740s

The 740s decade ran from January 1, 740, to December 31, 749.

Events

740

• Synnada (Phrygia).^[2]
• October 26 – 740 Constantinople earthquake. An earthquake strikes Constantinople and the surrounding countryside, causing destruction to the city's land walls and buildings.

Europe

• The
  Berber tribes in the recently conquered region of Galicia (northwest Spain) rebel. This facilitates the establishment of an independent kingdom in the Cantabrian Mountains under King Alfonso I of Asturias.^[3]
• Duke
  Thrasimund II recovers the duchy of Spoleto and kills Hilderic with Papal-Beneventian aid.^[4] He does not return the confiscated papal cities, and his alliance with Pope Gregory III
  ruptures.
• December – King Liutprand of the Lombards attempts to counter the growing independence of the Lombard duchies in southern Italy.
• Habīb Ibn Abi ‘Ubayda Al-Fihrī, while the fleet raiding Greece is led by Mu’awiya ibn Hishām
  . All of them are successful, submitting the Islands and returning with much wealth from the spoils of war.

• King Eadberht of Northumbria marches his army north to attack the Picts. King Æthelbald of Mercia takes advantage of his absence, and ravages the city of York. Internal struggles re-emerge in Northumbria with the murder of Eardwine, probably the son of the late usurping king Eadwulf I.^[5][6]
• King Æthelheard of Wessex dies after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother (and probably distant relative) Cuthred. Æthelbald of Mercia takes control of Berkshire from Wessex.

Africa

• Battle of the Nobles: The Berber rebels under chieftain Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati defeat and overwhelm the Umayyad forces of Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri, near Tangier (Northern Morocco), undermining Arab domination in Islamic North Africa. The rebellion spreads in Al-Andalus (Spain), causing governor Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab to withdraw Moorish troops from many garrisons north of the Pyrenees.^[7]

Asia

• Much to the delight of the citizens of Chang'an, the Chinese government of the Tang dynasty orders fruit trees to be planted along every main avenue of the city, which enriches not only the diets of the people but also the surroundings (approximate date)
• Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion: The Fujiwara clan led by Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, dissatisfied with the political powers in Japan, raise an army in Dazaifa (Kyushu
  ) but are defeated by government forces.
• The Japanese imperial capital is moved from Heijō-kyō to Kuni-kyō.

By topic

Religion

• The Khazars, a nation of the Black Sea steppe, though not ethnically Jewish, voluntarily convert to Judaism.
• Cuthbert becomes archbishop of Canterbury after the death of Nothhelm (see 739).

741

• June 18 – Emperor Leo III ("the Isaurian") dies of dropsy at Constantinople, after a 24-year reign that has saved the Byzantine Empire and delivered Eastern Europe from the threat of an Arab conquest. He is succeeded by his son Constantine V.
• Artabasdos, Byzantine general (strategos) of the Armeniac theme, defeats Constantine V and advances on Constantinople, where he is crowned emperor. He secures the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, and abandons Leo's religious policy of iconoclasm. Constantine seeks the support of the Anatolic theme.

Central America

• queen of the Mayan city state of Naranjo in Guatemala, dies after a reign of more than 47 years and is succeeded by her son, Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak
  , who reigns until his own death in 744.
• Ucha'an K'in B'alam and reigns until 761 when he is forced to flee during an uprising by rebels from Tamarindito
  .

• Alemannia (with Bavaria as a vassal) go to Carloman, while Pepin receives Neustria and Burgundy (with Aquitaine as a vassal). Grifo
  , youngest son of Charles, succeeds him as mayor of the palace, and probably receives a strip of land between Neustria and Austrasia.
• Pepin the Short marries Bertrada of Laon, daughter of Count Charibert of Laon.^[8]

Switzerland

• In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village of Kempraten as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata.
• A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau island is first mentioned. In 744, the nunnery is sold to Einsiedeln Abbey.
• Ufenau island in Switzerland is first mentioned in 741 as "Hupinauia", and in 744 as "Ubinauvia" — island of Huppan of Huphan.

