ca. 600         The period of the “Heptarchy”: the seven kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Sussex, Essex,
East Anglia, and Kent –the “top king” at any one time was referred to as “Bretwalda” of overlord of the Britons

ca. 600            Big pigs arrived in Hawaii with the Europeans, though small pigs came with the Polynesians some 1400 years before

ca. 600            Early settlers from the Marquesas built the Alakoko fishpond and taro fields on Kauai, Hawaii

ca. 600            The Joya de Ceren Maya site in El Salvador was buried beneath 16 feet of ash from nearby Loma Caldera

ca. 600            “The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbott” recounts a 7 year trip to a land across the sea by the
Irish saint and a band of acolytes

600, Feb.16,   Pope Gregory decreed “God Bless You” as the religiously correct response to a sneeze  

600                  Quill pens, made from the outer feathers of crows and other large birds, became popular

600                  The first books were printed in China

600-700           The Tantras, Buddhist texts for generating deep religious experiences, were produced in India

600-700           The library at Alexandria, Egypt, disappeared

600-700           The Frisians clashed with the Franks and resisted Christianity

600-700           St. Willibrord, an Irish missionary, spread Christianity in the region of Luxembourg

600-700        Calinicus, an engineer from Heliopolis, Syria, is thought to have brought “Greek fire,” (flammable petrochemicals)
 to Constantinople. The weapon helped save the Byzantine Empire from Islamic conquest for several centuries

600-700           The  martial art of “Tie-kwan-doe” was developed as part of the military training for young noblemen charged
with protecting the kingdoms of what became Korea

600-800           Irish monks began to seek solace in Iceland

600-800           Polynesian seafarers first landed on Easter Island. They carved nearly 900 colossi of compressed volcanic ash, the moai

604                  St. Paul’s Cathedral in London founded

604                  Deaths of St. Augustine and Pope Gregory I

604-617           King Saebert of Essex reigned in England. St. Mellitus converted him to Christianity

607, Mar 13,   The twelfth recorded passage of Halley’s Comet occurred

607                  The  first envoy from Japan was sent to China

609, May 13,  Pope Boniface I turned the Roman Pantheon into a Catholic church

610, Apr 6,     Lailat-ul Qadar: The night that the Koran descended to Earth. Muhammad is believed by his followers to have had a
vision of Gabriel. The angle told him to recite in the name of God. Other visions are supposed to have Gabriel lead
Muhammad to heaven to meet God, and to Jerusalem to meet Abraham, Moses and Jesus. These visions convinced
Mohammad that he was a messenger of God.

610, Oct 5       Heraclitus’ fleet took Constantinople

610-632           During Mohammed’s ministry in Mecca and Medina the definition of jihad moved from persuasive proselytism to
Muslim war against all infidels

610-641           Heracles ruled the Byzantine Empire

611                  In Cambodia at Angkor Borei the earliest known Khmer inscription dates to this time

614                  Croats settled in the area between the Adriatic Sea and the rivers Sava and Drava

614                  Christian Palestine was invaded by the Persians. The 5^th century monastery of St. Theodosius east of Beit Sahour
near Bethlehem was destroyed

615                  Pope Boniface died

615                  Columbanus, Irish explorer, monastery founder, poet and saint died (St. Columba)

615                   Yang Di, a Chinese Sui emperor, announced a 4^th attempt to conquet Korea. In response to peasant rebellions in the north,
Yang Di moved to the eatern city of Yagzhou

615                  Pakal became the Mayan ruler of Palenque. He died in 683

617-1279         The Tang dynasty unified China

618-907           Porcelain was invented during the Tang dynasty in China

618-907           The area of Tiananmen Square in China was first cleared

617                  Edwin becomes king of Northumbria, & founds Edinburgh

620, Aug 22   This day corresponds to the 27^th day of Rajab, 1427, in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the night flight of Muhammad
on the winged horse Buraq to the farthest mosque, usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back.

620                  The town of Cholula was founded in central Mexico. It was later said to be the oldest continuously occupied town
in all of North America

630, Mar 21    Heraclius restored the True Cross, which he had recaptured from the Persians

630                  Mohammed raised an army of 10,000 and took over Mecca. He immediately set out to destroy all the idols of Kaaba.
The black stone remained embedded in the corner. The area around became the first mosque, or Muslim house
of worship. Mohammad returned from Medina and began the Islamic conquest of Arabia

632                  Mohammed died. His companions compiled his words and deeds in a work called the Sunna.
he Muslim beard tradion is from the Sunna

633                  Muhammad’s chief clerk collected Mohammad’s revelations into one work called the Koran (Quran).
Loosely translated it means “Recitation.”

