570AD: Birth of Mohammed, of a noble Koreish family, at Mecca. The Koreish tribe had become prominent since about 500AD, amongst the rival peoples of the Arab Mustareb Kingdoms. Traditions had it that the Koreish had their origin with Ishmael, of the line of Abraham. They became the custodians of the sacred Kaaba (a black stone, possibly meteorite, the origins of which are seldom noted, let alone described), which gave them pre-eminence amongst other tribes. By about 600+AD, the Koreish and their Mustareb allies were the most powerful confederacy in Arabia. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
605-610AD: The years of deep meditation for Mohammed, the Prophet of Allah. Being developed are the major principles of Islam. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
610AD: For Mohammed, the Prophet, the year of his call. He begins to make converts. But opposition to his views increased amongst the Meccans, till in 622 he fled with followers to Medina. The Hegira. This flight of 622 begins the Mohammedan era. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
622-623AD: Mecca-Medina: Mohammed with followers flees opposition in Mecca and go to Medina. The first mosque is built. Mohammed becomes a warrior. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
624AD: Arabia; First battle for the faith with the Meccans at Bedr. Victory of Mohammed.
625AD: Arabia, Battle of Ohod, victory of the Meccans.
627AD: Arabia, War of the Fosse. The Koreish make terms with Mohammed.
628AD: Mohammedan war against the Jews of Khaibar.
629AD: Arabia, Mohammedan war against the Greek subjects in Arabia.
629AD: Emperor Heraclius in Constantinople receives embassies from as far away as France and India, and surprisingly, also a letter (as an apocryphal legend) from an Arabian chieftain and a Prophet of God, Mohammed, suggesting that he join a new faith. The revolution of Islam is poised to change the world. Mohammed is a poor-relation member of a great clan of Mecca, the Qoraishites. Runciman in his first volume on the Crusades says that prior to Mohammed's arrival, there had existed a non-Jewish tradition of monotheism in the Middle East, the hanif tradition.
630AD: Arabia: Mohammed moves against Mecca and conquers it. War with the Hawazin. Rapid spread of Islam. The Ka'aba in Mecca, a repository of idols, is cleansed of idols and becomes a building deeply revered by Moslems.
632AD: Death of Mohammed the Prophet of God. The Prophet's successor is his father-in-law, Abu Bakr (Abu Bekr) who is chosen Caliph, or representative, and pursues an expansionist policy. Persians are expelled from Bahrein. An army under Khalid sets out against the Byzantine Empire. An Arab army moves up the south coast of Palestine and takes Gaza. Abu Bakr reduces a revolt in Nejd and Yemen, and defends Medina. Omar later succeeds Abu Bakr who died 634AD. In 635 the Arabs take Damascus. In 636 is a decisive victory against Christians, partly due to discontent amongst Christian soldiers who adopt Islam. Emperor Heraclius fears it is a punishment from God for his incestuous marriage with his niece Martina. (Some items from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
634AD: Moslem conquest of Yemen.
635AD: Moslem capture of Damascus. by 636 are added conquests of Emesa, Heliopolis, Chalcis, Beroae, Edessa, Battle of Yermuk. Heraclius abandons Syria to the Moslems.
636AD: Kingdom of Ghassan (300-636AD): Founded about 300AD by Thalaba, the first to take the name of king. His successors rule until 636, when Djabala VI surrenders to the Mohammedans.
637AD: Arabia - Middle East, Battle of Cadesia, or Kadisiya, Moslem victory over the Persians. Omar captures Jerusalem, then Aleppo and Antioch. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
637AD and later: Moslem missionary expansionism had meant that Moslems had intervened at Jerusalem from 637AD. Moslems, partly due to their existing maritime skills, were actually invited into Portugal to help with problems by 711. Later they occupied Toledo. They were on Crete by 826, taking the island from the Byzantines, another obviously maritime adventure. Moslems had intervened in Sind (India) by the early Eighth Century, but they did not dominate Northern India till the Eleventh Century. (As the Moghuls they established the Delphi Sultanate by 1206).
638AD: Mesopotamia is conquered by Islam who also take Tarsus and Diar-Bekr.
638AD: Edinburgh in Scotland is in the hands of the English.
639AD: Invasion of Egypt by Moslem, Amru.
640AD: The Arabs invade Egypt and burn the library of Alexandria (a possible myth of blame, see reports on problems caused by Christians). However, the Arabs preserved the use of engineering skills known in Egypt at the time, while Europe remained ignorant. (Source: James/Thorpe).
