All About History Book of History Year By Year

731–740 741–750

In 1837, artist Steuben depicted the Battle of Tours–Poitiers as a clash over the fate of The Great Mosque at Samarra, Iraq, built by the Abbasid Caliphate. Once the
largest mosque in the world, the minaret stands at 52m (171ft) tall.
Christian Europe. In reality Islamic raiders were beaten back in a minor skirmish.

790 checked and Europe preserved overtaxed the surrounding THE FOUNDATION OF THE ABBASID Carloman. In 748, Pepin had a
for Christianity. Arabic sources ecology and exceeded their ability CALIPHATE IN 750 was the son, Charles, who would go on to
record it as a minor skirmish, to cope with drought. Collapse culmination of growing tension in unite most of Western Europe
and in reality its main was just around the corner. the Islamic world. Under the under one banner (see 761–90).
Umayyads (see 651–70) the Arab
PEOPLE PER significance was that it elite stubbornly maintained their Tiwanaku, a pre-Columbian city
SQUARE demonstrated the need for the special tax and political status, on the altiplano (high plains) of
KILOMETRE Frankish kingdoms to failing to deal with the growing Bolivia, reached it’s height in
present a unified defence. grievances of the mawali (non- around 750. Tiwanaku was the
Arab Muslims). In 747, revolt broke centre of a civilization that
The Maya city-states out in Persian Khorasan, flourished from the third to tenth
centuries (see 951–60). The city
THE of the Late Classic stronghold of the Abbasid clan, itself was probably a ceremonial
POPULATION period reached who traced their descent back and trading centre; its cultural
the peak of their to Muhammad through his and economic influence spread far
uncle, al-Abbas. In 749, Abu through South America, and
DENSITY power and al-Abbas al-Saffah was it would profoundly affect the
OF TIKAL sophistication proclaimed caliph at Kufa in development of later civilizations
in the mid-8th Iraq, and the following year at in the Andean region. Tiwanaku
century in the Battle of the Zab he thrived in the harsh environment
defeated Marwan II, the last of the Bolivian altiplan thanks to
Central America. Umayyad caliph. Marwan fled its sophisticated raised-field
to Egypt but his head was sent agriculture system and extensive
SINCE CONQUERING SPAIN, The population of back to Damascus, whereupon use of terracing and irrigation,
which enabled it to achieve yields
ISLAMIC FORCES had made Tikal, for instance, al-Saffah instigated a general in excess of even modern
massacre of the Umayyad petrochemical farming
regular raids across the swelled to at least clan to remove potential (see below), and supported the
opposition. development of a sophisticated
Pyrenees, striking deep into 60,000, in a city In 741 Charles Martel culture. The Tiwanaku people
(see 731–40) died and was built pyramids, temples, and
modern-day France before spread out over succeeded by his sons colossal statues.
Pepin the Short and
retreating to al-Andalus. In 721, 76 sq km (47 sq

an incursion into Aquitaine – a miles). Mayan rulers

dukedom nominally in vassalage built stone

to the Frankish kingdom – had temples, palaces,

been checked by Duke Eudo at ballcourts, and

the Battle of Toulouse. But in observatories, and

731, Eudo was unable to halt a controlled a trade

fresh invasion of Islamic forces network stretching

under Abd al-Rahman I, emir of from California to

al-Andalus. After defeat at the South America. Yet

Battle of Arles, Eudo was forced the height of the 25

to appeal to Charles Martel, the city-states’ glory 20

Frankish mayor of the palace, for sowed the seeds of YIELD TONS/HECTARE 15

help. Martel raised an army and downfall, as the populations 10

met the Islamic forces on the 5

banks of the Loire, between Tiwanaku yields 0
Raised fields combined Traditional Modern Tiwanaku
Tours and Poitiers, in 732. He Statue of Chaak, Mayan god with irrigation canals Petrochemical Intensive
was victorious at the Battle of Mayans would have sought enabled Tiwanaku to FARMING YIELDS COMPARED
Tours–Poitiers, and subsequent help from god of rain and achieve yields
Christian historians would depict thunder, Chaak, for their of up to 21 tonnes per
this as one of the defining crops. Their civilization sat in hectare, according
clashes of the age – the moment a region of poor soil and to experimental
at which Islamic expansion was fragile ecology, reconstructions.
so rain was vital.

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113

111

751–760 761–770 771–780

The interior of the Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, shows architecture from the The two-tier crop rotation system introduced in the 760s divided fields Roland bids farewell to Charlemagne,
earliest phase of construction during the reign of Abd al-Rahman I. between cultivated and fallow land, then alternated, promoting soil fertility. in this medieval illustration on vellum.

UNDER THE NEW ABBASID which led to the loss of most of THE DEATH OF PEPIN III IN 758, Charlemagne’s
CALIPHS (see 741–50) the Islamic Tang China’s Central Asian
empire continued to grow. Initial possessions and introduced the had seen the Frankish kingdom ATLANTIC Hamburg European Conquests
success came in 751 against the Islamic world to papermaking. customarily divided between his OCEAN Aachen Charlemagne inherited
Chinese in the Silk Route kingdom Outlying regions of the caliphate sons Carloman and Charles (see Paris land from his father then
of Tashkent. The Islamic armies asserted their autonomy. In Spain panel, below). embarked on war after
were victorious at the Battle of in 756, one of the last surviving EUROPE war, continuing the work
Talas River near Samarkand, Umayyads, Abd al-Rahman I, Meanwhile, the great monastic of his father and
retreat on the Scottish isle of Iona grandfather.
declared an independent
Emirate of Cordoba. was developing a reputation for
In Europe, the
Carolingian Pepin III piety and scholarship. It is KEY Avignon Bologna KEY
(c.714–68) possible that one of the treasures
deposed the last of Celtic Christianity – the Book of BarcelonoFanraCnhkaisrhleEmmapginree’s Frankish Empire on
Merovingian Kells – was produced by monks Charlemagne’s accession
king, Childeric III. in the monastery at Iona. Lavishly
With the pope’s decorated and illuminated, this accession Rome Charlemagne’s
support Pepin was priceless artefact survived the conquests
crowned and was Viking raids (see 791–800), and for McCoehndaiqrtSueleereamrsatansgena en ’s
soon able to return Regions recognising Regions recognizing
the papal favour. Charlemagne as Charlemagne as overlord
When the Lombards
conquered Ravenna, overlord THE DEATH OF CARLOMAN IN 771
the last Byzantine
territory in Italy, the Sasanian capital), the new city
Lombard king, Aistulf
then set his eyes on safekeeping it was later was carefully laid out on a meant that Charlemagne became
Rome. Pope Stephen II
appealed to Pepin for transferred to a monastery at circular plan and was connected sole ruler of the Franks. The
help, and in 755 and 756
Pepin invaded Italy, Kells in Ireland. to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers following year he launched a
seizing Ravenna. It was
later claimed by the The founding of Baghdad in by canals. Baghdad became a series of bloody campaigns with
papacy in a document entitled
762 signalled the arrival of the trading hub that attracted the aim of bringing the peoples
the Donation of Pepin, that
Pepin had conceded all former first truly Islamic imperial city. merchants from northern Europe, east of the Rhine back under
conquered territories in northern
Italy to the pope, but this was Sited near Ctesiphon (the old India, and China. Frankish rule – they had been
almost certainly not the case.
subject to the authority of the
Pepin III
Also known as Pepin the Short, preceding Merovingian Dynasty.
Pepin III was the first Carolingian
King of the Franks. This carving from At this time the various Saxon
his tomb dates to the 13th century.
tribes were still pagans, and

