Spring – The Venetian
dukes change sides again, submitting to King
Pepin, under the authority of his father
Charlemagne, who then proceeds to take
Venice. Emperor
Nikephoros I sends a
Byzantine fleet to
Dalmatia, prompting Pepin to withdraw to the mainland. A
legate is dispatched to Venice, where he deposes the
turncoat dukes, before continuing on to
Aachen, to negotiate a peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne recognises
Byzantine dominance over Venice and Dalmatia in the
Adriatic Sea.
Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Emperor
Nikephoros I organises a new campaign against the
Bulgarian Empire, gathering an expeditionary force (most of the Roman army) from all parts of the empire. He is accompanied by high-ranking officials and
aristocrats, including his son
Stauracius and brother-in-law
Michael I Rangabe[4] (both later emperors temporarily).
Krum, ruler (khan) of
Bulgaria, sends envoys to sue for peace. Nikephoros refuses to accept the terms and marches through the
Balkan passes towards
Pliska, the Bulgarian capital.
July 23 – Nikephoros I reaches Pliska, and destroys a Bulgarian army of 12,000 elite soldiers who guard the stronghold. Another hastily assembled relief force of 50,000 soldiers suffers a similar fate.[5] The Byzantines capture the defenseless capital. Nikephoros plunders the city and captures Krum's
treasury.[6] He burns the countryside, slaughters
sheep and
pigs, as he pursues the retreating
Bulgars southwest towards
Serdica (modern-day
Sofia).[7]
July 26 –
Battle of Vărbitsa Pass: Nikephoros I is trapped (probably in the
Vărbitsa Pass) and defeated by the Bulgars, who use the tactics of
ambush and surprise night attacks to immobilize the Byzantine forces. Nikephoros himself is killed; Krum has the emperor's head carried back in triumph on a pole, where it is cleaned out, lined with
silver and made into a jeweled
skull cup, which he allows his
Slavic princes (
archons) to drink from with him.[8]
Charlemagne issues the
Capitulare de villis, concerning the rights of a
feudal landholder and the services owed by his
dependents. It also contains the names of some 89
plants, of which most are used
medically.
At the death of king
Hemming of
Denmark two claimants to the throne,
Sigfred and
Anulo, meet in
battle but are both killed.
Harald and
Reginfrid, brothers of Anulo, becomes joint kings of Denmark.
July 17 – Krum reaches
Constantinople, and
sets his camp outside the walls. He is given an invitation, and a promise of safe conduct, to meet Leo V. Krum sets out unarmed for the capital with only a small escort, but is
ambushed and manages to escape. After this unsuccessful Byzantine murder attempt, the Bulgars ravage much of
Eastern Thrace.[13]
Autumn –
Siege of Adrianople: Krum captures Adrianople—one of the most important Byzantine fortresses in
Thrace—after being attacked with
siege engines. The
garrison is forced to surrender, due to
starvation. On the orders of Krum, the population of the surrounding area (numbering about 10,000) is transferred to Bulgarian territory, north of the
Danube.[14]
Summer – Emperor
Louis I issues an Ordinatio Imperii, an imperial
decree that lays out plans for an orderly succession. He divides the
Frankish Empire among his three sons:
Lothair, the eldest, is proclaimed co-emperor in
Aachen, and becomes the
overlord of his brothers. He receives the dominion of
Burgundy (including German and
Gallic parts).
Pepin, the second son, is proclaimed king of
Aquitaine, and receives
Gascony (including the
marche around
Toulouse and parts of
Septimania);
Louis (the youngest son) is proclaimed king of
Bavaria, and receives the dominions of
East Francia.
^Picard, Christophe (2000). Le Portugal musulman (VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. L'Occident d'al-Andalus sous domination islamique. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. p. 40.
ISBN2-7068-1398-9.
^Rogers, Barbara, Bernhard W. Scholz, and Nithardus. Carolingian Chronicles, Royal Frankish Annals Nithard's Histories. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan, 1972. Print.