Saxon Wars: King
Charlemagne holds a major assembly at
Quierzy (Northern France). He leads a Frankish army into
Saxony to retake the castrum of
Syburg (near
Dortmund), then rebuilds and garrisons fortified
Eresburg. He reaches the
Weser at a place called Braunsberg, where the
Saxons stand for battle, but are defeated when Frankish troops cross the river.[1]
Westphalian Saxons, probably commanded by
Widukind, cross the Weser and fight an inconclusive battle at Hlidbeck (modern-day
Lübbecke). Charlemagne claims victory, but perhaps in reality suffers a setback. He reunites his forces and inflicts a real defeat upon the Saxons, seizing considerable
booty and taking
hostages, though Widukind escapes.[2]
Andalusian merchants set up an
emporium (trade settlement) on the
Maghreb coast at
Ténès (modern
Algeria). It is early evidence of the revival of the maritime trade in the Western Mediterranean, after the chaos of the early
8th century.[4]