Africa

• The
  Kharijite rebels to the East is successful, but fails to conquer Kairouan from the loyalists. A more radical branch of the Tunisian Kharijites, (the Sufrists) however, manages to take the city soon after.^[9]

• November 28 – Pope Gregory III dies at Rome, after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by Zachary, as the 91st pope of the Catholic Church.^[10]
• April 23 – A fire destroys the English city of York Minster, including its Church.^[11] The church is later rebuilt as a more impressive structure, containing thirty altars.
• Japanese authorities decree that Buddhist temples should be established throughout the country (approximate date).

742

• King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom.
• Arab-Byzantine Wars: Arab forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham invade Anatolia, reaching as far as Herakleia, and return with much wealth and livestock.
• Mértola (modern Portugal).^[12]
• Teodato Ipato succeeds his father Orso Ipato, as the fourth doge of Venice. He moves the capital from Heraclea to Malamocco.

Africa

• The
  Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, governor of Egypt, break out of besieged Kairouan (Tunisia
  ). He scatters the Berbers, and in the following months he reconquers all lands lost during the Revolt in Morocco and South of it.

• Emperor Xuan Zong begins to favor Taoism over Buddhism, adopting the new reign title Tianbao ("Heavenly Treasures"), to indicate his divine mandate. The total number of enlisted troops in the Tang armies has risen to about half a million, due to Xuan Zongs's earlier military reforms.
• For the municipal census of the Chinese capital city Chang'an and its metropolitan area of Jingzhou (including small towns in the vicinity), the New Book of Tang records that in this year there are 362,921 registered families with 1,960,188 people.
• Li Bai (also Li Po), Chinese poet, is summoned by Xuan Zong to attend the imperial court. He and his friend Du Fu become the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry, during the mid-Tang dynasty.

By topic

Religion

• After a 40-year vacancy,
  Stephen IV becomes Orthodox patriarch of Antioch, at the suggestion of caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
  .
• Chrodegang, chancellor of Charles Martel, is appointed bishop of Metz and embarks on a reorganisation of the Frankish
  church.
• Abbey of Fulda (present-day Hesse) in Germany (or 744
  ).
• The Holy Face of Lucca is transferred to Lucca from Luni (approximate date).

743

• Summer – Emperor
  monastery of Chora. Constantine renews his policy of Iconoclasm
  .
• Constantine V reforms the old
  Arab Muslim raiders and Bulgars.^[13]

• major domus, currently Carloman and Pepin the Short
  .
• Duke
  Avar incursions in present-day Austria, and is able to vassalize the Slavic principality. In exchange for Bavarian assistance, Boruth accepts his overlordship and is converted to Christianity.^[14]

• King Æthelbald of Mercia joins forces with Wessex and attacks Gwent and Powys in Mid Wales (approximate date).

Arabian Empire

• February 6 – Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik dies after a 19-year reign, in which the Arab expansion in Europe has been stopped and the Umayyad Caliphate has come under pressure from the Turks in Central Asia and Berbers in North Africa. He is succeeded by his nephew Al-Walid II, who has Khalid al-Qasri, former governor of Iraq, imprisoned and tortured.

Japan

• Emperor Shōmu changes the law of Perpetual Ownership of Cultivated Lands. This permits aristocrats and members of the clergy to cultivate land. The new farmland will be called shoin.

Americas

• In one of the final battles of the
  Third Tikal-Calakmul War, the city of El Peru is taken by Tikal
  .

• Talis, Iran.^[15]

• The
  Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, and presided over by Saint Boniface, who is solidified in his position as leader of the Frankish
  church.

• natural causes after a 32-year reign, in which he has defeated the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento, bringing the Lombard Kingdom to the height of her power. He is succeeded by Hildeprand, called "the Useless" (nephew or grandson of Liutprand), as ruler of the Lombards.^[16]
• October – Hildeprand is deposed by the council of nobles, for his incompetence as ruler. He is succeeded by Ratchis (formerly duke of Friuli) as king of the Lombards, who makes peace with Pope Zachary.^[17]
• Pepin the Short, mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy, invades the Swabian Jura (southwestern Germany), and chases Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, from his mountain redoubt in Alsace.