Charlemagne was determined to

convert them to Christianity and

thus bring them under the

hegemony of the Frankish state.

From 773–74 he conquered the

kingdom of the Lombards,

bringing northern Italy into his

empire and establishing his rule

over Venetia, Dalmatia, and

CHARLEMAGNE (748–814 ) Corsica, thus extending his reach

down both sides of the Adriatic

Athletic and physically impressive, Charlemagne spoke Latin and coast and into the Mediterranean.

understood Greek, but never learned to read. His intent was to In the late 770s, he attempted to

extend Frankish hegemony, foster a close relationship with the project his power into Spain by

papacy, and reform the Church to ensure divine support for the taking advantage of infighting

Frankish Kingdom. This depiction from a 15th century tapestry is among the Muslim rulers. Invited

testament his enduring legacy. to intervene in local politics by

disgruntled emirs, Charlemagne

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112

781–790 791–800

Offa’s Dyke, which roughly follows the line of the Welsh–English border, was The giant Buddha at Leshan in China was begun
constructed during the reign of Offa of Mercia; stretches are still visible today. in 713 and finished 90 years later.

sent his armies across the CHARLEMAGNE’S CONQUEST OF historians in the 1930s as a sort of VIKING RAIDS on the shores of
Pyrenees but they failed to take WEST SAXONY in 782 comprised pre-Christian Germanic the British Isles started in 789
the city of Saragossa (modern- a bloody development with the martyrdom, while others have and gathered pace in the
day Zaragoza in Spain) and were mass execution of 4,500 Saxon called into question its details and 790s with the looting of
forced to retreat. prisoners at Werden. This event even occurrence. Meanwhile, the rich monasteries of
was appropriated by Nazi concerned about ignorance and Lindisfarne and Iona. The
This botched expedition illiteracy among clergy, “Vikings” (possibly from the
inadvertently launched one of Charlemagne launched a Old Norse language) Functional and stylish brooch
the great romances of Carolingian cultural renaissance. originated in Scandanavia. Skilfully crafted out of gold, this
medieval times, the Viking brooch was not only beautiful
legend of Roland. In In 786, Haroun al-Rashid In Tang China, the influence but also practical, used to fasten
778, Roland, one of (r.786–809) acceded to the of Buddhism continued to cloaks or other clothing.
Charlemagne’s generals, caliphate in Baghdad. Under his grow, signalled by monuments
was killed during an attack rule the Barmakid family gained such as the Leshan Buddha, a more or less complete loss
on the rearguard of the great power as his viziers giant statue of the seated Buddha of authority in Africa west of
Carolingian armies as they (high-ranking advisors) and carved into a bluff next to the Egypt. They conceded to the emir
retreated through the favourites, while the intellectual confluence of several major rivers. of the province of Ifriqiya
Pyrenean valley of and cultural flowering of the (modern-day Tunisia and part of
Roncesvalles. The attack Islamic world gathered pace. In Constantinople (modern-day Algeria) the right to make his post
was actually carried out by Growing enthusiasm among Istanbul), the emperor invited his hereditary. The emir, Ibrahim ibn
Basques, but Roland’s Breton the rich and powerful for books mother Irene to become Aghlab, thus founded the
followers took up the tale and as encouraged scholars to begin co-ruler in 792; four years later Aghlabid Dynasty. This paid
it spread through France in the translating ancient Greek and she had him blinded and declared tribute to Baghdad and nominally
following centuries it morphed Roman texts into Arabic. herself empress. This move recognized Abbasid authority, but
into a legend with many spurred the scholar Alcuin of York ruled much of North Africa as an
fictitious elements: Roland In 785, Offa of Mercia to suggest that the imperial seat independent state.
became the nephew of an (r.757–96), effective was effectively vacant, and on
elderly, white-bearded overlord of Britain, 25 December 800, Charlemagne
Charlemagne; his attackers started constructing was crowned Emperor of the
the perfidious Saracens; the monumental Romans by his ally, Pope Leo III.
and Roland was Count of earthwork known as In the same year he received an
the Marches of Brittany. Offa’s Dyke, on the embassy from Haroun al-Rashid,
By the 11th century, the border between emblematic of how the focus of
“Song of Roland” Wales and Mercia. power in Europe had shifted.
appeared as an early Originally 27m
chanson de geste; a heroic (89ft) wide and 8m In 800, the Abbasid caliphs in
epic of the age of chivalry. (26ft) high, the Baghdad were forced to recognize
purpose of the dyke
In Constantinople, the is unknown, and it ,, [CHARLEMAGNE] WAS
death of Emperor Leo IV probably fell into disuse
brought to the throne his soon after its completion. ,,LARGE AND STRONG AND OF
infant son, Constantine VI.
During his minority the empire Imperial gift LOFTY STATURE,THOUGH NOT
was under the regency of the An exquisite water jug sent to DISPROPORTIONATELY TALL.
Empress Irene, his mother. Charlemagne by Haroun
al-Rashid, probably c.800. Einhard, Charlemagne’s friend and Frankish historian, c.830

