By place Byzantine Empire •
Alexandria revolts against
Arab rule, at the appearance of a
Byzantine fleet of 300 ships, 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.
Europe •
Plato, exarch (imperial governor) of
Ravenna, invades the southern
Po Valley. The
Lombards under King
Rothari defeat him on the banks of the
Panaro River (near
Modena); 8,000 imperial troops are killed.
Britain • King
Cenwalh of Wessex is driven from his kingdom by his brother-in-law, King
Penda of Mercia (according to
Bede). He flees to the court of king
Anna of East Anglia, and is
baptised while in
exile. Penda overruns
Wessex. •
Gwynedd and much of
Wales is in the grasp of
famine. Would-be king
Cadwaladr Fendigaid flees to
Brittany. Civil war continues in his kingdom (approximate date).
Japan •
July 10 –
Isshi Incident: Prince
Naka-no-Ōe and
Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate
Soga no Iruka, during a ''
coup d'état'' at the imperial palace. • Empress
Kōgyoku is forced to abdicate the throne in favor of her younger brother
Kōtoku, age 49, who becomes the 36th emperor of
Japan. • Naka-no-Ōe becomes
crown prince and prime minister. Supporters of the semi-legendary
regent Prince
Shōtoku gain supremacy in Japan. • Kōtoku creates a new city at
Naniwa, and moves the capital from
Yamato Province. The capital has a
sea port, establishing foreign
trade and
diplomatic relations. • Emperor Kōtoku establishes the
Taika Reform: a land reform based on
Confucian ideas and
philosophies from
China (approximate date) • The first
nengō, derived from the
Chinese system of eras (
nianhao) begins with the
Taika era. (Unclear significance. Needs more explanation as to why this belongs in the list of major events of the year)
China •
May 1 –
First conflict of the Goguryeo–Tang War: A Chinese expeditionary army under
Emperor Taizong of Tang crosses the
Liao River into
Goguryeo (one of the
Three kingdoms of Korea). •
July 18 – Tang forces under
Li Shiji heading southeast toward the
Yalu River put the strategic fortress of
Ansi City (in the province of
Liaoning) under
siege. • September – Taizong is unable to capture the Ansi fortress defended by Korean general
Yang Manch'un. Food supplies running low, he withdraws his forces, ending the
Siege of Ansi. •
October 13 – Emperor Taizong is compelled to order a withdrawal from Goguryeo.
By topic Religion •
Xuanzang, Chinese
Buddhist monk, returns to
China after a 16-year
pilgrimage to
India. He is greeted with much honor by Emperor
Taizong. • The
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci'en Temple,
Xi'an (
Shanxi) is first erected during the
Tang dynasty (approximate date). == Births ==