape. Sparce and conflicting records indicate that the former slaves were joined by free Blacks and by other oppressed people. The Moslems moderate their treatment of slaves, but they run a profitable slave trade out of eastern Africa.

With the former slaves defeated, the Moslem Empire turns its attention to Egypt, which had declared itself an independent Moslem state during the war.

Only 81 miles south of Rome, Moslems sack and burn Monte Cassino.
 
Welcome to 884.

Adrian III becomes Pope. Reigning about 18 months, he helps settle a dispute over Frankish succession and is later made a saint. Thanks to the Pope, Charles the Fat, King of Eastern France and Holy Roman Emperor, inherits the throne of Western France, and the nation is once again united.

And Pope Adrian has another problem. Famine breaks out in Rome, and the Pope gives generously to help the needy.

Byzantium begins enforcing discarded laws forbidding Jews from holding office.

The Huang Chao rebellion is suppressed by the Tang Dynasty of China, with the help of the Shatuo Turks. Despite their costly victory, the Tang Dynasty is losing control and is doomed.

A palace revolt puts Koko, a high official in the ruling family, on the Japanese throne for the next three years. He had 41 children and didn't have time to accomplish much. The previous Emperor had tried to remove the chancellor from power, and the chancellor deposed him instead.
 
A lot happens in 885.

Neither side has any intention of keeping the peace treaty between the English and the Vikings. Alfred the Great retakes London and defeats a Viking revolt in East Anglia.

Hundreds of Viking ships travel up the Seine River and lay siege to Paris. Odo, the Count of Paris, organizes a massive resistance.

Stephen V begins six rough years as Pope. With the papacy almost bankrupt from wars and famine, he uses his inherited wealth to help the poor. He receives pilgrims hospitably and accepts alms from them to help fund operations.

Godfrid the Sea King had established a Viking kingdom in the Netherlands, but had become a vassal to Charles the Fat. After betraying Charles several times, he is murdered by French nobles and his territory returns to France.
 
It is now 886.

Orthodox missionaries complete the Bulgarian alphabet.

Alfred the Great is having a good year. Having freed London from the Vikings, he establishes total control and puts his son-in-law in charge. He also mints the first halfpennies. Previously, a penny had been (and still is) the smallest coin, and can be worth a lot of money. Pennies had been cut in half before, but now the halfpenny becomes the smallest coin.

Holy Roman Emperor and King of France, Charles the Fat makes a bad deal. He pays the Vikings to lift their siege of Paris and leave, but gives them permission to plunder certain areas of France without interference. The nobles in those areas begin planning his overthrow.

Leo the Wise begins his twenty-six year reign over Byzantium. He prefers diplomacy and seeks to gain power by appointing his opponents as his advisors. He makes his nineteen-year-old brother Patriarch in order to control the Church. He won some wars, but often used bribery and tribute to stave off defeats or enemy occupations.
 
It is now 887.

Eleven year old Uda becomes Emperor of Japan and does a good job. Seeking to diminish the power of the Chancellor (who had actually seized power) Uda sends the Chancellor's top leaders to distant posts while promoting his own followers close to home. He establishes justice, thus winning the loyalty of the common people and making it harder for the Chancellor to depose him. After twenty successful years, he will retire to a monastery.

French nobles overthrow Charles the Fat, sending him home where he dies peacefully six weeks later. France breaks up into Eastern and Western France, and Italy regains its independence.
 
What's new in 888?


With the Frankish kingdom broken up and divided, northern Italy declares itself an independent nation. France breaks up into a feudal society in which local lords have virtually all authority over their areas. Germany breaks apart but is rapidly restored except for Burgundy, which becomes an independent nation. Italy is quickly forced to acknowledge the sovereignty of East France, and then most Italian territory is seized by a rebel.
 
Let's look at 889!

After defeating his brother, Yasovarman I becomes Cambodia's King. During his 21 year reign he built temples, reservoirs, and highways and is still highly-regarded by the Cambodians.

On the Korean Peninsula, massive peasant revolts break out as the Kingdom of Silla begins collecting taxes directly from the peasants.

Zhaozong begins his fifteen year reign over China. With central power rapidly crumbing, he strives desperately to keep the Tang Dynasty intact. He is defeated by two warords but defeats a third, but he still caonnot control any of the warlords' territories.

When his father retires to a monastery, Vladimir becomes king of Bulgaria. He enthusiastically persecutes Christianity, fearing that it is part of a Byzantine plot to seize Bulgaria. With the support of the nobles, his father returns, has Vladimir blinded and imprisoned, and another son takes the throne.

Donald the Madman becomes King of Scotland. He is killed the next year by Vikings.


In northern Italy, the powerful city of Venice declares itself independent. And Forli, another northern Italian city , forms an independent republic that will last for 1,000 years until Italy is unified in the nineteenth century.
 
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Let's look at the year 890.

In England, Alfred the Great establishes a full-time English Army and Navy. Typical of the time, they would often be disbanded in peacetime. And he receives two important visotrs this year:

Ohthere of HÃ¥logaland, a Viking adventurer, makes his way to Alfred's court. He tells the astonished king that he lives farther north than any other Viking, and tells the English about Norway and Denmark. Alfred orders his story recorded.

And Anawald, King of Wales, visits Alfred's court. Flushed with recent victories over the Vikings and East Mercians, he places Wales under English authority in exchange for protection.

The Maya Indians of southern Mexico and Central America have reached their peak about this time. They write the first known book in the Americas, and are the only American Indians to develop a written language.
 
Will life be fun in 891?


After years of pillaging all over northern Europe, Rollo the Viking gets the daylights beaten out of him by East France. He settles down for a few years as ruler of part of Normandy, and then returns to pillaging. So France makes him ruler of all Normandy, and that calms him down.

Formosus becomes Pope for a rough five years. A cowardly man, he had been excommunicated for deserting his see as a bishop in order to save his own life. He was restored only after he swore never to enter the city of Rome again. Helplessly controlled by various rulers when he becomes Pope, he persuades Arnulf of Carinthia, king of eastern France, to invade Italy, promising to crown him King of Italy if he succeeds. Arnulf only conquers northern Italy, but Formosus crowns him both King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, claims which are rejected by local rulers.

But Formosus is most famous for attending his own trial—after he was dead. A year after he died, the Pope had Formosus dug up, clad in papal robes, set on the papal throne, and condemned as being unfit for the papacy. After being found guilty, all of his edicts and appointments were overturned. Centuries later, the Catholic Church overturned the decision, as it was based on politics and not sinful conduct.

Taking advantage of a slave revolt, the Green Grocers, a strongly vegetarian sect of Moslems, rebel in eastern Arabia. For the next century they murder Moslem pilgrims on their way to Mecca, killing 20,000 of them one year. They plunder Mecca, stealing some of Islam’s holiest objects for ransom, and are too powerful for the Moslem empire to stop. They eventually collapse and their kingdom disappears.
 
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