633                  The 4^th Synod of Toledo took on the right to confirm elected kings. Jews were obliged to be baptized.
The vernacular language, of Latin origin, prevailed over that of the Visigoths

635                  Damascus was captured by the Muslims

636                  A Byzantine army arrived in the region of Jerusalem and was defeated by a much smaller Muslim army.

636, Jul 23      Arabs gained control of mostof Palestine from the Byzantine Empire

636, Aug 15   Islamic forces beat a Byzantine army and gained control of Syria

637                  Ctesiphon, a center of Christianity southeast of Baghdad, was taken by Arabs who renamed it Madain

637                  Muslim armies conquered Mesopotamia

640                  Muslim Arabs invaded Armenia and captured Dvin, its principal town

640                  The Muslim government began minting coins

641                  Arabs begin conquest of North Africa

642                  Arabs conquered Alexandria and destroyed the great library

642                  Arabs conquered the Sassanids

642                  Pope Theodore I began using the title “Patriarch of the West.”

649                  Pope Theodore, excommunicated by Paul II, died. St. Martin I began his reign as Pope

ca. 650            Sutton Hoo ship-burial

ca. 650            An early Mayan classic temple in Copan was closed and covered.

650                  The Khazars’ aggressive territorial expansion drove some Bulgars westward. These Bulgars soon founded a
kingdom in the southeastern Balkans known as Bulgaria

650-750           In Mexico the Teotihuacan culture began declining and was almost abandoned

652                  Arabs introduced Islam to Afghanistan

654                  A Saxon monk founded St. Botolph’s Town in England. The name gradually changed to Boston

663                  Synod of Whitby: Roman Christianity triumphs over Celtic

664                  Roman Christianity established in Northumbria,

644                  Synod of Whitby decides date of Easter

668                  Constantine II, emperor of Byzantium, died

668-1392         In Korea the Silla Kingdom untied the peninsula and began the Koryo Cynasty from which Korea derived its name

669                 Theodore, a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, arrived in England to take over the See of Canterbury under the direction
of Pope Vitalian. He was well received everywhere and was the 1^st Archbishop whose authority the whole English
Church was willing to acknowledge

ca. 670            A Japanese inventor based the first design of a folding fan on the structure of a bat’s wing

673                  Birth of the Venerable Bede, first English historian

680                  Imam Hussein, grandson of Mohammad, was beheaded. He was killed by rival Muslim forces on the Karbala plain
in modern Iraq. He then became a saint to the Shiite Muslims. Traditionalists and radical guerrillas alike commemorate
his martyrdom as the ceremony of Ashura. The 10-day mourning period during the holy month of Muharram commemorates
the deaths of Caliph Ali’s male relatives by Sunnis from Iraq. Shiites went on to believe that new leaders should be
descendants of Mohammad and Ali. Sunnis went on to vest power in a body of Muslim scholars called the Ulema.

682-721           Ah Cacaw (Lord of Cocoa) ruled over Tikal (Guatemala). His burial tomb was later found deep inside
the Temple of the Great Jaguar

683-685           Khazars invaded and killed the rulers of Armenia and Georgia

685                  In China a manual on calligraphy was made. It summarized the aesthetic ideals and theories of Chinese writing

685-7               Cuthbert served as Bishop of Lindisfarne

687-714           Pepin II united and ruled the Franks

688                  North Africa was conquered by the Muslims

691                  Muslims built the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem

694                  Spanish King Egica accused Jews of aiding Moslems and sentenced them to slavery

ca. 697            The last major earthquake occurred in the Salt Lake City region. (a major quake hits the region about every 1300 years)

697                  In Ireland an assembly was called at the hill of Tara to put an end to the participation of Irish women in battle

ca. 698            Lindisfarne Gospels made

691                  Dome of the Rock completed in Jerusalem

697                  In Ireland an assembly was called at the hill of Tara to put an end to the participation of Irish women in battle

ca. 700           The Celts of Ireland, Britain, and northern France had celebrated Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 as their New Year.
The pagan harvest event incorporated masks to ward off evil ones. The Catholic holiday of All Soul's Day
and All Saints’ Day, set for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, was instituted to supplant the Druid holiday and Pope Gregory
made it official.

