820s
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
| Millennium: | 1st millennium |
| Centuries: | 8th century – 9th century – 10th century |
| Decades: | 790s 800s 810s – 820s – 830s 840s 850s |
| Years: | 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 |
| 820s-related categories: |
Births – Deaths – By country Establishments – Disestablishments |
This is a list of events occurring in the 820s, ordered by year.
820
By place
Byzantine Empire
- December 25 – Emperor Leo V ("the Armenian") is assassinated by conspirators in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople. Though unarmed, he fights back fiercely but dies of his wounds. He is succeeded by Michael II, commander of the palace guard (excubitores). Leo's family (including his mother and his wife Theodosia) is exiled to monasteries in Princes' Islands.[1]
Britain
- Fedelmid mac Crimthainn assumes the kingship as ruler of Munster (modern Ireland).
Arabian Empire
- Tahir ibn Husayn, an Iranian general, is appointed to governor of Khurasan for supporting the Abbasid Caliphate.
Asia
- Emperor Xian Zong dies from poisoning (due to medicines) after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Mu Zong as ruler of the Tang Dynasty of China.
821
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Thomas the Slav, Byzantine general (tourmarchos), leads a revolt and secures control over most of the Byzantine themes (provinces) in Anatolia. He gets recognition from the Abbasid Caliphate, and concludes a peace treaty with caliph Al-Ma'mun. Emperor Michael II is blockaded in Constantinople, Thomas assembles troops, gathers supplies, and builds siege machines but his first attack on the capital fails. He crosses his fleet from Abydos to Thrace.
Europe
- February – Duke Borna of Croatia dies after a 11-year reign as vassal of the Frankish Empire. He is succeeded by his nephew, Vladislav.[2] Emperor Louis I recognizes him as prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia at the Council of Aachen.
- October – Lothair I, co-emperor and eldest son of Louis I, marries Ermengarde in Thionville (north-eastern France). She is the daughter of count Hugh of Tours.
Britain
- King Coenwulf of Mercia dies in Basingwerk near Holywell (Wales), while preparing for another assault on Powys, and is buried in Winchcombe Abbey. He is briefly succeeded by his son Cynehelm, but is killed, probably fighting the Welsh, though supposedly through the treachery of his sister Cwenthryth. The Mercian throne passes to Coenwulf's brother, Ceolwulf I.
822
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Thomas the Slav, Byzantine general (tourmarchos) and usurper, continues his revolt against emperor Michael II. He unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople, while his fleet is destroyed by Michael's Byzantine navy using Greek fire. Khan Omurtag of Bulgaria sends an relief army and defeats the rebels at the Battle of Kedoutos (near Heraclea).[3]
Europe
- Emperor Louis I performs public penance for causing Bernard's death, at his palace of Attigny (Ardennes), before pope Paschal I, and the Frankish nobles. This to restore harmony and re-establish his authority.[4]
Britain
- King Ceolwulf I of Mercia invades Powys (Wales), but is beaten back by king Cyngen. He destroyes the fortress of Deganwy and takes the kingdom later under his control (approximate date).
Arabian Empire
- Al-Hakam I, Umayyad emir of Córdoba, dies after a 26-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Abd al-Rahman II, who begins a military campaign against king Alfonso II of Asturias in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).
Asia
- Kim Heon-chang launches a short-lived rebellion in Silla, which gains control over much of the southern and western Korean Peninsula.
Americas
- February 6 – Ukit Took becomes the last ruler (ajaw) of the Mayan city-state Copán (modern Guatemala).
By topic
Religion
- Rabanus Maurus, a Frankish Benedictine monk, becomes abbot of Fulda after the death of Eigil.
823
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Emperor Michael II defeats the rebel forces under Thomas the Slav in Thrace. He and his supporters are forced to seek refuge in Arkadiopolis (modern Turkey). After five months of blockade, Thomas surrenders and is delivered to Michael seated on a donkey and bound in chains. He pleades for clemency and prostrates before Michael but is executed.[5]
Europe
- April 5 – Lothair I, eldest son of emperor Louis I, is crowned co-emperor again by pope Paschal I at Rome. Initiating the papal practice of handing the imperial sword over as a symbol of temporal power in the Holy Roman Empire.
Britain
- King Ceolwulf I of Mercia is deposed by Beornwulf who takes the throne of Mercia. During his rule he rebuilds the Abbey of St. Peter and presides over two synods at Clofesho.
Arabian Empire
- An Arab expeditionary force (10,000 men) conquers Crete, the weakened Byzantine garrison is unable to defend the island (approximate date).