To 640AD: Arab forces take Palestinian cities such as Dara, Caesarea, Antioch, the isthmus of Suez. Iraq was taken by 637AD. IN 639, Egypt was invaded by Moslem Arabs. in 641, Babylon (Old Cairo) was taken. Alexandria was recaptured in 645. By 700AD, Roman Africa was under Moslem control.
641AD: Islam: Battle of Nehavend, great victory for Islam over Persians, and many Persian nobility come to terms with Islam. Yezdegerd the king flees to a remote corner and holds a vestige of power till about 651-652. Alexandria is captured. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., pp. 32ff.)
644AD: Islam: Death of Omar succeeded by Othman, a weak ruler who allows Islamic power to fall into the hands of the Koreish nobility.
647AD: Islam: Invasion of Africa by Abdallah, Arabs expel the Romans.
649AD: Islam: Invasion of Cyprus in 649, Conquest of Aradus in 650, Conquest of Armenia in 652, Conquest of Rhodes in 654, in 655 is defeat of emperor Constans by Mohammedans in naval battle off Mt Phoenix in Lycia.
655AD: Defeat and death of the Mercian ruler, Penda, in England.
656AD: Murder of Othman by a party in opposition to growing worldliness of Islam. Leader of the opposition, and son-in-law of Mohammed the Prophet, is Ali, who succeeds. Battle of the Camel. Moawiyah, governor of Syria, heads the opponents of Ali, and incites them to revenge. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
657AD: Ali invades northern Syria. Battle of Siffin. The theocratic faction rebels against Ali.
658AD: Islam: Decision of the Umpires, Ali and Moawiyah, the latter wins. Peace made with the Byzantine Empire. Egypt conquered for Moawiyah.
659: Islam: Moslem conquest of Egypt.
660AD: Islam: Truce between Ali and Moawiyah, the caliphate is divided into east and west.
661AD: Islam: Kharejite conspiracy to murder Ali, Moawiyah and Amru. Only Ali falls. Alis' son Hassan succeeds, but abdicates in favour of Moawiyah, who then heads a united caliphate. Opposition to him slowly reduces. The capital is moved to Damascus. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
662-663AD: Islam: Great invasion of Asia Minor. Death of Amru.
668AD: Islam: Islam advances to Chalcedon and holds Amorium for a time.
669AD: Islam: Great invasion of Sicily. In 670, foundation of Kairwan.
670AD: Moslem conquest of Kabul (Afghanistan).
673-677AD: Islam: Mohammedans besiege Constantinople but are driven off by Greek fire.
676AD: Islam: Yazid, son of Moawiyah, is appointed heir-apparent. Hereditary nomination becomes a precedent in Islam.
677AD: Siege of Constantinople.
678AD: Islam: 30 years' peace is made with Constantinople.
680AD: Islam: Death of Moawiyah, Yazid I succeeds, the Ali faction refuses recognition. Hosein, son of Ali and his company are slain. In 681, Abdallah ben Zobair proclaims himself Caliph.
C7thAD, approx: The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has a population of 200,000 foreign residents, including Arabs, Persians, Malays, Indians, Africans and Turks.
In C7th-8th, population of Europe shrinks to about 14-17 million people.
In C7th-8th, is underpopulation in Europe, and undercultivated lands lead to undernourishment. There are maybe 22 million Europeans in 950AD, or 42 million in 1000AD?
683AD, Islam: Rebellion and sack of Medina. The cause of Ibn Zobair grows. He has a rival court at Medina and rebuilds the Kaaba.
684AD: Islam: Death of Yazid, his weak son, Moawiyah II, reigns but a few months. Merwan is elected to succeed.
684AD: Vikings are active about 684 in Scotland, becoming the Earls - Jarls of Orkney and later dealing with the Canmore/Stuarts, by 1152; and dealing with some of the early Earls Caithness of Scotland.
685AD: Islam: Death of Merwan, his son Abdul-Malik, succeeds. Peace is made with the emperor Justinian II. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907.Vol. 8, , pp. 32ff.)
685-687AD: Islam: Rebellion of Mukhtar, who is defeated and slain.
688-725AD: King Ine reigns over the Saxons of England/Devon.
689AD: Abdul-Malik has Amru put to death.
691AD: Islam: In Jerusalem, The Dome of the Rock is completed for Caliph Abdul-Malik.
