8th Century
702 – Arabic Language
Arabic becomes the official language of Egypt.
705 – Turkestan
Islam reaches Turkestan in central Asia.
705 to 715 Great Mosque of Damascus
Caliph al-Walid leads the Umayyad Dynasty to the height of its power. He orders the building
of the Great Mosque in Damascus around 710.
711 to 718 – Tariq Ibn Ziyad
Start of the Islamic conquest of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Invaded by
Muslims from North Africa under the Berber general Tariq Ibn Ziyad, who defeat the Visigoths
and lends his name to Gibraltar. Arabic: Jebel Tariq.
Spanish Cordoba and Seville fall to Islam.
712 to 713 – Sind
Umayyads cross the deserts of Mukran and invade Sind (south Pakistan).
Spanish Toledo falls to Islam.
713 to 735 – King Liutprand
Legislative program of Lombard King Liutprand.
714 – Charles Martel
The warrior Charles Martel, a ‘mayor of the palace’ rules France although he was never
formally crowned.
Spanish Zaragossa falls to Islam.
715 – Masjid al-Aqsa
The Ummayads build the Masjid al-Aqsa mosque.
Muslim armies take Spanish territory from the Visigoths pushing them further north to
occupy the fertile region of Aquitania.
716 to 721 – Iberian Peninsula
Much of the Iberian peninsula is under Islamic control.
Two Umayyad governors of al-Andulus extend Islamic authority over Narbonne.
717 to 718 – Second Siege of Constantinople
Repulse of land and sea siege of Constantinople by Emperor Leo the Third. Islamic forces
repelled. Christian Byzantine maintains hold on Anatolia.
718 – St Boniface
The Anglo-Saxon missionary Boniface sets out to convert the Frisians, Saxons and
Germans. He establishes the ritual of coronation which is imitated by one king after another
from then on.
Establishment of Christian kingdom in the Asturias.
Greek ‘School’ of Alexandria moves to Syria.
721 – Luxeuil
Islamic forces sack Luxeul.
726 – Emperor Leo the Third
Issue of Ecloga code by Byzantine Emperor Leo the Third.
Leo the Third prohibits the use of icons in public worship, setting off a long-running dispute
between Iconoclasts, who reject all images in churches, and Iconodules, who defend their use.
727 – Doge of Venice
Election of the first independent Doge of Venice.
Revolts in Byzantine Italy.
727 to 743 – King Liutprand
Attacks by Lombard King Liutprand on Byzantin territories in Italy
730 – Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm becomes official policy in the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium.
732 – Charles “The Hammer” Martel
“It would have come to pass that the whole world convert to Islam since it was barely
Christian.”
The wave of Islamic expansionism washes the shores of North Africa engulfing ancient
people with new theology. Spilling across the straits of Jabal Tariq and its promontory, to the
mainland of Al-Andalus.
The tidal wave, gaining momentum from success forces the Visigoths north from the
southern Iberian peninsula, squeezing through the Basque region in the Pyrenees mountain
range and into Aquitania (the Land of Water).
732 – Battle of Poitiers
Poitiers falling briefly into Islamic cultural influence in 732 AD. Before a Frank rally stemming
the tide and forcing the wave south across the Pyrenees allowing Navarra, Aragon and Castille
to levee.
But at Tours the resistance and resilience of Charles Martel and his freedom fighters forced
the mighty Islamic engine to halt and revert to lands held and secured in Iberia. The ultimate
benefactor of its Moslem tenants where music, literature, astrology and navigation would give
rise to the richest and most powerful Roman Catholic empire. Espana
Charles Martel is proclaimed the Mayor of the Palace and de facto ruler of the Frankish
Realms.
While on the Eastern front the sweep of the brotherhood of Islam is rattling the gates of
Constantinople demanding unconditional surrender.
735 – Venerable Bede
Death of The Venerable Bede, a benedictine monk who chronicled the history of England.
Born in 672, this scholarly monk is considered the first English historian.
He writes that Easter has its roots in pagan Anglo-Saxon spring equinox festival, around
March 20-21. The Spring festival called Eostre after a goddess of Spring and beauty.
Saint Bede starts dating events by the designations B.C. (Before Christ) and A.D. Anno
Domini (In the year of our Lord) from the birth of Jesus.
737 – Parsis
Parsis, a people descended from Persian refugees whose religion is Zoroastrianism, seek
freedom from Muslim persecution until the tenth century.
740 – Berbers
Berbers revolt against the Umayyads and form independent Saharan kingdoms.
Ajor victory of Byzantines over Arabs at Akroinon.
741 – Charles Martel
Death of Charles Martel.
750 – John of Damascus
John of Damascus dies.
750 – Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasids take Jerusalem.
Revolutionaries led by Abu al’Abbas defeat Umayyad forces in Iran and northern Iraq.
The forces of the Umayyad Caliph Marwan are defeated and he is replaced with Abu al-‘Abbas as-Saffah, the first caliph of the ‘Abbasid Dynasty.
Non-Arabs are integrated into eastern Islamic armies.
