The
French city of
Lille (according to the
legend) is founded by
Lydéric. He kills Phinaert in a
duel to avenge his parents' deaths (approximate date).
December 22 – On orders of the Saracen leader, Amar, the
Serapeum of Alexandria, containing works that had survived the destruction of the
Library of Alexandria, is burned down, along with its collection of 500,000 manuscripts.[3] This story may be apocryphal.[4]
A surge in atmospheric lead in ice core drilled in the Colle Gnifetti Glacier in the
Swiss Alps signals an increase in silver mining because of economic recovery, after natural disasters in
530s and
540s.[6]
May – Constantine III, age 29, dies of
tuberculosis after a four-month reign, leaving his half-brother Heraklonas sole emperor. Rumors spread that Constantine has been
poisoned by Heraclius's second wife (and niece)
Martina.
Constans II establishes a new civil-military defensive organisation, based upon
geographical military districts. Byzantine forces maintain the frontier, along the line of the
Taurus Mountains (Southern
Turkey).
Prince
Oswiu of
Bernicia conquers
Gododdin (or "The Old North") as far north as
Manau (modern
Scotland), on behalf of his half-brother, King
Oswald (approximate date).
King
Bridei II dies after a 5-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother
Talorc III as ruler of the
Picts.
Battle of Nahāvand: The
Rashidun army (30,000 men) under
Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas defeats the Persians at
Nahāvand (modern
Iran). The Persian cavalry, full of confidence, mounts an ill-prepared attack. The
Arabs retreat to a safe area, where they outmanoeuvre and destroy the Persians in a narrow mountain valley.
Emperor
Taizong of the
Tang dynasty issues a
decree throughout China, that increases the punishment for men who deliberately inflict injuries upon themselves (most commonly breaking their own legs) in order to avoid military
conscription. This decree is an effort to eradicate this practice that has grown as a trend since the time of the rebellion against the
Sui dynasty.
The earliest surviving dated Arabic-language
papyrus (
PERF 558), found in
Heracleopolis (Egypt), and the earliest known Arabic text with
diacritical marks is written.
Architecture
Arabs begin construction of the
Mosque of Amr at
Cairo, the first
mosque built in Egypt and in all of Africa.
King
Rothari of the
Lombards issues the Edictum Rothari, which is the first codification of Lombard law (written in
Latin). The
edict guarantees rights only for Lombard subjects.
'Amr ibn al-'As sends a detachment to
Sabratha (modern
Libya). The city puts up feeble resistance, but soon surrenders and agrees to pay
Jizya.
Asia
Chinese
prefectural government officials travel to the capital of
Chang'an, to give the annual report of the affairs in their districts. Emperor
Taizong discovers that many have no proper quarters to rest in, and are renting rooms with
merchants. Therefore, Taizong orders the government agencies in charge of
municipal construction to build every visiting official his own private
mansion in the capital.
Taizong commissions artist
Yan Liben to paint the life-size portraits of 24 government officials in the
Lingyan Pavilion, to commemorate their service and contributions to the founding of the Tang dynasty.
Valentinus, Byzantine general, attempts to usurp the
throne of his son-in-law
Constans II. He appears at the gates of
Constantinople with a contingent of Byzantine troops, and demands to be crowned emperor. His claim is rejected, and Valentinus is
lynched by the populace.[13]
Alexandria revolts against
Arab rule, at the appearance of a
Byzantine fleet of 300 ships,[14] and Byzantine forces recapture the city.
Abdullah ibn Sa'ad, Arab governor of
Egypt, mounts an assault and retakes it. He begins building a
Muslim fleet.
September – Taizong is unable to capture the Ansi fortress defended by Korean general
Yang Manchun. Food supplies running low, he withdraws his forces, ending the
Siege of Ansi.[17]
October 13 – Emperor Taizong is compelled to order a withdrawal from Goguryeo.[18]
Amr ibn al-'As builds
fortifications in Alexandria and quarters a strong
garrison in the vicinity, which twice a year is relieved from
Upper Egypt.[14]
Emperor
Kōtoku makes a
decree about the policies of building
tombs. He discontinues the old customs of
sacrificing people in honor of a dead man, and forbids ill-considered
rituals about purgation.
Self-proclaimed emperor
Gregory the Patrician is killed during the Arab invasion at Sufetula.
Africa returns to imperial allegiance after his death, but the foundation of
Byzantine rule is fatally undermined.
Emperor
Constans II issues an imperial
edict forbidding
Monothelitism to be discussed, to quiet the intense controversy caused by the Monothelete doctrine. This edict, distributed by patriarch
Paul II in Constans' name, is known as the Typos.
Constans II orders
Olympius, exarch of the
Exarchate of Ravenna, to arrest
Pope Martin I on the ostensible grounds that the pope's election has not been submitted to the emperor for approval, but in fact because of the
Lateran Council of 649's condemnation of
Monothelitism and the
Type of Constans. Olympius attempts to gain the support of the citizens of
Rome and the
bishops, with little success, and perhaps considers the assassination of the Pope.
June 16 – General
Wang Xuance commands a combined Chinese,
Nepalese, and
Tibetan expedition into
India. He ends up winning the battle and acquiring a Buddhist relic.[24]
July 10 – Emperor
Taizong dies after a 23-year reign, in which he has restored the civil administration in China. He is succeeded by his son
Gaozong, age 20, who becomes ruler of the
Tang dynasty.
^Butler, Alfred, "The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty years of Roman Dominion", p. 222
^Al Farooq, Umar by Muhammad Husayn Haykal, chapter nr. 21
^"Fires, Great", in The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance, Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) pp24
^Watters, Thomas. "On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India". Two volumes. 1904–1905, Royal Asiatic Society, London. One volume reprint: Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1973, pp. 343–344
^Wechsler, Howard J. (1979). "T'ai-tsung (reign 626–49) the consolidator". In Twitchett, Dennis (ed.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 3: Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 226.
ISBN978-0-521-21446-9.
^Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third revised ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 221.
ISBN0-521-56350-X.
^Teule, Herman G. B. (2011).
"Yuḥanon of the Sedre". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts;
George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Retrieved 8 July 2020.