692AD: Islam: Death of Ibn Zobair. The Omayyad rule is recognised without dispute. In 692-693 the Mohammedans ravage Asia Minor and Armenia, but are compelled to accept peace.
697AD: Italy: Appearance of the first Doge of the Venetians.
697-698AD: Islam: Hassan invades Africa, takes Carthage. Last remnants of Roman Empire disappear from southern shores of the Mediterranean.
705AD: Islam: Death of Abdul-Malik, succession of his brother Walid I, earlier designated as heir to Caliphate. Schools are founded, public works undertaken, a culminating glory for the Omayyad. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
709AD: Islam: Conquest of Tyana.
711AD: Islam: Moorish Invasion of Spain at instigation of Julian, governor of Ceuta. Battle of Xerxes. Tarik destroyed the Visigothic Kingdom. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
711AD: Islam: Moslem forces occupy Spain. By 717, Moslem forces are trying to take Constantinople. Religion as never before became a means of securing a sense of personal identity, somewhat replacing senses of regionalism, nationalism, views on economic interest, cultural/racial traditions. (From Runciman on The First Crusade.) (Item from Historians' History of the World, 1907, Vol. 8, pp. 38ff.) By 715, almost all the Iberian peninsula except for mountainous northern areas, is under Moslem control. Many emirs succeed each other. The Moslems move north into France but are repulsed by Charles Martel in 732.
712AD: Islam: Mohammedans take Antioch in Pisidia. Great success for Moslem generals Kotaiba and Muhammed b. Kasim in Asia.
715AD: Islam: Death of Walid and accession of Suleiman, the pre-designated heir.
716AD: Islam: Mohammedans invade Asia Minor, siege of Amorium, the town is relieved by Leo the Isaurian.
717AD: Islam: Siege of Pergamus, siege of Constantinople, death of Suleiman, the appointed heir Omar II, grandson of Merwan I, succeeds.
718AD: Islam: Repulse of the Mohammedans from Constantinople, in revenge the Caliph excludes all Christians from servants of the state. Omar's reign is not especially warlike. This marks the beginning of the Abbasid movement in favour of the descendants of Abbas, uncle of the Prophet, acquiring the Caliphate.
720AD: Islam: Death of Omar. Yazid II, son of Abdul-Malik, succeeds. Yazid B. Muhallab, who has been in disgrace for some years, makes a small army and takes Basra (Bassora).
721AD: Islam: Death of Ibn Muhallab in battle. Mohammedans cross the Pyrenees and capture Narbonne, France, but are defeated at Toulouse, and they retire under Abd ar-Rahman.
724AD: Islam: Death of Yazid. His son Hisham, the appointed heir, succeeds. He is a severe and pious ruler.
725AD: Islam: Abbasid revolt at Balkh. Abbasid troubles continue.
726AD: Islam: Mohammedans invade Cappadocia.
731AD: circa: England: The Venerable Bede publishes his book, Ecclesiastical History of the English Peoples. Bede popularised the custom of dating events from the supposed birth date of Jesus Christ.
732AD: Battle of Tours in France.
734AD: Islam: Mohammedan invasion of Asia Minor.
737AD: Islam: Peace restored in the Abbasid faction.
739AD: Islam: Byzantine victory at Acroinon. Death of Sid (Said) al-Battal.
743AD: Islam: Death of Hisham, succeeded by his nephew Walid II, whose debaucheries make him hated. Yazid, son of Walid I, assumes title of Caliph and is received at Damascus in absence of Walid.
744AD: Islam: Death of Walid in battle with his rival. Yazid III succeeds. Signs of disintegration appear. Abd ar-Rahman b. Muhammed declares himself independent in Africa. Revolt of Emessa over Walid's death. Merwan, Yazid's grandfather, attempts to obtain Caliphate. Yazid makes him governor of Mesopotamia. Death of Yazid after reign of six months, succeeded by his brother Ibrahim. Merwan marches against Damascus. Ibrahim flees after reign of two months. Merwan II is acknowledged as Caliph. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
746AD: Islam: Mohammedan invasion of Cyprus.
750AD: Islam: As result of ferment in eastern part of the Empire, the Abbasid Abul-Abbas assumes title of Caliph. War between Omayyads and Abbasids. Battle of the Zab. Defeat of Merwan. Downfall of the Omayyad dynasty. Abul-Abbas is established in the Caliphate. He has all the Omayyad princes except Abd ar-Rahman b. Moawiyah, who escapes to Africa, put to death. Revolts arise due to his cruelty, but are suppressed. Abul-Abbas makes his residence at Anbar.
