King
Hyegong of Silla is killed in a revolt, terminating the kingly line of succession of former ruler
Muyeol. He is the architect of
Silla's unification of the
Korean Peninsula (see
668).
Charlemagne meets
Alcuin, Anglo-Saxon
missionary, in Italy, and invites him to
Aachen, where he becomes Charlemagne's chief adviser on
religious and
educational matters (approximate date).
The Frankish currency called the livre carolingienne is minted for the first time (approximate date).
Emperor
Constantine VI is betrothed to the 6-year-old
Rotrude, daughter of Charlemagne; Irene sends a
scholar monk called Elisaeus to educate her in
Greek language and manners.[6]
Battle of Süntel: The
Franks under Charlemagne are defeated by Saxon rebels, led by
Widukind. He succeeds in wiping out more than half of the occupying Frankish forces and again raises the banner of revolt.
Autumn – Charlemagne returns from his campaign in
Italy, and musters a Frankish army of available troops in
Bavaria. He then marches to
Saxony, probably to
Eresburg. Charlemagne marches north, down the
Weser to the
Aller River, making camp near
Verden.[8]
Mauregatus of Asturias, illegitimate son of the late king
Alfonso I, usurps the
throne after the death of his brother-in-law
Silo. However, the
nobility has elected
Alfonso II at
Adosinda's (wife of Silo) insistence, but Mauregatus assembles a large army of supporters, and forces Alfonso to flee to
Álava (modern
Spain). Adosinda is put in the
monastery of
San Juan de Pravia, where she lives out the rest of her life.
October – Charlemagne marries
Fastrada, the 18-year-old daughter of a
Frankish count named Rudolph, and makes her his queen at
Worms. The probable reason behind the marriage is to solidify a Frankish
alliance east of the
Rhine, against the
Saxons in
Lower Saxony (modern
Germany).
Winter – Charlemagne returns to
Eresburg and builds a
church, probably on the site of the
Irminsul (a
pagan religious site).
Frankish forces based at Eresburg attack rebel Saxon settlements, and take control of the roads. Charlemagne himself takes part in some of these raids.[10]
Nagaoka-kyō becomes the Japanese imperial capital.
Central America
February 4 – Itzamnaaj K'awiil, brother of Bat K'awiil (who reigned between 780 and 784) and the son of K'ahk' Ukalaw Chan Chaak (who ruled 755 to 780) becomes the new
ruler of the Mayan city state of
Naranjo in
Guatemala and reigns until his death in
810.
Fujiwara no Tanetsugu, Japanese nobleman (chūnagon), has his daughter Azumako married to the 12-year-old crown prince
Heizei (son of
Emperor Kanmu). While supervising construction of the buildings in the capital of
Nagaoka, he is killed by an
arrow.
Ludger, Frisian
missionary, visits
Heligoland (Fossitesland), and destroys the remains of
paganism. On his return he meets the blind bard Bernlef, last of the Frisian
skalds, and cures his
blindness (approximate date).
King
Charles the Younger, son of
Charlemagne and ruler of
Aquitaine, visits
Monte Cassino and
Capua, both in
Beneventan territory. Prince
Arechis II, feeling threatened by the Franks, decides that he needs to stop quarrelling with the Byzantine
Duchy of Naples so he can focus on the Frankish foe. Prince Arechis II therefore signs a peace agreement, or 'pactum', with the Duchy of Naples.
Britain
Cyneheard, brother of the late king
Sigeberht, ambushes and kills his rival
Cynewulf of Wessex, while he is at Meretun (now called
Marten) with his mistress. The Wessex
nobles refuse to recognise Cyneheard as king.
Cyneheard is executed and succeeded by
Beorhtric, through the support of King
Offa of Mercia. His rival claimant to the
Wessex throne, a distant nephew of the late king
Ine, named
Egbert, is driven across the
Channel.
Egbert settles at the court of Charlemagne, and learns the arts of government during his time in
Gaul.[11] During his stay he meets
Eadberht, a
priest, who later becomes king of
Kent.
August 26 –
Arechis II, autonomous prince (or
duke) of Benevento, dies.
Grimoald III, taken hostage by the Franks, succeeds his father as ruler of Benevento.
An uprising in
Japan leads to a major defeat for
Emperor Kanmu, along with a severe
drought and
famine; the streets of the capital
Nagaoka-kyō are clogged with the sick.
Al-Khayzuran, powerful wife and adviser of Abbasid caliph
Al-Mahdi and the excellent mother of
Al-Hadi and
Harun Al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliphs, de facto co-ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate
^Dr. R. Hennig, Katalog bemerkenswerter Witterungsereignisse. Berlin 1904; Originalquellen: Aventinus (Turmair), Johannes (gest. 1534): Annales Boiorum. Mit Nachtrag. Leipzig 1710; Annales Fuldenses, Chronik des Klosters Fulda. Bei Marquard Freher: Germanicarum rerum scriptores ua Frankfurt aM 1600–1611)