By place Europe •
February – King
Liutprand of the
Lombards dies of
natural causes after a 32-year reign, in which he has defeated the
dukes of
Spoleto and
Benevento, bringing the
Lombard Kingdom to the height of her power. He is succeeded by
Hildeprand, called "the Useless" (nephew or grandson of Liutprand), as ruler of the Lombards. •
October – Hildeprand is deposed by the council of
nobles, for his incompetence as ruler. He is succeeded by
Ratchis (formerly duke of
Friuli) as king of the
Lombards, who makes peace with
Pope Zachary. •
Pepin the Short, mayor of the palace of
Neustria and
Burgundy, invades the
Swabian Jura (southwestern
Germany), and chases
Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, from his mountain
redoubt in
Alsace.
Switzerland • In 741 and 744, documents in the archives of
St. Gallen Abbey describe the village of
Kempraten as
Centoprato, another document in
863 as
Centiprata, inspired by the Latin name
Centum Prata. • A
nunnery given by the
Alamannic noblewoman Beata on
Lützelau Island is first mentioned, and is in this year sold to
Einsiedeln Abbey. •
Ufenau island in
Switzerland is first mentioned in 741 as "Hupinauia", and in 744 as "Ubinauvia" — island of Huppan of Huphan.
Britain •
Wat's Dyke, a 40 mile (64 km)
earthwork in present-day
Wales, is constructed. The border between
Mercia and
Powys is set here. The date that Wat's Dyke was constructed is very uncertain, with some estimates linking the construction of the dyke to the 5th century and others to the early 9th century (approximate date).
Arabian Empire •
April 17 – Caliph
Al-Walid II is besieged in his
castle outside the city of
Damascus. He is defeated and killed by Arab forces under
Sulayman ibn Hisham. Al-Walid is succeeded by his cousin
Yazid III, who dies shortly after of a
brain tumor. of caliph
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid. He ruled the caliphate for just two months • December –
Marwan ibn Muhammad rebels against Yazid's designated successor
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, defeats the
Umayyad forces under Sulayman ibn Hisham, and becomes caliph.
Africa •
Tunisian Coup: Following the death of the Umayyad caliph,
Hisham,
Abd al-Rahman ibn Habib assembles a small force in
Tunis and declares himself emir of
Ifriqiya.
Handhala ibn Safwan al-Kalbi, wali of
Ifriqiya decides against fighting and returns to Damascus.
Abd al-Rahman installs himself in
Kairouan, and crushes multiple revolts around the country.
Asia • Turkic subjects like
Uyghur,
Karluk and
Basmyl, who are not the members of the
Ashina clan, stage a coup. This ends the
Turkic Empire and Ashina clan (except in
Khazaria). • Autumn –
Li Bai (also
Li Po), Chinese
poet and skilled
calligrapher, meets
Du Fu for the first time. • The Japanese imperial capital is moved from
Kuni-kyō to
Heijō-kyō.
Central America •
February 4 – In the
Third Tikal-Calakmul War in what is now
Guatemala, the
Mayan city-state of
Tikal conquers the state of
Naranjo and captures its king,
Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak, who is subsequently sacrificed. The conquest by
Tikal destroys
Calakmul's once powerful and extensive network of allies, vassal states and
trade networks.
By topic Religion •
Synod of Soissons. Called at the instigation of Pepin the Short and
Boniface, archbishop and
metropolitan, it secures the condemnation of the
Frankish bishop
Adalbert. •
Sturm, disciple of Boniface, establishes the Benedictine
Abbey of Fulda (
Hesse), as part of Boniface's mission to bring
Christianity to the
pagan tribes in Germany (or
742). • June –
Pope Zachary gives his approval by sending
Abel,
Grimo and
Hartbert their
palliums for the metropolitan
sees of
Reims,
Rouen and
Sens. •
Salih ibn Tarif proclaims himself a
prophet among the
Barghawata, a confederation of
Berber tribes in modern-day western
Morocco. == Births ==