751AD: Italy: The Lombard invaders capture Ravenna.
754AD: Islam: Death of Abul-Abbas. He has designated Abu Jafar (Al-Mansur) his cousin as his successor. Abdallah b. Ali revolts, but is defeated at Nisibia. Several risings are suppressed. Revolt arises in Africa, which now is only nominally guided by the caliphs.
755AD: Islam: Mohammedans in Spain elect Abd ar-Rahman b. Moawiyah as caliph, ending years of disunity since 715 or so. Spain is lost to the Abbasids.
756AD: Islam: Foundation of the western Omayyad caliphate. The Omayyad Dynasty has dates 756-1031AD. In 756, Abd ar-Rahman I defeats the Abbaside emirs, and founds his kingdom at Cordova. His reign sees constant warfare, he has to suppress many revolts.
756-757AD: Islam: Invasion of Asia Minor, capture of Malatiya, defeat of the Byzantines in Cilicia. Seven years' truce with the emperor.
757-769AD: Offa is king of the Mercians in England. (Germanic peoples south of the Humber River.)
760AD: approx: China invented paper money 500 years before Marco Polo brought the idea of Europe. Europeans took 300 years to realise that printed money could be a substitute for coined money. China had hyperinflation, the first recorded case of it, in 1020AD, as war costs and imported made for a coin famine, and private banks over-reacted by printing paper money.
762AD: Islam: Baghdad made the capital of the Islamic Caliphate.
763AD: Islam: Muhammed Mahdi falls in battle after being proclaimed caliph. His brother Ibrahim also revolts and is killed in battle.
775AD: Islam: Death of Mansur, succeeded by his son, Muhammed, Al-Mahdi. He restores peace and improves internal conditions. Revolt of Hakim in Khorasan. Continued invasion of Asia Minor.
776AD: Islam: Destruction of Charlemagne's army at Roncesvalles, on its return from the invasion to restore Hosein to power in Spain.
780AD: Islam: Capture of Semaluos by Harun ar-Rashid. In Spain, capture of Saragossa, Hosein is taken and executed.
782AD: Islam: Renewal of war between Byzantines and Mohammedans. Victory for Byzantium in Cilicia. Harun ar-Rashid takes command. He marches to the Bosphorus, and compels empress Irene to pay annual tribute.
785AD: Islam: Rebellion of Mahdi's eldest son, Musa, because Harun is preferred as heir. Death of Mahdi on way to crush this rebellion. Mus takes the title Hadi and succeeds. Rising of Hosein b. Ali is suppressed.
786AD: Islam: Hadi attempts to exclude Harun from the caliphate, and is smothered at instigation of his mother. Harun ar-Rashid, the most celebrated of the caliphs, succeeds without opposition.
786AD: Islam in Spain: Suppression of the rebellion of Beni Yusuf.
786-820AD: Serious Norwegian Viking raids from three ships from the north, down the east and west coasts of Britain, the Dorset coast. See archaeological finds at Jarlshof in Shetland. Also, the Jarls (Earls) of Orkney. In the time of the Wessex King Brihtric (786-802).
788AD: Islam: Spain, Death of Abd ar-Rahman. HIs son and appointed heir, Hisham I, succeeds. He proclaims a holy war and finishes the mosque of Cordova.
789AD: Islam: Arabs invade Rumania.
792-793AD: Islam: Suppression of the party formed by Yahya b. Abdallah.
793AD: Vikings, England: Lindisfarne Monastery, A Norwegian Viking raiding party descends, it is said, accompanied by high winds, lightning and fiery dragons in the sky, on Holy Island, off the Northumbrian Coast. Events widely regarded as beginning of "Viking Age".
792AD: Moslem invasion of Southern France.
794AD: Vikings, England: A Viking raid on a Northumbrian monastery, possible at Jarrow, is thwarted. (Dixon, Barbarian Europe, p. 117.) In 795, Vikings raid the western sea, Iona, an island off the Irish coast.
795AD: First recording Viking attack on Ireland, at Lambey. Norsemen had sailed south from Skye in Scotland. They are probably Norwegians.
796AD: Islam: Spain, Death of Hisham, succeeded by his son Al-Hakim, who suppresses his rebellious uncle.