ca. 700            The mound-building Caddo culture began flourishing in the Texas and Oklahoma area

ca. 700            Abd al Malik issued the first pure Islamic coins

ca. 700            The Chinese gained control over Manchuria from the Koreans

ca. 700            Trace along the coast of East Africa expanded and promoted the founding of such settlements as
Kismayu, Mogadiscio, Gedi, Malindi, Mombasa, and Kilwas

ca. 700            In Mexico the Zapotec city of Monte Alban was abandoned

700-800           The Catholic Church changed its rules on fasting and allowed fish to be eaten on Fridays and during Lent

700-800           King Offa decreed that an earthen barrier be built along the border between Wales and his kingdom of Mercia

700-800           In Bulgaria the Madara Horseman in Kaspichan was carved into a sandstone cliff.

700-800           Dionysus Exiguus (Dennis the Short) a Catholic monk, created a chronology for Pope John I with a
calendar that began in the year AD 1

700-800           The village site of Galu, Kenya produced the world’s oldest crucible steel

700-800           The Bonampak site in Chiapas, Mexico, has frescoes painted on the stucco walls of Structure I.
They depict war, sacrifice and celebration. The name glyph for Shield Jaguar II, king of nearby Yaxchilan,
was recognized

700-800           Slav tribes settle into the territories of present-day Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia,
and assimilated the Illyrian populations of these regions

700-800           Vikings began arriving to the Orkney Islands

702                  Japan’s first constitution was announced

708                  Mar 25, Constantine began his reign as Catholic Pope

710                  Roman Chrisianity established in Pictland

711                  The Umayyads with the help of the Berbers in North Africa moved across the Strait of Gibralter and
began the conquest of Spain and Portugal

715                  Constantine ended his reign as Catholic Pope, and St. Gregory II began his reign

722                  First written version of Anglo-Saxon epic poem “Beowolf”

729, Apr 24    Egbertus, English bishop, St. Egbert, died in Iona

730                  Printing began in China

731                  Bede’s “Eclesiastical History”

732                  At Tours, France, Charles Martel killed Abd el Rahman and halted the Muslim invasion of Europe.
Eslam’s westward spread was stopped by the Franks at Poitiers

732                  Pope Gregory II banned horseflesh from Christian tables after learning that pagans of northern Europe ate it
 in their religious rites

735                  Death of the Venerable Bede, who wrote The Ecclesiastical History

742                  Charlemagne, King of the Franks and first Holy Roman emperor was born

744                  Lords of the Lowland Maya city of Cxaracol conducted a burning ritual in the cave at Naj Tunich,
in the Peten of Guatemala

745                  Some 200,000 Slovenians, settled in a pocket of the eastern slopes of the Alps, were threatened by the
 Avars and the Bavarians. For safety they adopted Christianity and accepted the protection of the Frankish king

746                  The estimated date for the dedication of the Mayan temple in Copan

747                  King Offa first divided a pound of silver into 240 silver pennies

ca. 750-850     The Maya city of La Milpa reached its peak with about 50,000 people

750-1258         Muslim power in Persia was held by the Abbassid family headed by al Abbas. One Abbasid general,
Abdullah, invited 80 Umayyad leaders to a banquet where they were killed by Abdullah’s men. Only one Umayyad,
Abd Al Rahman, was able to escape. He fled all the way to Spain where he united the warring Muslim groups there
and built a new Umayyad government. So now the Muslims were spit in two groups. The Abbassid dynasty of the
Muslim Empire ruled Arabia and the eastern empire.

751                  During a raid into central Asia, the Abbasids captured some Chinese artisans skilled in paper making

751-987           The Frankish dynasty of Pepin the Short began the Carolingian period

752                  Abu Jafar al Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph, moved the capital to Baghdad

752                  The dedication of the Great Buddha of Todai Temple in Nara

754                  The Iconoclasts (image smashers) prevailed and religious art was banned in Christian churches by the papal edict
hat remained in effect for a century

757-796           Offa ruled Mercia and was overlord of many English kingdoms

756                 Abd al Rahman was proclaimed the emir of Cordoba, Spain. Abd al Rahman united the Umayyad fordes in Spain
and made the ancient Roman city of Cordoba his capital

