Directory

640 CE

Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army (15,000 men) under Amr ibn al-As defeats the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). Amr divides his troops into three parts, surrounding the Byzantines. On orders of the Saracen leader, Amar, the Serapeum of Alexandria, containing works that had survived the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, is burned down, along with its collection of 500,000 manuscripts. This story may be apocryphal. Pope John IV succeeds Severinus as the 72nd pope. His election is accepted by the Exarchate of Ravenna.

Conflict & Security

  • May – Siege of Babylon Fortress: The Rashidun army lays siege to Babylon Fortress in the Nile Delta (near Cairo). The next two months' fighting remain inconclusive, the Byzantines having the upper hand by repulsing every Muslim assault.source
  • July 6 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army (15,000 men) under Amr ibn al-As defeats the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). Amr divides his troops into three parts, surrounding the Byzantines.source
  • December 21 – Muslim Arabs capture Babylon after a seven-month siege; during a night assault Arab warriors open the city gates. The Thebaid region (Upper Egypt) is annexed by the Rashidun Caliphate.source
  • Emperor Taizong of Tang begins the military campaigns against the Western Regions states in the Tarim Basin. General Hou Junji captures the kingdom of Gaochang, to solidify Tang rule in Central Asia.source
  • The French city of Lille (according to the legend) is founded by Lydéric. He kills Phinaert in a duel to avenge his parents' deaths (approximate date).source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Disibod, Irish monk and hermit, arrives as a missionary in Francia. He begins his religious work in the Vosges and Ardennes.source

Religion & Belief

  • December 24 – Pope John IV succeeds Severinus as the 72nd pope. His election is accepted by the Exarchate of Ravenna.source
  • Nestorian missionaries build the Daqin Pagoda in Chang'an (Shaanxi). Daqin is the name for the Roman Empire or the Near East.source
  • At the request of Porga of Croatia, one of the first dukes or princes (Croatian: knez) of Dalmatian Croatia, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius sends Christian missionaries to the Croatian Provinces (approximate date).source
  • Hartlepool Abbey in Northumbria (northern England) is founded. Wooden huts surrounding a church are built in Saxon style.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • December 22 – On orders of the Saracen leader, Amar, the Serapeum of Alexandria, containing works that had survived the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, is burned down, along with its collection of 500,000 manuscripts. This story may be apocryphal.source

Climate & Environment

  • A surge in atmospheric lead in ice core drilled in the Colle Gnifetti Glacier in the Swiss Alps signals an increase in silver mining because of economic recovery, after natural disasters in 530s and 540s.source

Births

  • Al-Akhtal, Arab poet (approximate date)source
  • Wulfram, archbishop of Sens (approximate date)source
  • Arikesari Maravarman, king of the Pandyan Empire (approximate date)source
  • Wulfhere, king of Mercia (approximate date)source
  • Musa ibn Nusayr, Arab general (d. 716)source
  • Godeberta, Frankish abbess (approximate date)source
  • Luo Binwang, Chinese poet (d. 684)source
  • Asparuh, ruler of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)source
  • Winnoc, Welsh abbot (approximate date)source
  • Isonokami no Maro, Japanese statesman (d. 717)source
  • Kilian, Irish bishop (approximate date)source

Deaths

  • February 27 – Pepin the Elder, Mayor of the Palacesource
  • February 27 – Pepin the Elder, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia, dies and is succeeded by his son Grimoald. He becomes the head of the Frankish household, and the most powerful man in the Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).source
  • May 28 – Pope Severinus succeeds Honorius I as the 71st pope. He dies in Rome only two months after being consecrated.source
  • September 12 – Sak Kʼukʼ, queen of Palenquesource
  • Chintila, king of the Visigoths (approximate date)source
  • Dushun, (Chinese Buddhist) patriarch (b. 557)source
  • King Chintila dies of natural causes after a 3-year reign, in which he permitted the bishops wide authority in Hispania, Septimania and Galicia. He is succeeded by his son Tulga, who becomes ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom (approximate date).source
  • Romanus, bishop of Rouen (approximate date)source
  • King Eadbald of Kent dies after a 24-year reign. He is succeeded by his sons, Eorcenberht and Eormenred, who jointly rule the Kingdom of Kent (now south east England).source
  • Eanswith, Anglo-Saxon princess (approximate date)source
  • Bilal ibn Rabah, companion of Muhammadsource
  • Eadbald, king of Kent (approximate date)source
  • Alena, Frankish martyr (approximate date)source
  • Li Xiaogong, prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 591)source