Japan
- May 30 – Emperor Saga abdicates the throne after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Junna as the 53rd emperor of Japan.
824
By place
Europe
- Battle of Roncevaux Pass: The Basques and Banu Qasi defeat an Frankish expedition led by counts Aznar and Ebles in the Pyrenees.
- Iñigo Arista revolts against the Frankish Empire and establishes with support of the Caliphate of Córdoba the kingdom of Pamplona.
- November 11 – The Constitutio Romana establishes the authority of the Holy Roman Emperors over the papacy of Rome.
Britain
- Vikings raid for the second time Bangor (modern Wales) and plunder the bishopric (approximate date).
Japan
- Zenpuku-ji, one of the oldest Tokyo temples, is founded by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kūkai.
By topic
Religion
- February 11 – Pope Paschal I dies after a 7-year reign and is succeeded by Eugene II as the 99th pope of the Catholic Church.
825
By place
Europe
- Emperor Louis the Pious begins a military campaign against the Wends and Sorbs. Duke Tunglo surrenders his son as hostage and submits to Frankish rule (approximate date).
- Grímur Kamban sets as first man foot in the Faroe Islands and settles down in Funningur on the northwest coast of Eysturoy. Begin of the Norwegian Viking era on the islands.
Britain
- Battle of Ellandun: King Egbert of Wessex defeats Beornwulf of Mercia near Swindon. The battle marks the end of the Mercian domination of southern England.[6] The kingdoms of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Essex submit to Wessex and East Anglia acknowledges Egbert as overlord (bretwalda).
- King Hywel ap Rhodri of Gwynedd dies after a 11-year reign. The kingdom is seized by his grand-nephew Merfyn Frych of Man.
- Battle of Gafulford: The men of Cornish Dumnonia clash with the West Saxons at modern-day Camelford (approximate date).
By topic
Religion
- Teaching begins at Oxford, England, according to documents held by University College, Oxford and All Souls College, Oxford.
826
By place
Byzantine Empire
- May – Euphemius, Byzantine admiral, organises an uprising in Sicily against emperor Michael II. He proclaims himself king (with the title of basileus) in Syracuse, independent from Constantinople. In turn Euphemius is defeated by Byzantine troops (reinforcements from the East) and is driven out to North Africa.[7]
Britain
- King Beornwulf of Mercia invades East Anglia but is killed in battle. He is succeeded by Ludeca as ruler of Mercia.
- Prince Aethelwulf, son of king Egbert of Wessex, invades Kent and drives out its pro-Mercian king Baldred.
Europe
- King Harald Klak of Denmark receives the Frisian county of Rüstringen as a gift from emperor Louis the Pious.
By topic
Religion
- Harald Klak accepts christianity and is baptized with his wife and son Godfrid at Mainz.
827
By place
Byzantine Empire
- June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asked the help of the Arabs to retake Sicily and Malta from the Byzantines.[8] Emir Ziyadat Allah I of Ifriqiya promising to give the islands back to Euphemius in exchange for a yearly tribute. He sends an Muslim-Arab expeditionary force (10,000 men) under the 70-year-old Asad ibn al-Furat and lands at Mazara del Vallo.
- Fall – Siege of Syracuse: Muslim forces under Asad ibn al-Furat in support of an rebel Byzantine army besiege Syracuse.[9]
Europe
- Summer – Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches an attack to the West and penetrates into Pannonia. He expells the local chiefs and installs Bulgar governors over the Slavic tribes to control them. Omurtag conquers the cities of Beograd, Braničevo, Sirmium, and most of eastern Slavonia.[10]
- Giustiniano Participazio deposes his younger brother Giovanni I and is appointed doge of Venice. Giovanni, who is part of a pro-Frankish faction, is exiled to Zara (modern Croatia).
Britain
- Æthelstan establishes himself as king of East Anglia after killing king Ludeca of Mercia in battle. Ludeca is succeeded by Wiglaf, father-in-law (and probably distant cousin) of the late king Ceolwulf I's daughter.
China
- Emperor Jing Zong is assassinated by a group of conspirators. He is succeeded by his brother Wen Zong as ruler of the Tang Dynasty.
By topic
Religion
- August 27 – Pope Eugene II dies after a 3-year reign and is succeeded by Valentine as the 100th pope of the Catholic Church.
- October 10 – Pope Valentine dies just after a two-month reign and is succeeded by Gregory IV as the 101st pope of Rome.
Science
- Chalid Ben Abdulmelik and Ali Ben Isa travel to the Plain of Sinjar (modern Iraq) under orders of caliph Al-Ma'mun to measure the size of the Earth.