763                  Tibetan armies occupied the capital of China

766-787           The Chinese poet Du Fu arrived in Baidi Cheng and was given the means to write poetry by the local warlord.
He wrote a third of his life’s work with poems in the regulated style called lushi

768-814           Charlemagne was king of the Franks and emperor of the former Western Roman Empire

ca. 775            King Egbert of Wessex was born, later to become the first king of all England

779                  King Trisong Detsen led Tibet. Under his rule the first Buddhist monastery, Samye, was built. It was built under the
influence of Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche), Tibet’s greatest saint. Padmasambhava was an 8^th century sorcerer
and saint who converted Tibet to Buddhism. Legend has it that he dictated “sacred geography” texts to his queen
consort and then hid them for future discovery. The texts were discovered by 17^th century charismatic lamas.

780                  A group of West Africans called the Soninke took control of Ghana and developed it into a major trading empire

785                  The Frisian Empire becomes a country of the Frankish Empire

786                  Abd Al Rahman began construction fo the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It was under construction for 200 years

786                  Death of King Ealhmund of Kent, King Egbert’s father, and death of Cynewulf, King of Kent. Beorhtric was
made king of Kent, Offa having control of Mercia

786-789           Egbert of Wessex went into exile in Mercia

ca. 791            Croats established the principalities of Primortska Hrvatska on the Adriatic coast
and Posavska Hrvatsha in inland Coratia

789-802           Egbert of Wessex in exile in Frankish court of Charlemagne

792                  The first paper making factory in the Islamic Empire was built in Baghdad

794                  The capital of Japan was moved from Nara to Kyoto and the new Imperial Palace was build there

794-1185         The Heian Period in Japan. The kimono originated in this period

795                  Vikings first raided Ireland

ca. 795            Egbert of Wessex marries Redburga, sister of Charlemagne, at Aachen

ca. 796            Egbert and Redburga have first child, a son named Aethelwulf

796                  Offa, king of Mercia, died

ca. 797          The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels, was made by Irish monks. The Book of Kells
is a richly decorated copy of the four gospels produced by Christian monks, on the Scottish Isle of Iona
or in the Irish town of Kells.

12/25/800       Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor at the basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome

ca. 800            The height of the Mayan city of Copan. Some 20,000 people lived in the Copan pocket, a fertile section of the
Copan River valley in what is now Honduras

800, Dec 25    Pope Leo III crowned Charlemage emperor at the basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome.

ca. 800            England’s King Lear lived about this time. Shakespeare wrote his play “King Lear” in 1606.

ca. 800            The Britons did not comb their hair until they were taught by the Danes about this time

ca. 800            The first Polynesians came from somewhere in the central Pacific to New Zealand, commonly
called in English the Moa-hunters.

802                  Egbert returned from exile to become King of Wessex

802                  Vikings stage their first raids of Iona (Scotland)

813-833           Caliph al Ma’mun founded a school in Baghdad called the House of Wisdom. In this school scholars
translated Greek philosophy classics into Arabic

814                  Charlemagne died, reigning for 45 years

815                  King Egbert ravishes the West Welsh at Cornwall

ca. 820            The collapse of the Mayan ruling Classic period dynasty in Copan

825                  King Egbert won Sussex, Essex, Kent and East Anglia

829                  King Egbert becomes king of all England with the conquest of Mercia and Northumbria

830                  King Egbert conquers North Wales, and returned Wiglaf to rule in Mercia as vassal king

835                  Vikings attack Sheppey

836                  King Egbert fought the Vikings at Carhampton

838                  Norse establish permanent base at Dublin

838                  King Egbert fought the combined forces of the Cornish and Vikings at Hingston Down winning the field

839                Charles II of France was born. He was the youngest son of Louis the German, and grandson of Charlemagne.
His fall in 887 marked the final disintegration of the empire of Charlemagne. He was crowned emperor by Pope
John VIII in 881and bcame king of all the East Franks in 882. He died on January 13, 888

839                  King Egbert of England dies and his son Aethelwulf becomes kin

839                  The Stone of Scone was first believed to be used in the coronation of a Scottish king at the village of Scone
in southeast Scotland

839                  The first official mention of Andorra was recorded in the records of the cathedral at Seu D’Urgell in Spain

840                  Vikings settle in Ireland

841                  Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated Lothar at Fontenay