Switzerland

• In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of St. Gallen Abbey describe the village of Kempraten as Centoprato, another document in 863 as Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name Centum Prata.
• A nunnery given by the Alamannic noblewoman Beata on Lützelau Island is first mentioned, and is in this year sold to Einsiedeln Abbey.
• Ufenau island in Switzerland is first mentioned in 741 as "Hupinauia", and in 744 as "Ubinauvia" — island of Huppan of Huphan.

Britain

• Wat's Dyke, a 40 mile (64 km) earthwork in present-day Wales, is constructed. The border between Mercia and Powys is set here. The date that Wat's Dyke was constructed is very uncertain, with some estimates linking the construction of the dyke to the 5th century and others to the early 9th century (approximate date).

Arabian Empire

• April 17 – Caliph Al-Walid II is besieged in his castle outside the city of Damascus. He is defeated and killed by Arab forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham. Al-Walid is succeeded by his cousin Yazid III, who dies shortly after of a brain tumor.^[18]

• December – Marwan ibn Muhammad rebels against Yazid's designated successor Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, defeats the Umayyad forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham, and becomes caliph.

Asia

• Turkic subjects like
  Uyghur, Karluk and Basmyl, who are not the members of the Ashina clan, stage a coup. This ends the Turkic Empire and Ashina clan (except in Khazaria
  ).
• Autumn – Li Bai (also Li Po), Chinese poet and skilled calligrapher, meets Du Fu for the first time.
• The Japanese imperial capital is moved from Kuni-kyō to Heijō-kyō.

Central America

• Mayan city-state of Tikal conquers the state of Naranjo and captures its king, Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak, who is subsequently sacrificed. The conquest by Tikal destroys Calakmul's once powerful and extensive network of allies, vassal states and trade networks
  .

• Adalbert
  .
• Abbey of Fulda (Hesse), as part of Boniface's mission to bring Christianity to the pagan tribes in Germany (or 742
  ).
• June – Pope Zachary gives his approval by sending Abel, Grimo and Hartbert their palliums for the metropolitan sees of Reims, Rouen and Sens.^[19][20]
• Berber tribes in modern-day western Morocco
  .

• Asia Minor kills 1/3 of the population, and subsequently sweeps through the Peloponnese (Balkan Peninsula
  ) (approximate date).

• Hunald I, duke of Aquitaine, retires to a monastery, probably on Île de Ré.^[21] He is succeeded by his son Waifar, who struggles during his rule for independence against the Frankish Kingdom.
• Avar
  tribes from the east (approximate date).

Asia

• spell of his son's wife Yang Guifei (one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China), a Taoist priestess. He is ignoring the economy and the Tang dynasty
  is declining.
• The newly founded
  Lake Balkash (modern Kazakhstan) to Lake Baikal (Mongolia), and is subject to Chinese suzerainty
  (approximate date).

• Genbō, Japanese scholar-monk, is exiled to Dazaifu on the island of Kyushu.^[22]

746

• Arab–Byzantine Wars: Taking advantage of discontent among the Muslim Arabs, Emperor Constantine V invades Syria, and captures Germanikeia (modern Turkey). He organises the resettlement of part of the local Christian population in Thrace
  .
• Umayyad Egyptian
  fleet.

• high treason. This ends the independence of the tribal duchy of Alamannia, which is thereafter governed by counts or dukes appointed by their Frankish
  overlords.
• King Ratchis codifies the Lombard laws, promulgated in Latin, and advised by his council and the Lombard army (approximate date).

Britain

• King Saelred of Essex dies after a 37-year reign. He is succeeded by Swithred, grandson of the late king Sigeheard. Like his predecessors, he is not an independent ruler, but a sub-king of Mercia.^[23]

Umayyad Caliphate

• August or September – Battle of Kafartuta: Caliph
  Kharijites, in Upper Mesopotamia. The rebels withdraw across the River Tigris
  , escaping destruction.

• The Hida-Kokubunji Temple in Japan is built to pray for peace and prosperity (approximate date).
• Chavda dynasty in Gujarat (India
  ).

• ruler of the Mayan city state of Naranjo in Guatemala and reigns until his death in 748
  .

• Buddhist, travels to Bhutan (eastern end of the Himalayas), to cure the king of Bumthang
  (approximate date).

