WORLD HISTORY · TIMELINE 日本語
The 9th century801–900
What were the key events of the 9th century?
In the 9th century (801–900), Japan's Sakanoue no Tamuramaro built Isawa Castle, the Fujiwara family took real power as regents, and official missions to Tang China were ended. In Europe the Frankish Kingdom was divided, in China Huang Chao's army occupied Chang'an, and regional dynasties emerged in the Islamic world.
- Sakanoue no Tamuramaro builds Isawa CastleAsia
- Treaty divides the Frankish KingdomEurope
- Fujiwara family seizes power as regentsAsia
- Regional dynasties emerge in the Islamic worldMiddle East
- Jogan earthquake strikes northeastern JapanAsia
- King Alfred drives back the DanesEurope
- Huang Chao's army occupies Chang'anAsia
- Missions to Tang ended on Sugawara no Michizane's adviceAsia
Summaries are written by the site editors.
Key events of the 9th century (timeline · excerpt)
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An earthquake in the Central Apennines hits Rome and Spoleto, damaging the basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura.
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro builds Isawa Castle
Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Conspirators place Nikephoros, the minister of finance, on the Byzantine throne.
Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum's treasury.
Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian.
Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
Leo V the Armenian is crowned as Byzantine Emperor after he successfully forced previous emperor Michael I Rangabe to abdicate the previous day.
The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II.
Theodora is crowned Byzantine empress and marries then emperor Theophilos in the Hagia Sophia. She is credited with restoring Christian orthodoxy and icons.
Sweet Dew Incident: Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty conspires to kill the powerful eunuchs of the Tang court, but the plot is foiled.
Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
Battle of Anzen: The Byzantine emperor Theophilos suffers a heavy defeat by the Abbasids.
The Arabs under Caliph al-Mu'tasim storm and sack the city of Amorium, killing half the population and enslaving the other.
In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire.
The first duke of Brittany, Nominoe, defeats the Frankish king Charles the Bald at the Battle of Ballon near Redon.
An earthquake hits Syria, causing multiple casualties and damages in Antioch, Damascus and Mosul.
Battle of Jengland: Erispoe defeats Charles the Bald near the Breton town of Jengland, halting the expansion of West Francia.
Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
Pope Benedict III is restored by a popular uprising to the papacy after king Louis II of Italy tried to replace him with his favourite candidate.
Michael III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, overthrows the regency of his mother, empress Theodora (wife of Theophilos) with support of the Byzantine nobility.
Damghan earthquake: An earthquake near the Persian city of Damghan kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
Consecration of Pope Nicholas I following the death of Pope Benedict III earlier that month.
Byzantine–Rus' War: A fleet of about 200 Rus' vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
Assassination of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil by the Turkish guard, who raise al-Muntasir to the throne, start of the "Anarchy at Samarra".
Major Byzantine victory under general Petronas at the Battle of Lalakaon against an Arab raid under emir Umar al-Aqta, who is killed in battle.
Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army.
An army of the Kingdom of Northumbria attempts to recapture York from the Great Heathen Army but is defeated in the battle of York.
Basil I is crowned Byzantine emperor in the Hagia Sophia after he murdered the previous emperor Michael III in the night before.
Jogan earthquake strikes northeastern Japan
The 8.4–9.0 Mw Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland.
Caliph al-Muhtadi is killed by rebellious troops and is succeeded by his cousin Al-Mu'tamid.
Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions.
The city of Melite surrenders to an Aghlabid army following a siege, putting an end to Byzantine Malta.
Battle of Englefield: The Vikings clash with ealdorman Æthelwulf of Berkshire. The invaders are driven back to Reading (East Anglia); many Danes are killed.
Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
Emperor Louis II of Italy and Empress Engelberga are captured by Prince Adelchis of Benevento.
Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
Frankish forces led by Louis the Younger prevent a West Frankish invasion and defeat emperor Charles II ("the Bald").
Louis the Stammerer (son of Charles the Bald) is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom at Compiègne.
King Alfred drives back the Danes
Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state.
Pope John VIII recognises the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state.
Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III of France is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
Emperor Basil I ratifies the decrees of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, confirming the reinstatement of patriarch Photios I of Constantinople.
Huang Chao's army occupies Chang'an
Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang dynasty, is captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.
Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu: Louis III of France defeats the Vikings, an event celebrated in the poem Ludwigslied.
Abu al Abbas celebrates a victory parade in Bagdhad following the suppression of the Zanj Rebellion, the largest slave revolt in the Arab world.
Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November.
Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia.
Odo, count of Paris, is crowned king of West Francia (France) by Archbishop Walter of Sens at Compiègne.
Missions to Tang ended on Sugawara no Michizane's advice
Pope Formosus crowns Arnulf of Carinthia as Emperor in Rome. Arnulf suffers a stroke soon after and retreats from Italy.
The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
Count Reginar I of Hainault rises against Zwentibold of Lotharingia and slays him near present-day Susteren.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.