842                  Vikings attack the Irish monastery at Clonmacnoise from bases in Ireland

843                  Vikings destroyed Nantes

844                  Kenneth I MacAlpin, king of Scots, becomes King of Picts-start of Scottish kingdom

ca. 850            Outsiders found coffee in the region of Ethiopa called Kaffa, hence the name

851                  Danish invasion of England defeated

852                  Vikings spent winter in England

853                  Alfred goes to Rome

853                  Olaf, King of Sweden, led his forces across the Baltic Sea and into western Lithuania

854                  Danes attack Paris

855                  A version of “Cinderella” came from China

856-860          Aethelbald, son of Aethelwulf, reigns in Wessex

860                  Newpaper printed in China

860-866           Aethelbert, son of Aethelwulf, reigns in Wessex

865-874           Danish army conquers north-eastern third of England

866                  Danish kingdom established in England

866-871           Aethelred I, son of Aethelwulf, reigns in Wessex

871-899           Reign of Alfred the Great, youngest son of Aethelwulf, in Wessex

872                  Curfew introduced at Oxford by King Alfred to reduce fire risks

874                  Vikings from Norway began to survey Iceland.

ca. 875-925     Lork Chaak ruled over the Mayan city of Uxmal in Mexico

878                  Battle of Chippenham: Alfred defeated by Danes but escapes and “burns the cakes”; Battle of Egbert’s Stone
 (Eddington?) in May; Alfred defeats Danes, who retreat and are besieged in Chippenham-Danes fail in attempt
to conquer Wessex-leader Guthram baptized as Athelstan and accepted by Alfred as his godson

880                  Treaty of Wedmore: England divided between Alfred the Great of Wesseex and the “Damelaw” under Guthram.
Start of concept of “Englishness” and growth of “burghs” in England from this time

889                  Donald II, first King of Picts and Scots (d. in battle 900)

891                  Beginning of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles marks revival of learning in England

896                  The founding date of Hungary. Seven tribes of Magyars settled in the Carpathian basin

899                  Death of King Alfred the Great

ca. 800            Gunpowder discovered in China

ca. 800-900     In England Nennius wrote a history in the early 9^th century and mentioned King Arthur

800-900           Ninth century monks called Bhutan “the hidden world”

800-900           In France monks moved inland from the Loire valley to escape the depredations of the Vikings and revived the
making of Chablis wine with Chardonnay grapes

800-900          The first Khmer or king, known as Kambu, founded Kambujadesa, which means “The Sons of Kambu” or
Kambuja for short. Construction of the city and temple complex known as Angkor Wat was begun.

800-900           Muhamed ibn-Musa al Khwarizmi, Arab mathematician and astronomer, wrote his science of reduction and comparison.
The work dealt with solving equations. It was the first time that algebra was discussed as a separate branch of mathematics.

800-900           The Vikings brought ponies to Ireland

800-900           A timber mosque was built at Shanga, Kenya

800-1050         Ghana controlled West Africa’s rich trade, yet villagers continued to use cowry shells for money. Koumbi, Ghana’s capital,
became the busiest and wealthiest margetplace in West Africa.

ca. 800-1200   Wat Phu (mountain temple) in southern Laos was a religious complex patronized by the Khmer of Cambodia

ca. 900            The east coast of Africa was impacted by trade and Arab, Percian and Indian traders mixed with the indigenous Bantu.
Many of the coastal Bantu adopted Islam and the Arabic word Swahili, meaning “people of the shore,” to describe themselves.

ca. 900            The Mayan city-state of Palenque (later in Mexico) and the state of Copan (later in Honduras) was abandoned

917-921           Edward of Wessex conquers southern half of Danelaw

Historical Time Line The Making of Kings- Kingship, The Army and Warfare Events before King Egbert's Time- Beginning in Europe, The 7 Kingdoms and the Church,  Lineage, Ancestors and Parentage The Life of King Egbert- The Early Years (775-802) The Kingship- Chronicle Excerpts, 802-824, 825-829, 830-839, Reasons for Success The People and Places Important to King Egbert - The People, The Places Society in King Egbert's Time- Part 1 (Government, Household, Allegiance, Finances) Part 2 (Great Hall, Cooking & Eating, Food, Feasts, Christmas) Part 3 (Crafts & Trade, Clothing and Appearance, Hygiene, Medicine) Part 4 (Peasants, Farming, Gardens & Plants, Common Tasks, Home, Village) Part 5 (Art) Sources and References