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16:54

113

801–810 811–820 821–830

504THE NUMBER
OF STATUES AT
BOROBUDUR
TEMPLE

Louis the Pious in a copy of Raban This 14th-century manuscript depicts scholars seated in the House of Wisdom;
Maur’s Book of the Cross.
the Abbasid caliphs recruited scholars of all religions, from Europe to China.
CONFLICT BETWEEN THE
THE TIBETAN EMPIRE EXPANDED BYZANTINES AND BULGARS THE HOUSE OF WISDOM, or Bait 400
in the early part of the 9th century, (see 671–90) continued through the al-Hikma, was an institute devoted
and extended its control to the early part of the 9th century.
Bay of Bengal. Its influence in Despite Byzantine emperor to the translation of classical
Central Asia was indicative of Nicephorus I (r. 802–11) twice
Tang China’s weakness in the sacking the Bulgar capital Pliskas, scholarship and the pursuit of
region. Meanwhile, in northern in 809 and 811, the Bulgar khan,
India the Gurjara-Prathihara Krum, fought back, meeting his learning in Abbasid Baghdad. It THOUSAND
dynasty, which had united the foe in battle later in 811. was the epicentre of the Islamic
region and held back the advance Nicephorus was killed and Krum
of Islam, continued to grow in had his foe’s skull lined with silver intellectual renaissance, the heart THE NUMBER
strength with the conquest of for use as a drinking cup. Two OF BOOKS IN
Kanauj in modern-day India by years later, Krum attempted to of the Translation Movement, and THE HOUSE
Nagabhata II, around 801. besiege the Byzantine capital
Constantinople, but was unable the home of great scholars such
The Temple of Borobudur, a to breach the walls and so as Al-Kharwizmi (c.780–850);
Buddhist monument in central retreated, devastating Thrace
Java, Southeast Asia, was for good measure. algebra takes its name from his
completed in the early 9th
century. The colossal structure, Charlemagne (see 760–800) great treatise on mathematics of OF WISDOM
which is the largest Buddhist died in 814 and his last remaining c.830, the Kitab al-Jabir, or The
monument in the world, contains son, Louis the Pious (r. 814–40), Compendious Book on Calculation
over 2 million stone blocks and acceded to the throne. He had
is covered in almost 2,000 sqm been crowned co-emperor by his by Completion and Balancing. world. Mimicking the practises
(21,500 sqft) of carvings. The father the year before.
monument is a three-dimensional The House of Wisdom was of the Abbasid’s Persian
mandala, or cosmic wheel; ISLAMIC SCIENCE
walking its path, which is a consolidated c.822 by al-Ma’mun. predecessors – the Sasanians
journey of over 3km (2 miles), Thanks to the House of
re-enacts the journey towards Wisdom and other similar After the death of his father – the Translation Movement
nirvana (englightenment). Its centres of scholarship across
construction was an epic the Caliphate, Islamic scholars Haroun al-Rashid (see 791–800), collected manuscripts from other
achievement, and a testament to went far beyond the learning
the power of the Srivijayan Jayavarman II of the ancient Greeks and and after a brief struggle, he had cultures and older traditions, and
Empire (c.760–1402), which had This statue of Jayavarman II from Romans. Islamic scientists
grown rich from the extensive the 12th-century Bayon temple at made great advances in succeeded to the Caliphate in 813 translated them into Arabic,
maritime trade of the region. Angkor Thom, was constructed by fields such as alchemy
his namesake, Jayavarman VII. (proto-chemistry), medicine, and continued the tradition of thus preserving much ancient
For much of this era Srivijayan toxicology, metallurgy,
influence extended over the around 770, was powerful enough mathematics, and astronomy. intellectual patronage, building scholarship that would otherwise
Southeast Asian mainland, to establish an independent This illustration from The Book
including the Mekong basin Khmer Empire and have himself of Knowledge of Ingenious observatories and gathering the have been lost. Ptolemy’s seminal
kingdom formerly known to the proclaimed chakravartin, or Mechanical Devices shows an best scholars from around the work on cosmology, the Almagest,
Chinese as Funan. But, in 802, “universal ruler”. In Sanskrit this innovative handwashing device.
Jayavarman II, a vassal ruler translates as “god-king”– the for instance, was translated from
whose family had been quietly authority of Khmer kings rested
extending their territory since on their direct link to the gods, Greek into Arabic around 827,
which was reflected in the
monuments they would construct and it was only through this
at the temple city of Angkor in
centuries to come (see 880–90). translation that European

Around 801, Bulan, the Khan of scholars would later be able to
the Khazar Empire (see 861-70),
hosted a debate between the access this ancient text.
three Abrahamic faiths, and
chose Judaism. Civil strife in the Carolingian

Empire (800–88) resulted from

tension between Louis the Pious

and his sons over their

inheritances. After the death in

819 of his first wife – mother of his

sons Lothair, Pepin, and Louis

the German – Louis the Pious had

married the ambitious Judith of

Bavaria who prevailed on Louis to

grant to her son, Charles the

Bald (823–77), lands that had

previously been promised to

Lothair. In retaliation Lothair,

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Cinhtoina
116

114

831–840 841–850

The area around Segesta in Sicily, with its Greek ruins, was occupied early on The ancient city of Pagan, in Burma, became the capital of a powerful
in the Aghlabid invasion of the island. Buddhist state occupying roughly the same area as the current region.

Louis’ co-emperor since 824, THE ISLAMIC CONQUEST OF SICILY the Pope to mediate between the THE TREATY OF VERDUN in Coffee plant
rallied his brothers in revolt had begun in 827 with the arrival Frankish rulers, which resulted 843 marked the definitive The coffee bush is native to the
against their father. In early 830, of an invasion force from Aghlabid in the desertion of Louis the Pious division of Charlemagne’s mountains of Ethiopia and Yemen,
Louis was deposed, and although in North Africa, sent by the Emir and Charles the Bald by their empire. After the death of where it was first recorded in use in
Lothair’s misrule saw his father Ziyadat Allah I (r. 817–38) to take followers, and their subsequent Louis the Pious in 840, his the mid-15th century.
restored by the autumn, the older advantage of internal divisions imprisonment. This was one three surviving sons
man’s authority was compromised among the Byzantine rulers of episode in a series of conflicts (see 821–30) for protection from Vikings and
and the scene set for worse the island. Hindered by outbreaks that saw the collapse of central embroiled other raiders.
conflict to come. of plague, the Islamic forces made authority and increasing Frankish themselves in further
little headway until 831 when vulnerability to raids from the conflict over land. In In around 848, the Burmese
Wessex, the Anglo-Saxon Palermo fell after a year-long Norsemen to the north and west, 842, Charles the Bald city-state of Pagan was founded
kingdom in south and west siege. The city then became the Bulgars and Magyars to the east, and Louis the in the Irrawaddy Valley. Indian
England, became the dominant capital of Islamic Sicily, although and Saracen pirates to the south. German teamed up influence is readily perceivable in
English power as a result of the total conquest of the island did and swore oaths to the architecture of this part of
victory of King Egbert over King not happen until 902. Saracen warriors impose a settlement on Lothair Southeast Asia due to cultural,
Beornwulf of Mercia at the Battle “Saracens” was a European term for that saw the Frankish Empire religious, and mercantile ties.
of Ellandun, Wiltshire, in 825. The Field of Lies, in Muslims, especially those occupying divided into regions. These
Egbert was subsequently able to Alsace in 833, was a Sicily and raiding Europe. broadly equated to France in The legendary discovery of
conquer the southeastern meeting brokered by the west, Germany in the east, coffee is dated to around 850
counties of England, and by and a middle kingdom that when it is said that an Ethiopian
around 828 Wessex was the most would later become known as goatherd named Kaldi noticed
powerful state in the land, with Lotharii regnum, or Lotharingia that, after eating some red
Egbert recognized as bretwalda, (modern Lorraine). berries, his goats became
or overlord, of England until his extremely lively. He brought a
death in 839. The rise of the Cholas, a Tamil sample to a local Islamic holy
dynasty of southern India, can man, who, disapproving of
The emergence of Great be dated to 846, when the Chola intoxicants, threw them on the fire
Moravia began around 830, with king Vijayalaya, captured the where they roasted and released
the establishment of the city of Tanjore from the a delicious aroma.
Principality of Moimir, to the Pandya kingdom.
west of the White Carpathians,
under the rule of Moimir I. The Capitulary of Meersen was
Moimir was one of two Slavic a proclamation by the West
polities to establish themselves Frankish king Charles the
in the power vacuum left by the Bald in 847, ordering every
collapse of the Avars in 805; the free man to choose himself a
other – to the east of the White
Carpathians, in what is now lord. Charles intended the
Slovakia – was Nitra, under the decree to facilitate the levy
rule of Prince Pribina. In 833, of armies, but it was also
Moimir would conquer Nitra, indicative of the increasing
setting his principality on the inability of the Frankish
path to becoming the Great rulers to protect their subjects.
Moravian Empire. In place of central authority,
the peasants relied on local
lords; they gave up freedoms
and bound themselves to a
feudal aristocracy in return

