750 - 779 A.D. - Iconoclasm or Bust

(Feature Photo: A miniature illustration from the 14th century showing Byzantine Emperor Constantine V giving orders to destroy a church during the iconoclasm [destruction of icons, images] period of the Byzantine Empire; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

 

750

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Zachary is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire 

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Born in the Purple

"The adjective 'born in the purple' (Greek, porphyrogennetos) derives from the porphyra, a special room lined with porphyry, purple stone, or hung with purple silk, which was constructed within the Great Palace [in the Byzantine Empire] before 750. In that year Irene, the Khazar princess who became Constantine V's first wife, gave birth to a male child, named Leo after his grandfather. He was later identified both as 'the Khazar' and porphyrogennetos; he was the first child born in the Purple Chamber."

(Byzantium, Pg. 185)

 

751

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Zachary is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire 

Construction on the Bulguska temple in Korea begins (finished in 774 by the Silla court) (Wikipedia)

 

752

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Zachary is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

March 15, Pope Zachary dies and is succeeded by Stephen II 

  

753

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen II is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

754

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen II is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

755

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen II is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

756

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen II is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

The Muslim Sassanian Persian Empire now stretches from present day Afghanistan in the east to North Africa (Egypt, Morocco) in the south and Spain in the west

An emissary of Pepin, king of the Franks, lays his donation of central Italy and the keys of the Lombard cities he has conquered, at St. Peter's tomb, then called the Confession, giving them over to Pope Stephen II and the Catholic Church (The Secret Archives of the Vatican, Pg. 78)

 

757

RULERS & ROYALTY: Aethelbald is king of Mercia (midlands England) dies, and is succeeded by Offa – Pope Stephen II dies and is succeeded by Paul I – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

Aethelbald, king of Mercia, dies, and is succeeded by Beornred, but he is killed by Offa, who then succeeds him as king

April 26, Pope Stephen II dies, and is succeeded by Paul I

The first mention of a monastery at Bath, England is recorded (land was granted to the brothers of the monastery of St. Peter in Bath)

Constantine V, the Byzantine Emperor, sends an organ as a gifts to the Franks during an embassy this year; Most likely the organ is operated by waterpower, like the fountains and mechanical golden decorations of the Byzantine court (Byzantium, Pg. 17)

 

758

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

760 

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

761

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

762

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

763

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

  

764

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

765

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

766

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Paul I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

Constantine V, the Byzantine Emperor, organizes the forced immigration of thousands of workers to repair the major aqueduct that had been cut during a siege over a hundred years ago in 626; These workers are recruited from Pontos, Asia, Greece, and the Aegean islands and will most likely stay in the city after the work is finished (Byzantium, Pg. 17)

  

767

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Pope Paul I dies, and is succeeded by Stephen III – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

June 28, Pope Paul I dies, and is succeeded by Stephen III

 

768

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen III is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire  Pepin, king of the Franks, dies, and Charlemagne succeeds him

Charlemagne becomes king of the Franks (the Franks are a Germanic tribe that originally invaded the western Roman Empire in the 400s, they dominate modern day France, Belgium and western Germany) (Encyclopedia Britannica); Pepin, Charlemagne's dad, had offered much of his territory in central and northern Italy that he had conquered to the pope back in 756 (The Secret Archives of the Vatican, pg. 78; Note: this book says Charlemagne's reign began in 784)

 

769

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen III is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

  

770

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen III is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

  

771

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Stephen III is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

  

772

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Pope Stephen III dies and is succeeded by Adrian I – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

February 1, Pope Stephen III dies and is succeeded by Adrian I 

 

773

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

774

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

The Bulguska Temple in Korea is completed (started in 751) by the Silla court

 

775

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Constantine V, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, dies, and is succeeded by his son, Leo IV "The Khazar"

September 14, Constantine V, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, dies, and is succeeded by his son, Leo IV "The Khazar"

 

776

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Leo IV "The Khazar" is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

777 

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Leo IV "The Khazar" is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

778

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Leo IV "The Khazar" is emperor of the Byzantine Empire

 

779

RULERS & ROYALTY: Offa is king of Mercia (midlands of England) – Adrian I is pope/bishop of Rome – Leo IV "The Khazar" is emperor of the Byzantine Empire