Directory

683 CE

Battle of al-Harra: The Umayyad Caliphate defeats the rebel defenders of Medina, at a lava field northeast of the city. November – Siege of Mecca: The Umayyad army led by Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni besieges Mecca, during which the Kaaba ("Sacred House") catches fire and is burned down. Caliph Yazid I dies at Damascus, after a 3-year reign marked by civil war. He is succeeded by his son Muawiya II as ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Conflict & Security

  • August 26 – Battle of al-Harra: The Umayyad Caliphate defeats the rebel defenders of Medina, at a lava field northeast of the city.source
  • September–November – Siege of Mecca: The Umayyad army led by Husayn ibn Numayr al-Sakuni besieges Mecca, during which the Kaaba ("Sacred House") catches fire and is burned down.source

Religion & Belief

  • Approximate date – Seaxwulf, bishop of Mercia, founds All Saints' Church at Brixworth in England.source

Economy & Finance

  • Emperor Tenmu decrees a reform in Japan; copper coins must be used instead of silver coins. Three days later he issues a decree to allow the continued use of silver.source
  • Srivijaya is founded by Sri Jayanasa in Sumatrasource

Science & Discovery

  • According to Bar Hebraeus, a great comet appeared for eleven days, and there was a severe winter, and the Euphrates froze over, and olive groves and vineyards withered, and beasts, and cattle, and birds came to an end.source

Culture & Society

  • Approximate date – The sarcophagus lid in the tomb of K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Shield 2), Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque, Mexico (Maya culture) is made.source
  • Prince Ōtsu, son of Tenmu, starts to attend to matters of State at about this time.source

Births

  • Yi Xing, Chinese astronomer and mechanical engineer (d. 727)source
  • Monmu, emperor of Japan (d. 707)source
  • Bilge Khan, ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate (or 684)source

Deaths

  • June 28 – Pope Leo II dies at Rome 10 months after being consecrated.source
  • June 28 – Leo II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 611)source
  • November 11 – Yazid I, Muslim caliph (b. 647)source
  • November 14 – Caliph Yazid I dies at Damascus, after a 3-year reign marked by civil war. He is succeeded by his son Muawiya II as ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate.source
  • December 27 – Gao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (b. 628)source
  • December 27 – Emperor Gaozong dies at Luoyang, age 55, after a 34-year reign in which he expanded the Chinese Empire by acquiring Korea as a vassal state.source
  • Cui Zhiwen, official of the Tang dynasty (b. 627)source
  • K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of the Maya state of Palenque (Mexico), dies after a 68-year reign. He is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions. He is the longest-reigning monarch in the world until Louis XIV breaks that record in 1711, almost 1028 years later and remains the longest-reigning monarch in the Americas until Elizabeth II breaks that record in 2020, almost 1337 years latersource
  • K'inich Janaab' Pakal ("Pacal the Great"), ruler (ajaw) of Palenque (b. 603)source
  • Anseung, king of Goguryeo (Korea)source
  • Æbbe, Anglo-Saxon princess and abbesssource
  • Waningus, Frankish abbot (approximate date)source
  • King Sighere of Essex dies after a 19-year joint reign. His brother Sæbbi becomes the sole ruler of Essex until his death in 694.source
  • Xue Rengui, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 614)source