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115

851–860 861–870 871–880

Monument in the courtyard of the The frontispiece of The Diamond Sutra, the earliest known printed work, The landscape of Iceland offered scant
Maya city of Palenque. shows Buddha explaining the sutra (sermon) to an elderly disciple. welcome, yet Vikings settled here by 874.

THE DECLINE OF THE CLASSIC KHAZAR EMPIRE ALFRED THE GREAT OF ENGLAND,
MAYA civilization continued as the an educated man who had spent
wave of abandonments that began The Caspian Sea is still known in the region as the Khazar Sea for time in Rome with the Pope,
with Palenque at the end of the the empire that ruled the area between it and the Black Sea from acceded to the throne of the
9th century spread south and east the 8th to 10th centuries. A contributing cause to the empire’s Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex
into the Classic Maya heartland. decline may have been a rise of 7m (23 ft) in the sea level. in 871. During the reign of his
The last recorded inscriptions at elder brother Aethelred I
NUMBER OF ARROWS PERMayan cities Quiriguá and Copán CYRILLIC SCRIPT WAS INVENTED Around the mid-9th century, the (r.865–71), Danish Vikings had King Alfred
MINUTEdate to 810 and 822; at Caracol by the Byzantine missionary later Khazars adopted Judaisim (see invaded Wessex, but Alfred had A statue of King Alfred was erected
to 859; and at Tikal to 889. A known as St Cyril in around 863. 801–10). According to tradition, helped defeat them at the Battle at his capital, Winchester, in 1901.
combination of drought, famine, Originally named Constantine, they chose an Abrahamic faith of Ashdown in 870. On assuming His sword doubles as a crucifix,
disease, and social upheaval Cyril and his brother Methodius to put them on equal footing with the kingship, Alfred averted emblematic of his militant faith.
were probably responsible, as were sent to convert the Slavs in Christianity in the Byzantine crisis by defeating the Danes at
overpopulated cities and their Moravia by Byzantine emperor, Empire and Islam in the Caliphate. Wilton in southwest England, island and even over-wintered
overstretched resources reached Michael III in around 862. Cyril but another attack in 875 there, but the first permanent
a tipping point. devised a new “Glagolitic” script Early Cyrillic script caught him unawares and he settlement, according to the
to translate the Bible into Slavic; This wax tablet contains psalms of was forced to retreat to the medieval Icelandic Landámabók
The first recorded use of a this later became Cyrillic script. David, written in the early 11th (Book of Settlement), was by
crossbow was in France in 851. century. It is believed to be the oldest Somerset marshes. the Norwegian chieftain
Although slower to reload than In 867, Basil, a favourite of document written in Cyrillic. Ingolfur Arnarson in around
a longbow, the crossbow, or Michael III, deposed his master and According to the popular 874. According to legend, he
arbalest, required little training took the throne as Basil I. His reign legend, Alfred was here given selected the spot for his
or strength to operate. marked the start of one of the most shelter by a peasant woman homestead by throwing his
glorious periods of Byzantine who, unaware of his identity,
The Fujiwara regency, history. Intent on restoring the left him to watch some
assumed by Yoshifusa (c.804–72) empire internally and externally, cakes that were cooking on
on the accession of his grandson, Basil rebuilt the army and navy and the fire. Preoccupied with the
the child-emperor Seiwa in 858, revised the legal system. problems of his kingdom, Alfred
marked the Fujiwara clan’s let the cakes burn. Nonetheless
domination of Japanese power. The Diamond Sutra of 868 is the he was able to summon his
world’s oldest surviving printed armies and defeated the Danish
12 book. An illustrated Buddhist text, king Guthrum at the Battle of
it was found in a cave in Edington in 878, forcing him to
9 Dunhuang, a Silk Road town in conclude the Peace of Wedmore,
northwest China. under the terms of which
6 Guthrum converted to
Christianity and agreed to a
3 division of the country (see 881–90).

0 The settlement of Iceland
Crossbow Longbow demonstrated how the Vikings
were advancing on other fronts.
Crossbow vs longbow Irish monks had probably already
Although the longbow could be reached the North Atlantic island,
fired much faster, the crossbow and Viking navigators had other
had a greater range and was easy clues to its existence, such as
to operate. the passage of migrating birds.
Vikings had already visited the

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of
118
874
116

881–890 891–900

The façade of a building known as the Nunnery annex, at Chichen Itza, Symeon of Bulgaria, depicted in the centre, had been educated as a monk in
the leading Maya city-state of the Late or Terminal Classic Period. Constantinople before returning to take control of the Bulgars in 893.

