818 Explained

Year 818 (DCCCXVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The designation "818" for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the dominant method of naming years in Europe.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

Vikings, identified as the Rus' people (a group of Norsemen), plunder the northern coast of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), marking the first recorded raid of Rus' people on Byzantine territory.^[1]

Europe

• April 17  - King Bernard of Italy, illegitimate son of Pepin of Italy, is tried and condemned to death by Emperor Louis I. The Kingdom of Italy is reabsorbed into the Frankish Empire.

The Slavs known as the Timočani, living along the Timok River, end their alliance with the Bulgars. Duke Ljudevit of the Slavs in Lower Pannonia sends emissaries to Louis I, to assert his independence from the Franks.

• Al-Andalus: A grave rebellion breaks out in the suburbs of Cordoba, against the Emirate of Córdoba. Andalucian Arab refugees arrive in Fez (modern Morocco).^[2]

Britain

• The Anglo-Saxons, led by King Coenwulf of Mercia, raid Dyfed in Wales (approximate date).

Asia

• Beginning of the Lemro period: The Sambawa and Pyinsa Kingdoms are founded in present-day Myanmar.

By topic

Religion

• Theodulf, bishop of Orléans, is deposed and imprisoned, after becoming involved in a conspiracy with Bernard of Italy.

Births

• Abu Dawud, Muslim hadith compiler (or 817)
• Al-Fath ibn Khaqan, Muslim governor (or 817)
• Ariwara no Yukihira, Japanese governor (d. 893)
• Pepin, count of Vermandois (approximate date)
• Sahl al-Tustari, Persian scholar (approximate date)

Deaths

• April 17  - Bernard of Italy, king of the Lombards (b. 797)
• October 3  - Ermengarde, queen of the Franks^[3]
• Al-Fadl ibn Sahl, Persian vizier
• Ali al-Ridha, 8th Shia Imam (b. 766)
• Cernach mac Congalaig, king of Brega (Ireland)
• Clement, Irish scholar and saint
• Felix, bishop of Urgell (Spain)
• García I Jiménez, duke of Gascony
• Hildebold, archbishop of Cologne
• Michael the Confessor, bishop of Synnada
  • Morman, chieftain and king of Brittany Muiredach mac Brain, king of Leinster (Ireland)
• Theophanes the Confessor, Byzantine monk (or 817)
• Quan Deyu, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 759)
• Yahya ibn Adam, Islamic scholar
• Yuan Zi, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 739)

Notes and References

1. Dr. Kathryn Tsai. A Timeline of Eastern Church History. Divine Ascent Press, Point Reyes Station, CA, 2004, p. 153.
2. Book: Picard, Christophe. Le Portugal musulman (VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. L'Occident d'al-Andalus sous domination islamique. 2000. Maisonneuve & Larose. Paris. 2-7068-1398-9. 40.
3. Book: Whitney . James Pounder . Gwatkin . Henry Melvill . The Cambridge Medieval History: Maps III. Germany and the Western Empire. 3 . 1922 . Plantagenet Publishing . 23 . en.