797-798AD: Islam: Victories for Byzantines over Islam till empress Irene sues for peace. The Khazars are driven out of Armenia. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
798AD: By about now, Norwegian Vikings are attacking the coasts of Aquitaine, France.
799AD: Further Viking raids on Aquitaine coast, France.
800-810AD: Vikings: King of the Danes and an affront to the Franks is King Godfred 800-810.
800AD: Approx, Vikings, Denmark: Appearance of first Danish king, Godfred.
800AD: Islam: The Aglabite Dynasty is founded at Kairwan. In Spain, the Franks invade Catalonia and retake Barcelona from Moslem control.
800AD: Charles the Great is crowned Emperor in basilica of St Peter's, Rome, by Pope Leo III, on Christmas Day. Is this a sign that the barbarians are tamed?
800AD: Vikings: Norwegians begin to penetrate the Orkneys coastal area of Scotland, bothering the Picts. However, the Norwegians only penetrate on the mainland in the areas of Caithness and Ross, as shows in the history of the Earls of Caithness. About 800, Vikings also bother the Christian Celts of the Isle of Man. They tend to land on the north of the Isle of Man. Later the Vikings establish a system of government, the Tynwald.
801AD: Islam: Harun sends an embassy to Charlemagne.
802AD: Islam: Byzantine emperor Nicephorus refuses further tribute payment to Islam. Harun invades Asia Minor devastatingly so Nicephorus sues for peace. He breaks the peace in 803 and the same process is repeated.
804-805AD: Islam: Rebellion in Khorasan.
806AD: Islam: Peace restored with Nicephorus after hostilities.
807AD: Islam: Spain, After continual disorder in Toledo, Al-Hakim massacres the chief citizens. Resistance is abandoned.
808AD: Islam: Edrisite Dynasty founded at Fez.
809AD: Islam: Death of Harun on way to quell disturbances in Khorasan. Arts and sciences flourish during his reign. His son Emin succeeds, but has to cope with rebellion from his brother Mamun, who gradually wins all the provinces except Baghdad to his side.
813AD: Islam: Capture and assassination of Emin. Mamun is proclaimed at Baghdad. Civil war continues.
815AD: Islam: Spain, Rising in Cordova against Moslems put down with great cruelty. Exile of the inhabitants who go to Africa.
817AD: Islam: Mamun appoints Musa b. Ali to the throne. The people of Baghdad declare Mamun deposed and elect his uncle Ibrahim as Caliph. Sudden death of Musa. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
820AD: Vikings, France: Viking attacks on the coast of Flanders and at the mouth of the Seine River, driven off successfully. (A fleet from "Nordmannia".)
820AD: Islam: Appointment of Tahir as governor of Khorasan, where his descendants rule until 872. (Sometimes called Tahirite Dynasty).
821AD: Islam: Spain, Death of Ak-Hakim, succeeded by his son Abd ar-Rahman II.
823AD: Islam: Spain, Sancho captures Viguera. Death of Ordono enables Abd ar-Rahman to complete work of internal organisation.
823AD: Islam: Spain, A band of Cordovan exiles from Alexandria conquer Crete. The king defeats his great-uncle, Abdallah.
825AD: If not 30 years earlier, Iceland, Irish monks in search of solitude have sailed to Iceland and back. They call Iceland, "Thule". These monks left when the Viking settlers arrived by 860.
829AD-842: Movements of some people of Turkish tribal origin. From 829, a colony of Persians settles on the Vardar (Axios). They supply soldiers - Vardariots - for Byzantine Imperial Guard. In 1065 a colony of Uzes settled in Macedonia, its senior men becoming senators of Byzantium. Before 1081, colonies of Turks move to Achrida area. By 1123, a colony of Patzinaks settle in western Macedonia in time of Byzantine John II. By 1243, colonies of Romans are in Macedonia and Thrace, after areas had been depopulated by Crusaders and Bulgarians. (Finlay, History of Greece, p. 32).
829AD: Islam, Spain: Abd ar-Rahman assumes title of Caliph. (Item from Historians' History of the World, 1907, Vol. 8, pp. 38ff.)
829AD: Islam: Euphemius invites the Mohammedans from Africa into Sicily. They take Palermo.
831AD: Islam: Mohammedans being long invasion of Asia Minor.
832AD: Islam: Capture of Heraclea. In Spain in 1832, Toledo rebels against Moslem rule and is suppressed again.