,, WE DISCERN SWEDISH VIKINGS, known as the THE GROWING POWER OF THE modern-day Turkey, forcing the
ACROSS THE Varangians or Rus, used rivers BULGAR KHANATE (see 811–20) Byzantine emperor to pay tribute.
CENTURIES A such as the Volga and Dnieper to Slavonic–Viking Jewellery worried the Byzantine emperor Symeon would rule for another
COMMANDING push ever further inland from the Viking invaders conquered Leo VI, who in 895 prompted the 30 years, vying for the Byzantine
AND VERSATILE Baltic, establishing dominion over territories along Russia’s waterways, Magyars to attack the Bulgars. throne, only to be thwarted by
INTELLIGENCE, the eastern Slavs of the region. establishing a hybrid culture that However, this merely provoked the the impenetrable walls of its
WIELDING WITH Having founded the settlement mixed Slavonic and Viking styles. new khan, Symeon (r.893–927), capital, Constantinople, on
EQUAL FORCE of Novgorod in 862 and launched to mobilize the Pechenegs – a numerous occasions.
audacious raids on Constantinople Paris in 885–86 – he was proven tribe that had recently arrived on
,,THE SWORD OF by navigating rivers all the way to incapable of protecting his people. the Dnieper – to invade Magyar The Toltecs (c.800–1000) were
the Black Sea, they now colonized Odo, Count of Paris (c.860–98), lands. The Magyars were forced to probably refugees from the
WAR AND OF ever further south. In 882, the Rus who had led a heroic defence migrate west, settling in present- collapsed Teotihuacan culture
JUSTICE. prince Oleg (r. 882–912) defeated against the Vikings in 885, was day Hungary, from where they (see 690–700), who settled in the
his rivals Askold and Dir, seized elected king of West Francia in launched extensive raids on Valley of Mexico, founding a
Winston Churchill, British their settlement at Kiev, and 887. From now on, East and Frankish territories for years to capital at Tula c.900, and forging
Politician, on King Alfred, 1956–58 transferred his capital there from West Francia would develop as come. In the summer of 896, a militaristic empire that inspired
Novgorod. The city would become separate regions. Symeon defeated a Byzantine their descendants, the Aztecs.
throne pillars overboard and the capital of Kievan Rus, a loose army at Bulgarophygon, in
following their drift. federation of territories, until 1169. The catastrophic decline of the
Classic Maya city-states of the Toltec coyote
The Twelfth Imam, al-Mahdi The Danelaw – the part of southern lowlands continued Toltec art, such as this depiction
– believed by some Shi’ites to England in which Viking law was throughout the 9th century, and of a coyote-god, influenced other
be the ultimate saviour of upheld – was formalized by the Tikal was abandoned by around pre-Columbian American
humankind – miraculously Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum in 889. Maya city-states of the north civilizations, including the Aztecs.
disappeared in 874. According to 886, following renewed attacks by (the area of Mexico’s Yucatán
some Shi’ites, when the Eleventh Guthrum. Alfred would keep the Peninsula) now took precedence
Imam, Hasan al-Askari, died in south, including London, while the in what is known as the Late or
874, his successor, a seven-year- area to the north of a line between Terminal Classic Period.
old boy, went into literal and the Thames and Lea rivers went Foremost among these
spiritual hiding, and ever since to the Danish, who would live civilizations was Chichen Itza,
has been said to be “occulted”, under their own laws. which commanded the advantage
or hidden until the day of his of cenotes, or water holes; of
messianic return. In 887, Charles the Fat vital importance in this drought-
(c.839–88), the last Carolingian vulnerable region.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, king to rule both the primary
a unique written record of events Frankish territories, West and
from wars and politics to the East Francia (modern-day France
weather, was kept from around 880 and Germany), was deposed.
until the mid-12th century. It was Charles, already king of the East
indicative of the scholarship that Franks since 879, had been
King Alfred fostered, inviting elected king of the West Franks in
scholars to England and translating 884. However, he was a victim of
major classical works himself. the declining power and authority
of the Carolingian monarchs (see
841–50). Unable or unwilling to
meet the Vikings in battle –
specifically during their Siege of

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117

901–910 911–920

This stone relief is from the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Breakdown of central authority in the period led to economic contraction.

TANG CHINA HAD BEEN IN fragmenting into ten independent ABBEY OF CLUNY ABD AL RAHMAN III BECAME THE
MILITARY DECLINE since defeat by kingdoms. The Later Liang NEW UMAYYAD RULER of the
the Arabs at the Battle of Talas Dynasty was short-lived (907– William the Pious, who donated Cordoba emirate on the death of
River in 751–760, and the Huang 923), with a succession of groups the land for the abbey in 910, his grandfather, Abdallah, in 912.
Zhao rebellion of the 880s seizing control of the Huang He placed no obligations on its His territories had been reduced
signalled the end of the dynasty. region and founding dynasties of Benedictine monks, so that it by rebellions and he quickly set
Zhuwen (c.852–912) was a their own, but proving unable to was free from secular about regaining much of his lost
warlord who had originally been hold on to power. This period of oversight and answerable only kingdom. During his reign and
part of the Huang Zhao uprising anarchy, known as the Five to the Pope. Cluny became the that of his successors, Cordoba
and then instrumental in the rebel Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, centre of a monastic empire of reached the peak of its power
defeat. Richly rewarded for his lasted until the establishment of great power, governing around (see 921–930).
role, he steadily built up his power the Northern Song Dynasty (see 10,000 monks. In 1098, Pope
base until in 904 he was ready to 951–960), and was a time of great Urban II, a former Abbot of According to traditional
seize control, executing the Tang hardship. Authority broke down, Cluny, declared it “the light of sources, Prince Igor, ruler of
emperor Zhaozong and most of the economy collapsed, and the world”. Kievan Rus from 914–945, was
his sons, and installing the barter replaced money in many the son of the legendary Rurik,
emperor’s 13-year-son on the areas. There was extensive flood Pious, Duke of Aquitaine, became Carinthia, in 906 and 907 they who founded Novgorod in 862.
throne as a puppet ruler. In 907, and famine as flood defences and the centre of a monastic “empire” wreaked havoc in Moravia, and Under his protection, Kievan Rus
he took the throne for himself, irrigation works fell into disrepair. in Europe (see panel, above). in 908 they attacked Bavaria, (see 881–890) became a
founding the Later Liang Saxony, and Thuringia. With the
Dynasty, but although he To the west and north of the Five Displaced westwards by the Frankish emperor unwilling or Igor I of Kiev
controlled the northern heartland Dynasties region, Shatuo Turks Pechenegs (see 891–900), the unable to help, the East Franks Igor, who ruled from 914 until his
of China – the Yellow River Valley and Khitan Mongols consolidated Magyars launched a series of elected regional “dukes” to death in 945, gestures to his court
region of Huang He – he was kingdoms of their own. The devastating raids throughout the defend against the incursions. in this19th-century illustration.
unable to prevent the south Khitans of southern Manchuria decade. In 901, they ravaged
established their empire in 905
Fatimid era text under the leadership of Yelü The Five Dynasties GANZHOU Khitans YAN
Named for Muhammad’s daughter, Abaoji (872–926). He went on to A succession of SHAZHOU
Fatima, the Fatimids proved patrons declare himself emperor in 916, regimes was unable to LATER Yellow
of learning through their sponsorship founding the Liao Dynasty, consolidate power, Uighurs TANG Sea
of Cairo’s al-Azhar school. which lasted until 1125, including leaving warlords to the
a brief period as one of the north and south to set Tibetans FORMER JINGNAN
Five Dynasties controlling up independent SHU WU YUE
northern China. kingdoms. The
fractured geopolitical Man WU
In 909, Sa’id ibn-Husayn, an situation is reflected in CHU
Ismaili Shi’ite, overthrew the this map, which shows
Sunni Aghlabid Dynasty in a tangle of borders MIN
Kairouan (modern-day Tunisia), and states.
declared himself al-Mahdi (the
Shi’ite messiah), and founded KEY ANNAM SOUTHERN HAN
the Fatimid Dynasty, named South
for the daughter of the prophet Chinese states China
Muhammad, from whom he Sea
claimed descent. States occupied by
non–Chinese
The Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, peoples
founded in 910 by William the