Agriculture
- The Saracens introducing spinach to Sicily, who found the plant originally in Persia (modern Iran).[11]
828
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Siege of Syracuse: The Muslims under Asad ibn al-Furat defeat a Byzantine relief army sent from Palermo and backed by a Venetian fleet led by Giustiniano Participazio. Al-Furat decides to break off the siege at Syracuse, his forces suffer greatly from lack of food. Later he dies during an outbreak of an epidemic.
- Summer – Euphemius, Byzantine admiral, is murdered by emissaries from the Byzantine garrison at Castrogiovanni which is besieged by the Muslims. Threatened by Byzantine reinforcements arriving from Constantinople, the survivors burn their ships and retreat overland westward to Mazara del Vallo.[12][13]
Europe
- Al-Andalus: The city of Merida (modern Spain) rises twice in one year against the Umayyad emirate.[14]
- Kydonia on the northwest coast of Crete is destroyed by Saracen pirates (approximate date).
- Alcamo in Sicily is founded by the Muslim commander al-Kamuk (approximate date).
China
- In the capital of Chang'an, a powerful court eunuch orders 50 wrestlers to arrest 300 commoners over a land property dispute in Northwest Chang'an, whereupon a riot breaks out in the streets.
By topic
Religion
- Relics of Mark the Evangelist are stolen from Alexandria (controlled by the Abbasid Caliphate) by two Venetian merchants and brought to Venice.[15]
- At the instigation of Adalram, archbishop of Salzburg, the first Christian church in Central and Eastern Europe is built in Nitra, Pannonia.[16]
- A Coptic revolt breaks out in Egypt (approximate date).
829
By place
Byzantine Empire
- October 2 – Emperor Michael II dies after a 8-year reign in Constantinople and is succeeded by his 16-year-old son Theophilos as sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He continues his fathers ideology of iconoclasm.[17]
- October – Battle of Thasos: Saracens from the newly found Emirate of Crete almost annihilate the Byzantine fleet at Thasos, close to the coast of Thrace. The Cyclades and other islands in the Aegean Sea are pillaged.[18]
Europe
- Emperor Louis the Pious appoints his 6-year-old son Charles by his second wife Judith, as ruler of the Frankish subkingdom Alamannia. Enraging his eldest son Lothair I and co-emperor, who begins to insurrect.
- Giustiniano Participazio, doge of Venice, dies after a 2-year reign and is succeeded by his younger brother Giovanni Participazio. He continues the work of Giustiniano in construction of the St. Mark's Basilica.
Britain
- King Egbert of Wessex invades Mercia, ousts his rival Wiglaf and attemps to rule directly from Wessex. He is recognized as overlord (bretwalda) of other English kingdoms.
- Winter – Battle of the River Dore: Egbert of Wessex leads his army against the Northumbrians as far as Dore, were he clashes with king Eanred of Northumbria.
Egypt
- The Nile River freezes over.[19]
China
- The Bai kingdom of Nanzhao captures the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province.
By topic
Religion
- Ansgar, Frankish abbot of Corvey (modern Westphalia), is appointed missionary to Sweden by emperor Louis the Pious, at the request of the Swedish king Björn at Haugi.
- The city of Wiesbaden (Germany) is first mentioned by Einhard, biographer of former emperor Charlemagne (approximate date).
Significant people
Births
Deaths
References
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- ↑ Bury 1912, pp. 101–102; Lemerie 1965, pp. 279–281, 291; Treadgold 1988, p. 240.
- ↑ McKitterick, Rosamond, The New Cambridge History, 700-900
- ↑ Bury 1912, pp. 105–106; Treadgold 1988, pp. 241–242.
- ↑ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 231.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Peter Sammartino and William Roberts, Sicily: An Informal History, p. 43.
- ↑ Gilbert Meynier (2010) L'Algérie cœur du Maghreb classique. De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (658-1518). Paris: La Découverte; p. 23.
- ↑ John V.A. Fine, Jr. (1991). The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century, p. 107. ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Treadgold (1988), pp. 253–254
- ↑ Vasiliev (1935), pp. 83–84
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Donald M. Nicol, Byzantium and Venice: A study in diplomatic and cultural relations (Cambrigde: University Press, 1988), p. 24.
- ↑ Klein, "Adalram"
- ↑ Timothy E. Gregory, A History of Byzantium, (Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2010), p. 227.
- ↑ Treadgold, Warren (1988). The Byzantine Revival, 780–842, Stanford University Press, p. 268. ISBN 0-8047-1462-2.
- ↑ Lamb, H. H. (1977) Climate: Present, Past and Future: Climatic History and the Future Vol 2, Methuen and Co. Ltd., London.