833AD: Islam: Idea that the world is round: Death of Mamun. His reign is the Augustan Age of Arabian literature. Works on science and philosophy are translated from the Greek. Mamun orders the measurement of a degree of the earth's circumference. The designated heir, his brother Mutasim, succeeds. A party in favour of Manun's son, Abbas, is put down. Mutasin employs Turks in his bodyguard, but their excesses cause Baghdad to revolt. The Caliph removes the capital to Samarra. (Item from Historians' History of the World. London, 1907., Vol. 8, pp. 32ff.)
833AD: Islam: Death of Mamun. His reign is the Augustan Age of Arabian literature. Works on science and philosophy are translated from the Greek. Mamun orders the measurement of a degree of the earth's circumference. The designated heir, his brother Mutasim, succeeds. A party in favour of Manun's son, Abbas, is put down. Mutasin employs Turks in his bodyguard, but their excesses cause Baghdad to revolt. The Caliph removes the capital to Samarra.
834AD: Vikings: Following the surrender of Louis of France to Lothar, and Louis' subsequent imprisonment, a fleet of Danish Vikings sail up the Rhine River and sack the trading centre of Dorestad. For the next 40 years, Frisia is under Viking control. Dorestad loses its role as a trading centre. The first Danish Viking raids are against large trading centres of other people. Earlier raids had been conducted by Norwegians. In 834, a raid of Frisia. (Annals of St Bertin's).
835AD: Vikings: Danish Vikings devastate Sheppey on the north coast of Kent, England, which is under the hegemony of Egbert, King of Wessex (Cornwall to Kent). Egbert seems to have redirected Viking attacks to the coasts of France. Vikings also attack a monastery at Noirmoutier. (See work of the monk from there, Ermentarius).
836AD: Islam: Byzantine emperor Theophilus destroys Zapetra in his savage war with the Moslems.
838AD: Islam: Moslem victory at Dasymon. Amorium captured. Second revolt of Abbas, who dies in prison.
839AD: Moslem occupation of Southern Italy.
841AD: Islam: Death of Mutasim, his son Wathik succeeds. Caliphate begins to decline.
841AD: Vikings: Ireland: Norwegian Vikings fortify a base for their ships at Ath Cliath (The Black Pool, Dubh Linn), on the Liffey River - Dublin.
841AD: Vikings: Perhaps following a civil war between the sons of Louis of France, and maybe due to the use of Scandinavian mercenaries by both sides, Vikings send a fleet up the Seine River and sack Rouen. In 842, a Viking fleet sacked the usefully-trading port of Quentavic near Boulogne.
842AD: Norwegian Vikings visit the Loire area, France.
843AD: Scotland, King Kenneth McAlpin brings Picts and Scots into a political union, sometimes known as Scotland, more often by the Roman name of Albany.
843AD: Vikings, France: A Viking fleet attacks the town of Nantes on the Loire River, south of Paris and the Seine River. Ominously in 843, Vikings, the earlier raiders of Nantes, establish their first permanent fortified base from which they can terrorise the French coast, at Noirmoutier, an island at the mouth of the Loire River, as a Frankish historian noted, "as if they meant to stay forever".
845AD: Vikings, France: A Viking fleet of up to 600 ships is sent to burn Hamburg by King Horek. In 845, a Viking fleet of up to 120 ships sails up the Seine River, commanded by Ragnar, perhaps a relative of the Friesian chiefs and of the Danish royal family, past Rouen, taking captives, pillaging monasteries and towns on either river bank. On Easter Day 845 Vikings sacked Paris. They took away their booty plus a protection-money from King Louis (danegeld), tribute to go away. In 845, A Danish Viking, Ragnar, enters the Seine with 120 ships, probably legendary Ragnar loobrok, Ragnar Hairy-Breeks. Confronted by Charles the Bald. Ragnar hanged 111 prisoners in front of the Frankish army. Charles the Bald paid him 7000 pounds of silver, protection money, to depart. Later, Viking fleets sail up the Gironde and Garonne to ravage Aquitaine and Bordeaux. Spain and Portugal are attacked. The Vikings with an attack on Seville on the River Guadalquivir lost a thousand in battle and had 400 taken prisoner and hanged. In 845 a notable Viking pagan, Thorgils, is captured by his enemies and drowned.
845AD: Islam: Truce with Byzantine empress, Theodora.
846AD: A fleet of Moslem pirates seizes Ostia and besieges Rome. St Peter's and St Paul's are sacked. Carolingian power in Italy seems defeated.
846AD: Islam: Moslem forces sack Rome.