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take
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118

921–930 931–950
,,
IN THIS YEAR, KING
AETHELSTAN, LORD OF WARRIORS,

,,RING-GIVER TO MEN… WON ETERNAL

GLORY, IN BATTLE WITH SWORD
EDGES, AROUND BRUNABURH

Unknown author, from the Old English poem,
The Battle of Brunaburh, 937

This decorative panel at the Caliph’s Palace in Madinat az-Zahra, Spain, was Lögberg, or Law Rock, in Iceland is
erected by Al-Rahman III in imitation of the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad. the centre of the oldest parliament.

formidable power in the region, effectively independent fiefs that 100NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THOUSANDS IN 932, THE UMMAYAD CALIPH ABD counter the threat. The results
earning the respect of the owed only nominal authority to AL RAHMAN III (see 911–920) were immortalized in an Old
Byzantines by force of arms the king (see 841–850). A powerful 80 captured Toledo, bringing all of English poem recorded in the
during the Rus-Byzantine war of faction of West Frankish Muslim Spain back under one Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (see
941, and winning lucrative trade magnates had elected Count Odo 60 banner. Al-Rahman also waged a 871–880), which reported that five
concessions from them. of Paris to the kingship in 887, so successful war against the kings and seven earls died on the
Charles spent much of his reign 40 Christian kingdoms of Leon and battlefield, alongside
In 911, in recognition of engaged in civil war with Odo and Navarre on his northern borders, “unnumber’d crowds” of soldiers.
helplessness in the face of his descendants. 20 forcing them to acknowledge his Victory confined the Welsh and
constant and devastating Viking overlordship. In general, Jews and Scottish to their borders, halted
raids (see 881–890), the West One of the tribal dukes who 0 Christians enjoyed tolerance Viking expansionism, and helped
Frankish king, Charles III, came to power with the 8th 9th 10th under the caliphate, though they create England as a nation.
granted a large area of land impotence of the Carolingians in CENTURY remained second-class citizens,
guarding the mouth of the River the face of the Magyar threat, making issues such as tax status In 946, the Persian Shi’ite
Seine, which consisted of a large Henry I, was elected king of the Cordoba’s population growth a driving force behind conversion. Buwayhids took Baghdad and
part of what later became East Franks in 919, founding the This estimate shows how Cordoba forced the caliph to recognize
Normandy, to the Norse chieftain, Saxon Dynasty. The last grew rapidly from a small town to The Silla kingdom (see Ahmad ibn-Buwayh as supreme
Rollo, also known as Hrolf, on the Carolingian monarch of the East become one of the world’s 651–670) was conquered by the commander. Although Abbasid
condition that he became a Frankish kingdom, Louis the biggest medieval cities. Koryo kingdom in 935, caliphs remained in place until
Christian. Charles’ grip on the Child, died in 911, after which completing the reunification of 1258, they were mere
crown was tenuous; the authority Conrad, duke of Franconia, was THE WANING AUTHORITY OF THE Korea under the Koryo leader figureheads; real power now
of the Carolingian monarchs had elected as king. On his death he ABBASIDS IN BAGHDAD prompted Wang Kon, who now became King passed to Buwayhid sultans
declined precipitously, with local nominated his strongest rival, Abd al-Rahman III to declare T’aejo (r.918–943). Wang Kon had who ruled from their capital
counts ruling what were Henry, as successor. himself the true caliph in 929, acceded to power in the Three in Shiraz, Persia.
thus amending his kingdom, from Kingdoms state of Koguryo in 918,
emirate to caliphate. During the renaming it and leading it in Henry I (see 911–920) was one
10th century, his capital, Cordoba, successful military ventures of the tribal dukes who came to
became the largest and most against the Kingdom of Paekche, power in the face of Magyar
developed city in Western Europe. who were conquered in 934, and threat to the Carolingians. Known
the Silla. During his reign, T’aejo as Henry the Fowler, he enlarged
In 930, Icelanders started consolidated power by the kingdom and inflicted the
meeting to decide on justice and incorporating Silla nobility into his first great defeat that the
legislation at an outdoor new ruling bureaucracy. Magyars (see 901–910) had
assembly on the plains of experienced since beginning
Thingvellir. All free men who In one of the bloodiest battles their raids into Europe, at the
had not been outlawed could ever fought on British soil, the Battle of Riade in 933. Henry
attend the Althing, making it Anglo-Saxon king Athelstan was powerful enough
the oldest representative (c.893–939) crushed an alliance of to ensure that on his death the
assembly in the world. forces in 937, cementing his succession would be hereditary,
control of Britain and his kingship and the election of 936 was a
During what archaeologists call of a the now unified Anglo-Saxon formality, acknowledging his son,
the Pueblo II phase, the Pueblo realm of England. Alarmed by the Otto, as the new king. Otto’s
peoples of Chaco Canyon, North prospect of Anglo-Saxon coronation ceremony in 962
America, were thriving. They built expansionism, the king of Alba (in consciously emulated that of
immense structures called modern-day Scotland) had joined Charlemagne (see 761–770), and
“great houses”, some with up to forces with the Vikings and other he was crowned at Aachen, the
700 rooms. northern British realms to old imperial capital.

