Around the 9th century, the
Igbo people of what is now southern
Nigeria developed bronze casts of
humans,
animals, and
legendary creatures. These bronzes, which were used as vessels, amulets, pendants, and sacrificial tools, are among the earliest made bronzes ever found in Nigeria. Most items were part of a burial of a nobleman culture in the northern part of the
Igboland.
The
Ghana (Wagadu) Empire (before
c. 830 until
c. 1235) was located in what is now southeastern
Mauritania and western
Mali. It is considered the first of the
Sahelian Kingdoms, which would exist in some form until the early 20th century.
Western Europe
Britain and Ireland
Britain experienced a great influx of
Viking peoples in the 9th century as the
Viking Age continued from the previous century. The kingdoms of the
Heptarchy were gradually conquered by the Danes, who set up Anglo-Saxon puppet rulers in each kingdom. This invasion was achieved by a huge military force known as the
Great Heathen Army, which was supposedly led by
Ivar the Boneless,
Halfdan Ragnarsson, and
Guthrum. This Danish army first arrived in Britain in
865 in
East Anglia. After conquering that kingdom, the army proceeded to capture the city of
York (
Jorvik) and establish the kingdom of
Jorvik. The Danes went on to subjugate the kingdom of
Northumbria and to take all but the western portion of
Mercia. The remaining kingdom of
Wessex was the only kingdom of the
Heptarchy left.
Alfred the Great managed to maintain his kingdom of
Wessex and push back the Viking incursions, relieving the neighbouring kingdoms from the threat of the Danes following his famous victory over them at the
Battle of Ethandun in
878. Alfred re-established
Anglo-Saxon rule over the western half of
Mercia, and the
Danelaw was established which separated
Mercia into halves, the eastern half remaining under the control of the Danes.
Ireland was also affected by the Viking expansion across the
North Sea. Extensive raids were carried out all along the coast and eventually, permanent settlements were established, such as that of
Dublin in
841. Particular targets for these raids were the monasteries on the western coast of Ireland, as they provided a rich source for loot. On such raids the
Vikings set up impermanent camps, which were called
longphorts by the Irish—this period of Viking raids on the coasts of Ireland has been named the longphort phase after these types of settlements. Ireland in the 9th century was organised into an amalgam of small kingdoms, called
tuatha. These kingdoms were sometimes grouped together and ruled by a single, provincial ruler. If such a ruler could establish and maintain authority over a portion of these tuatha, he was sometimes granted the title of
High King.
Scotland also experienced significant Viking incursions during the 9th century. The Vikings established themselves in coastal regions, usually in northern Scotland, and in the northern islands such as
Orkney and
Shetland. The Viking invasion and settlement in Scotland provided a contributing factor in the collapse of the kingdoms of the
Picts, who inhabited most of Scotland at the time. Not only were the Pictish realms either destroyed or severely weakened, the Viking invasion and settlements may have been the reason for the movement of
Kenneth MacAlpin, the king of
Dál Riata at that time. The kingdom of
Dál Riata was located on the western coast of Scotland, and Viking incursions destroyed it after the death of its previous king,
Áed mac Boanta in 839, according to the
Annals of Ulster. This may have caused the new king, MacAlpin, to move to the east, and conquer the remnants of the Pictish realms. MacAlpin became king of the Picts in 843 and later kings would be titled as the
King of Alba or
King of Scots.
Art
Art in the 9th century was primarily dedicated to the Gospel and employed as basic tools of liturgy of the Roman Orthodox Church. Thousands of golden art objects were made: Sacred cups, vessels, reliquaries, crucifixes, rosaries, altarpieces, and statues of the Virgin and Child or Saints all kept the flame of western art from dying out. Architecture began to revive to some extent in the West by the 9th century, taking the form of Church facilities of all kinds, and the first castle fortifications since Roman times began to take form in simple "moat and bailey" castles, or simple "strong point" tower structures, with little refinement.
841:
Dublin is founded on the east coast of Ireland by the
Vikings.
842: Samaale becomes chief of the Hashiyah clan and launches the conquest of Somalia. This paves the way for Hashiyic colonisation of the Peninsular, displacing the native Cushitic peoples of Somalia
846: 11,000
Saracen Arab squadrons from Africa, with 500 horses, desecrate
Christian shrines in
Rome, including the tombs and basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul.
860:
Balaputra, the maharaja of
Suvarnadvipa and the ruler of Srivijaya, constructs the Buddhist temple and monastery in
NalandaIndia, on the land given by King Devapaladeva. of Pala in Benggala, according to the
Nalanda inscription.[9]
895/
896: The year of the
Magyars arrival in
Pannonia. This year is widely accepted as the beginning of the Hungarian "Landtaking".
899: King Alfred the Great of Wessex, First King of The English, dies.
900: The oldest text discovered in the
Philippines—an acquittance document in
Old Javanese—is inscribed on a copperplate in
Luzon. The acquittance took place on 21 April 900[11] and involved several aristocrats and high-ranking officials from kingdoms within the islands of Luzon, Mindanao, and Java. The document is currently called the
Laguna copperplate inscription.
^
abPaul Michel Munoz (2007). Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. Singapore: Didier Millet. p. 143.
ISBN978-981-4155-67-0.
^"Succession of the Carolingian Empire, 843 CE". Cmunce.org. Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exposition. Archived from
the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014. The year is 843 C.E., and the Carolingian Empire has reached the peak of its expansion, covering more territory in Western Europe than any other dynasty since the Roman Empire.