Directory

653 CE

Pope Martin I is arrested in the Lateran in Rome, along with Maximus the Confessor, on the orders of Emperor Constans II, and taken to imprisonment in Constantinople. Emperor Kōtoku sends an embassy to the court of the Tang dynasty in China. Japanese ambassadors, priests and students sail for the capital Chang'an, but some of the ships are lost en route. The Temple of Sinheungsa in Gangwon Province (South Korea) is constructed by the Buddhist monk Jajang.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Penda of Mercia secures dominance over the area of Middle Anglia, where he establishes his son Peada as ruler.source

Conflict & Security

  • King Œthelwald of Deira rejects Oswiu's overlordship, and turns to Penda instead. Penda mounts another attack against Bernicia (approximate date).source
  • Emperor Constans II voluntarily surrenders Armenia to the Arabs, following a truce with Muawiyah, governor of Syria. Muawiyah grants the Armenians virtual autonomy, and appoints the nakharar Theodor Rshtuni as ruler of Armenia.source
  • Prince Tenji of Japan changes his residence to Asuka (Nara Prefecture), with other imperial family members and ministers. Only Emperor Kōtoku stays in the Naniwa Palace (approximate date).source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Emperor Kōtoku sends an embassy to the court of the Tang dynasty in China. Japanese ambassadors, priests and students sail for the capital Chang'an, but some of the ships are lost en route.source

Religion & Belief

  • Sigeberht II is persuaded by Oswiu to adopt Christianity, as part of a mobilization against Penda.source
  • The Temple of Sinheungsa in Gangwon Province (South Korea) is constructed by the Buddhist monk Jajang.source
  • Northumbrian missionaries under St. Cedd are despatched to Essex, to found the monastery at Bradwell-on-Sea.source
  • Peada marries Alchflaed, daughter of King Oswiu of Bernicia, and is baptised at Ad Murum (in the region of Hadrian's Wall) by bishop Finan.source

Crime & Justice

  • June 17 – Pope Martin I is arrested in the Lateran in Rome, along with Maximus the Confessor, on the orders of Emperor Constans II, and taken to imprisonment in Constantinople.source
  • King Rodoald is murdered after a six-month reign, and is succeeded by Aripert I, who is elected as king of the Lombards. He spreads Catholicism over the Lombard realm and builds many new churches through the kingdom.source
  • Muawiyah leads a raid against Rhodes, taking the scattered pieces of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and shipping it back to Syria, where he destroys the bronze scrap to make coins.source
  • Atto succeeds Theodelap as duke of Spoleto, in Central Italy (approximate date).source

Births

  • Childeric II, king of the Franks (approximate date)source
  • Li Xian, prince of the Tang dynasty (d. 684)source

Deaths

  • March 6 – Li Ke, prince of the Tang dynastysource
  • September 30 – Honorius, archbishop of Canterburysource
  • Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad (approximate date)source
  • King Sigeberht I of Essex dies after a 36-year reign, and is succeeded by his relative Sigeberht II.source
  • Theodelap, duke of Spoleto (approximate date)source
  • Chindasuinth, king of the Visigothssource
  • Marcán mac Tommáin, king of Uí Maine (Ireland)source
  • Chen Shuozhen, Chinese rebel leadersource
  • Zhang Xingcheng, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 587)source