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121

119

Thor’s hammer gold beading Gold arm ring
pendant and wire
work Decorated with patterns made
Thor’s hammer – by stamping, beading, and
a symbol of power minute engraving, this arm ring
and virility – was a from Räbylille in Denmark has
common theme for crosses and tree motifs.
jewellery. Thor was the
Norse god of thunder. sword indicates that
rider is a warrior

Statue of Frey Silver figure of horseman
The Vikings worshipped Frey,
the Norse god of fertility. This This stylized metal figure from
statue from Sweden shows Frey Sweden probably represents a
holding his beard – a symbol warrior on horseback. The Vikings
of growth and virility. were fine horsemen, but they
preferred to travel by ship.

THE VIKINGS ends of ring are in
shape of cat heads
THE ARTISTRY AND SKILL OF VIKING ARTISANS BELIES THEIR REPUTATION AS SAVAGES

Between the 8th and 11th centuries, the Viking world buckle plate for
spanned Europe, from the Pontic Steppes in the south and securing baldric
east to the shores of North America in the west and north.
This realm was tied together by a culture of arts and crafts.

The unifying motifs of Viking art and crafts were elaborate ornamentation, baldric (sling-like
interlacing patterns, and stylized animals. The material culture of the shoulder strap)
Vikings was mostly utilitarian yet finely crafted. Common, ceremonial,
and military objects were ornamented heavily. Techniques such as etching,
engraving, and inlaying and the use of metal beading helped to create
patterns of interweaving tendrils, “gripping beasts”, and stylized limbs.

Wooden shield Silver brooch/pin
This gold-coated silver
Shields were made from spruce, fir, brooch or cloak pin from
pine, or linden wood with iron Sweden is highlighted with
handles behind an iron boss. niello, a black metallic
They were painted with compound.
bright colours and often
had intricate designs. double-edged
blade
colours signified
intent or
allegiance

iron blade

stout wooden Axe Sword
haft with runic
Axes were commonly used Swords were rare and extremely
inscription by poor Vikings, as they were valuable for the Vikings. This
cheaper than swords. This sword could be easily drawn
Danish axe has a metal blade out from its sheath and wielded
and a wooden haft. with one hand.

120 26/05/2011 187:2037

122-123_collection_Vikings.indd 122

ornate THE VIKINGS
etching
Gilded weather vane
lion figure Weather vanes were originally mounted
indicates wind on the prows of ships and later on the
tops of churches. This gilded weather
direction vane was found in Sweden.

Buckle plate
This metal plate was fixed to a
Viking’s leather belt so that it could
be buckled. It has two sections, one
for each end of the belt.

carved teeth

Hair comb Brooch silver and gold
A typical Viking grooming kit included This box brooch (top view), from inlay work
a comb, tweezers, and scoops for Martens on the Swedish island
cleaning ears. This wooden comb has of Gotland, is decorated with four stylized great
a handle secured with iron rivets. squatting human figures in gold. beast with

sinuous limbs

iron crest Early Danish coins

Originally, the Vikings used
looted coins, hack silver
(chunks), and barter in place
of their own money. King
Harald Bluetooth started
mass minting of coins in 975.

Trading weights dragon head
Found in Sweden, these used to terrify
brass-coated iron weights
were used to measure enemies
quantities of goods and
the value of hack silver. carved scale
patterns
symbol
indicates weight

carved from Drinking horn
an animal horn
Vikings believed they would
use drinking horns like this
in Valhalla, the heaven for
warriors, if they died in
battle. This drinking vessel
was used in feasting.

beech panel with
tin and iron studs

Helmet face Sledge Ship’s prow ornament
Made from iron plates guard
welded together over a This oak-and-beech sledge is Elements of Viking culture were
leather cap, this Norwegian from a ship burial at Oseberg derived from and prefigured in
helmet has an attached face in Norway. It has finely carved earlier cultures. For example,
guard, complete with nose protector. runners and animal heads on this wooden prow ornament is
each corner post of the box. from Saxon times.
12122-21-2132_3c_oclolellcetciotino_nV_iVkiknignsg.sin.idnddd 121323
123

121

262/60/50/52/021011 171:80:823

951– 960 961– 970 971– 980

,, A RECKLESS
MAN BY

,,NATURE [WHO]…

ATTEMPTED
UNUSUAL DEEDS

Leo the Deacon on John
Tzimisces, late 10th century

This detail from the “Gateway of the Sun”, a great stone doorway at This detail from the imperial crown of Otto I shows the biblical figure,
Tiwanaku, is carved with a figure known as the Staff God. King Solomon, holding a scroll.

THE PRE INCA, ANDEAN retreated to smaller, rural to Greenland Iceland 33% 33%
CIVILIZATION OF TIWANAKU settlements, and returned to a rowing protecting rowers
declined precipitously in the pre-urban lifestyle. Scandinav ia
second half of the 10th century. 33%
Sophisticated agricultural and The establishment of the Song ATLANTIC OCEAN North ready
irrigation techniques (see 741–50) dynasty in China brought an end Sea to attack
had allowed Tiwanaku to to the anarchy and warfare of the
support a population of up Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Ireland altic Sea Longboat crew in battle
to 60,000 people, with up to era (see 901–10). Known as the By keeping part of the crew at the
1.4 million in the wider region, Northern Song in its early stages Dublin York oars Viking raiding parties
according to some estimates. A because the capital was at maintained an aggressive posture
prolonged drought is believed to Kaifeng in northern China, the Britain B without sacrificing mobility.
have been responsible for its dynasty was founded by Zhao
decline and archaeological Kuangyin (r.960-76), who was a GAUL EUROPE Dnieper Volga DURING HIS SHORT REIGN, JOHN
evidence suggests that the main general under the Late Zhou, the Bordeaux an Sea TZIMISCES, nephew of Nicephorus
city was abandoned as citizens last of the Five Dynasties. He dealt Caspi II (see 961–70), won a string of
with the threat from external IBERIA ASIA victories. Having fought off a
Bronze Mirror states such as the Khitan Liao ITALY Black Sea revolt by general Bardas Phocas
This intricately decorated mirror (see 901–10), the Tangut kingdom Seville in 971, Tzimisces crushed a
from the Song dynasty illustrates of Xia Xia, a confederation of Constantinople campaign by the Kievan Rus
the artistic sophistication of China Tibetan tribes, and conquered GREECE Asia Minor leader, Sviatoslav, and conquered
in this period. several of the Ten Kingdoms to Athens Bulgaria as far as the Danube.
the south. Zhao used the civil Tunis In 972, he campaigned in the East,
service examination system to taking Edessa, Damascus, and
assert control over the military, AFRICA Mediterranean Sea Beirut, reaching the gates
of Jerusalem in 976. He died
and centralize power. Viking sea routes KEY
Emperor Otto I, “the Great” By the late 10th century, Viking seafarers had suddenly that year.
(912–73), defeated the penetrated to every corner of Europe and beyond, Viking expansionist In 980, the Vikings
Magyars at the Battle of reaching as far as Greenland in the north. exploration 8–10th
Lechfeld in 955. Since centuries started raiding England
being displaced by again, though they suffered
Byzantine–Bulgar conflict THE POPE’S IMPERIAL CORONATION 933. Further afield, Vikings a reverse in Ireland, where
OF OTTO I as emperor in 962, continued to prosper as they Malachy II forced Viking
(see 891–900), the Magyars had revived the Carolingian Roman penetrated into all parts of Dublin to pay tribute.
raided Frankish territories, Empire in the West. In 961, Otto Europe.
reaching as far west as Aquitaine made an expedition to Italy in
in 951. The son of Henry I (see response to a plea for protection The death of Byzantine emperor
911–20), Otto vigorously asserted from Pope John XII, and in Pavia Constantine VII in 963 brought
royal authority from his coronation he had assumed the Italian crown. his infant son Basil II (958–1025)
in 936, gaining control of all the The following year he went to to the throne. In practice,
East Frankish duchies. His Rome to receive the imperial authority was assumed by the
powerful army ended the Magyar crown and assert his authority general Nicephorus Phocas. As
menace and also defeated the over the fractious papacy. Nicephorus II (r.963–969), he
Wends – tribes on the eastern His son was crowned co-emperor continued the restoration of the
border engaged in a long struggle as Otto II in 967. empire that had begun with the
to resist Frankish colonization reconquest of Crete in 961,
and Christianization. In 965, King of Denmark, regaining Cyprus and Cilicia
Harald Bluetooth, converted to in 965, subduing the Bulgars
Christianity, and the religion in 966–69, and invading
spread rapidly through the Nordic northern Syria in 969. That
region. Denmark had been forced same year he was assassinated
to accept missionaries as by his nephew, John Tzimisces.
the consequence of defeat by the
East Frankish king, Henry I, in

