By place Europe • King
Ratchis of the
Lombards besieges
Perugia, but is convinced to lift the
siege by
Pope Zachary. His decision to lift the siege of Perugia undermines his authority among the Lombard nobility, and ultimately results in the nobility deposing him at a council in
Milan. King Ratchis is forced to retire with his family to the
monastery at
Monte Cassino. •
June –
Aistulf succeeds his brother, Ratchis, as
king of the Lombards and marries Gisaltruda, sister of
Anselm, Duke of Friuli.
Britain • King
Ælfwald of East Anglia dies after a 36-year reign. He is succeeded by
Beonna,
Æthelberht I and possibly Hun (relationship unknown). Beonna emerges as the dominant
monarch. • King
Æthelbald of Mercia calls the Synod of
Gumley, at the instigation of
Boniface, bishop of
Mainz, and issues a charter that releases the
Catholic Church from all public burdens.
Egypt •
Ḥawthara ibn Suhayl takes the Coptic patriarch,
Michael I, hostage to
Rosetta, and threatenes to have him killed if the Egyptian rebels did not lay down their arms. The Egyptians attacked Rosetta and sacked it, massacring its Arab inhabitants. There was an offensive as far as
Pelusium against an Umayyad army. In response, Marwān ordered the pillaging and razing of Egyptian villages and monasteries throughout the Delta. His campaign was a failure and in 750 he was overthrown in the
Abbasid Revolution.
Arabian Empire •
Abbasid Revolution: Muslim forces under
Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i defeat a large
Umayyad army (50,000 men) at
Isfahan, and invade
Iraq, taking the city of
Kufa. •
Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad prince, is executed by
crucifixion on orders of the first
Abbasid caliph,
Abdullah ibn Muhammad, at
Al-Hirah (or
750). •
October 28 – Abdullah ibn Muhammad is proclaimed
caliph at Kufa by his supporters and adopts the title of al-Saffah (the "Slaughterer of Blood").
Central America •
February 18 –
Kʼakʼ Yipyaj Chan Kʼawiil ("Smoke Squirrel") becomes the new
ruler of the Mayan city state of
Copán in
Honduras upon the death of
Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat, who had reigned since 738. K'ak' Yipyaj reigns until
763.
Japan •
August 19 –
Emperor Shōmu abdicates the
throne, after a 25-year reign that has been dominated by his wife (and aunt),
Kōmyō, a commoner he married at age 16. He is succeeded by his daughter
Kōken; Shōmu becomes the first retired emperor to become a
Buddhist priest.
By topic Catastrophe •
January 18 –
Galilee earthquake:
Palestine and eastern
Transjordan are devastated by an
earthquake. The cities of
Tiberias,
Beit She'an,
Hippos and
Pella are largely destroyed. == Births ==