751 – Pepin the Short
Pepin the Third, son of Charles Martel, deposes the Merovingian King Childeric and is
anointed the first king of the Franks by St Boniface, founding the Carolingian Dynasty.
The Carolingians ruled the Frankish kingdom from 751 to 987
The fall of Ravenna to the Lombard king Aistulf marks the end of Byzantine rule in Italy.
751 – Paper
Abbasid Islamic army defeats T’ang Chinese at Talas in Central Asia. Muslims learn papermaking
and wood-block printing from captured Chinese prisoners-of-war (in Samarkand).
Several grades of paper including ‘bird paper’, thin and light enough to be sent by carrier
pigeon.
754 – Saint Boniface
Martyrdom of St Boniface by Frisians.
Having crossed the Alps, Pope Stephen the Second anoints Pepin the Third, King of the Franks.
Byzantium takes papal lands in Sicily,
754 to 775 – Caliph Abu-Jafar, al-Mansur
The Caliph Abu-Jafar, al�Mansur “the victorious” founds Baghdad making it the capital of the Islamic empire instead of Damascus, and establishes the Abbasid Dynasty with the help of the Persians.
Period of hard-line iconoclasm under Constantine the Fifth.
756 – Pepin the Third
Pepin the Third defends Rome against invaders. Pope Stephen the Second crowns him king of France; Pepin gives territories to the pope establishing the Papal States in Italy setting a precedent for Church-appointed rulers in Europe, and gives the Roman Catholic Church actual political power.
756 – Abd al-Rahman
Cordoba breaks away from the Abbasids. Establishment of independent emirate in
Spain by Ummayad prince Abd al-Rahman. Revival of Umayyad rule in al-Andulus (Islamic
Iberia).
759 – Donation of Constantine
Composition of forged ‘Donation of Constantine’ documents purporting to record massive
grant of lands and rights to the papacy.
760 – Tabaristan
Abbasids take control of Tabaristan.
762 – Baghdad
Foundation of the Round City of Baghdad as capital of Abbasid Caliphate.
767 – Pandemic
Recurring plagues greatly reduce the population of Europe.
768 – King Peppin
Death of Peppin, King of the Franks.
Final Frankish conquest of Aquitaine.
769 to 814 – Charlemagne
Pepin’s son Charles ascends to the throne of the Franks along with his older brother,
Carloman, who dies shortly afterwards. The conquests of Charlemagne (Carlos Magnus;
Charles the Great) versus Saxons, Lombards and Muslims in Spain.
772 – Saxons
First of Charlemagne’s campaigns against the Saxons in north-west Germany.
774- Charlemagne, King of the Lombards
Charlemagne defeats the Lombards and becomes King of Lombardy in Northern Italy.
778 – Battle of Roncesvaux
Defeat of Charlemagne’s army by the Basques at Roncevaux (Roncevailles).
Charlemagne’s expedition against Moors in Spain fails.
The Legend of Roland is born.
779 to 796 – Offa, King of Mercia
Offa, King of Mercia in western England builds the great earthwork known as Offa’s Dyke to
protect his frontiers against the Welsh. Offa introduces the penny as a standard monetary unit
in England.
780 – Algebra
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarazmi, an Arab mathematician who wrote the first book on
algebra.
783 – Peloponnese
Beginning of Byzantine re-conquest of the Peloponnese.
787 – The Seventh Ecumenical Council
In the reign of Constantine the Sixth, the Seventh Ecumenical Council of the Christian
Church at Nicaea defends the use of icons in churches. Temporary end of iconoclasm but
controversy continues.
788 – Bavaria
Charlemagne annexes Bavaria.
789 – Shi’a Idrisid
Beginning of Shi’a Idrisid rule in Morocco, first fragmentation of the Abbasids.
First recorded attack of the Vikings on southeastern coast of England.
791 – The Avars
Charlemagne conquers the Avars of the Danube Valley.
793 – Lindisfarne Abbey
Vikings long ships from Scandinavia raid England sacking the monasteries of Lindisfarne
and Jarrow on the Northumbrian coast.
794 – Aachen
Charlemagne establishes his capital at Aachen, codifies laws and promotes a cultural
revival. The Carolingian Renaissance includes schools for children.
Charlemagne establishes his court and capital at Aachen and begins construction of a
palace complex. Odo of Metz builds Charlemagne’s chapel at Aachen.
798 – Caliph Harun ar-Rashid
Muslims under Caliph Harun ar-Rashid defeat Byzantines (Greeks) at Heraclea, Anatolia
(Turkey).
799 – Pope Leo the Third
Charlemagne intervenes to save Pope Leo the Third from deposition.
Establishment of scholarly centre at monastery of Studion in Constantinople by Abbot
Theodore.
800 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman Emperor
Pope Leo the Third crowns Charlemagne (Charles the Great) on Christmas Day as Emperor
of the West. This event marks the beginning of the Carolingian Dynasty and the First Reich of
the Holy Roman Empire.
800 to 909 – Aghlabid Dynasty
Independent rule of Aghlabid dynasty over Tunisia, Malta, Sicily, and Algeria.