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122

981– 990 991– 1000

Venice’s modern splendour is the result of control of the lucrative trade routes between
Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the East in the 10th century.

IN 981, THE ISLAMIC FORCES OF 983 after an expedition to Balam, Chichen Itza was 10,000
CORDOBA defeated the Christian southern Italy. Although his infant conquered by Toltecs led by
kingdom of Leon in Spain, under son, Otto III (r.983–1001), Kukulcan, the Mayan name for
the leadership of Al-Mansur.
“Al-Mansur” was the honorific managed to hold on to the crown the Toltec god Quetzlcoatl or “the KILOGRAMS
title taken by Muhammad ibn Abi’ thanks to the strong regency of feathered serpent” – possibly the
Amir, the powerful and energetic
vizier who was the true power his mother, Theophano, the East exiled Toltec king, Topiltzin.
behind the Umayyad throne (see Franks were also faced with an
911–20). He campaigned uprising among the Wends, the THE WEIGHTDespite the record in the
successfully against Leon, IN SILVER OFchronicle, however, archaeological
Navarre, and Catalonia, making forcibly converted Slavic tribes on findings suggest that the city THE DANEGELD
their kings subordinate to the the eastern border. The Wends collapsed around this time. IN 991
caliphate, and extended Umayyad restored their pagan religion and
control to Africa via campaigns in resisted Frankish colonization for By the end of the 10th century,
Mauretania (modern-day the mercantile powers of Venice
Morocco and part of Algeria).
nearly two centuries. and Genoa were beginning to
In 986, the Viking explorer, Eric
the Red, led a party of Icelandic Al-Mansur In 987, Toltec forces conquered dominate the Adriatic and IN 991, A FORCE OF ANGLO SAXON
This 17th century oil painting depicts
colonists to the shores Al Mansur, or Almanzor to his the Yucatán Maya and made Tyhrrenian seas respectively. WARRIORS made a stand against
of the bleak landmass Christian subordinates. Al Mansur
he misleadingly named means “the Victorious”. Chichen Itza the capital of a Venice, in particular, enjoyed a much larger army of Vikings at

rectangular “Greenland” in the hope of Toltec–Maya state. According to lucrative trade links with the the Battle of Maldon in East
wool-cloth attracting settlers. He succeeded the early Mayan chronicle Chilam Byzantine Empire. Anglia, England. They were
sail in recruiting 24 boatloads of men,
women, and children willing to slaughtered. The English king,
entrust their lives to Viking
longboats, and brave the perilous Aethelred II, “the Unready”
crossing. Only 14 ships arrived,
but they quickly established a (r.978–1016), was forced to pay a
thriving colony that may have
eventually numbered around tribute known as the Danegeld,
5,000 people.
to buy off further incursions.
Otto II, the emperor and king of
East Francia, died of malaria in Byzantine emperor Basil II

launched the first of a long series

of campaigns against his

greatest enemy, the Bulgarian

tsar Samuel, in 996. Basil had

won major victories in Syria the

year before, but it took him

nearly 20 years to finally defeat

the Bulgarians.

From around 1000, the

Viking longboat TOLTECS inhabitants of Easter Island, or
Considered by some to be the greatest
technical achievement of the early Rapa Nui – an island in the Pacific
medieval era, the Viking longboat
combined river, close-to-shore, and The Toltecs, who ruled a state centred on Tula in modern-day Ocean – began to carve
ocean-going capacity.
Mexico, were notable for their aggressive militarism, which monumental statues known as
changed society in Central America, paving the way for militaristic moai. Thought to represent
states such as the Aztec. The term “Toltec” came to mean ancestors and to channel mana

“city-dweller” or “civilized person”, but its literal meaning is “reed – spiritual energy – the cult of
person” – signifying an inhabitant of Tollan (“Place of the Reeds”, moai consumed the Easter

the city now known as Tula). Toltec art and architecture, Islanders to the point where they

characterized by monumental masonry and giant statues, was may have fatally compromised

greatly influential in the region. their environment – setting them

on the path to ecological disaster.

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King9Cd8oh2maDmdapeiasVtcireaotpyistal FatPimaliedssticnoe9n,8tSr4oyrlOialdest survivminagd9ae8sitn7frooICuslaafnapbdheeeatdinainn dHFyruangnahcseCtyabpyet 988wgBBietya(nhzRseahuirnlesatIslIlipnidBaeoenafferPeV“dmarViakitpanssienrcPrargeeohnsbVrog)elcKisaalaedinesnismvta”binryRofus 1 2 5cr1o0w09n09eDN6daVoOiei-remtVtttheonptVaeIiIimrnIeovternasademeCsehosauemthcp.1a000mEaosatiesrta1Isr3ltae/t0nroe5dbc/t1ee1d 11:33 AM
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