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Constantine V destroys the Arab fleet off Cyprus, with the aid of ships from the Italian city-states, breaking the naval power of the Umayyad Caliphate.^[24]

• August 15 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo, and withdraws from public life. He retires to a monastery near Rome, being tonsured by Pope Zachary, and leaves his brother Pepin the Short as sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.
• Bubonic plague breaks out in Sicily, Calabria (Southern Italy), and Monemvasia (modern Greece).

Islamic Empire

• Persian military leader from Khorasan, begins an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which is carried out under the sign of the Black Standard. Close to 10,000 Muslims, primarily Khorasani Persians are under his command, when the hostilities officially begin in Merv (modern Turkmenistan
  ).

• Chinese forces under Gao Xianzhi (a Korean in Tang employ) defeat the Arabs and Tibetans, by rapid military expeditions over the Pamir Mountains and Hindu Kush. About 72 local Indian and Sogdian kingdoms become Tang vassals. Over the next two years he establishes complete control in East Asia.^[25]
• Emperor
  death penalty in China, during the Tang dynasty
  (approximate date).
• Nara (Japan
  ).

• January 18 – Duke Odilo of Bavaria dies after a 12-year reign. Grifo, youngest son of Charles Martel, seeks to establish his own rule by seizing the duchy for himself, and abducts Odilo's infant son Tassilo III.
• In Rome, Pope Zachary closes down a slave market, where Venetian merchants had been selling Christian captives to the Muslims in North Africa.^[26]

Britain

• King Æthelbert II of Kent sends a message to Boniface, archbishop of Mainz, requesting two well-trained goshawks for hunting. He had earlier made a gift of two falcons and a goshawk to King Æthelbald of Mercia (approximate date).

Arabian Empire

• Rey, defeating an Umayyad army (10,000 men) at Gorgan
  .
• Muslims, and introduced a system of land taxation for Muslim Arabs
  .
• The city of Baalbek (modern Lebanon) is sacked with great slaughter.

Asia

• An earthquake strikes the Middle East from northern Egypt to northwestern Mesopotamia, destroying many remnants of Byzantine culture (approximate date).

749

• King Ratchis of the Lombards besieges Perugia, but is convinced to lift the siege by Pope Zachary. His decision to lift the siege of Perugia undermines his authority among the Lombard nobility, and ultimately results in the nobility deposing him at a council in Milan. King Ratchis is forced to retire with his family to the monastery at Monte Cassino.
• June – Aistulf succeeds his brother, Ratchis, as king of the Lombards and marries Gisaltruda, sister of Anselm, Duke of Friuli.

Britain

• King Ælfwald of East Anglia dies after a 36-year reign. He is succeeded by Beonna, Æthelberht I and possibly Hun (relationship unknown). Beonna emerges as the dominant monarch.
• King Æthelbald of Mercia calls the Synod of Gumley, at the instigation of Boniface, bishop of Mainz, and issues a charter that releases the Catholic Church from all public burdens.

Arabian Empire

• Abbasid Revolution: Muslim forces under Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i defeat a large Umayyad army (50,000 men) at Isfahan, and invade Iraq, taking the city of Kufa.
• Al-Hirah (or 750
  ).
• caliph at Kufa by his supporters and adopts the title of al-Saffah (the "Slaughterer of Blood").^[27]

• ruler of the Mayan city state of Copán in Honduras upon the death of Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat, who had reigned since 738. K'ak' Yipyaj reigns until 763
  .

• August 19 – Emperor Shōmu abdicates the throne, after a 25-year reign that has been dominated by his wife (and aunt), Kōmyō, a commoner he married at age 16. He is succeeded by his daughter Kōken; Shōmu becomes the first retired emperor to become a Buddhist priest.^[28]

By topic

Catastrophe

• Hippos and Pella
  are largely destroyed.

• Hisham
• Al-Walid II
• Yazid III
• Ibrahim ibn al-Walid
• Marwan II
• Sulayman ibn Hisham
• Yazid al-Afqam
• Maslama ibn Hisham
• Sa'id ibn Hisham
• Pope Zachary
• Leo III the Isaurian
• Constantine V

References