Directory

731 CE

Pope Gregory II dies at Rome after a 16-year reign, in which he has fought Iconoclasm. He is succeeded by the Syrian-born cleric Gregory III, as the 90th pope of the Catholic Church. The Mercian Tatwine is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury. Synod of Rome: Gregory III summons a council at the shrine of Saint Peter. All western bishops participate, including the Roman nobility. Gregory condemns Iconoclasm as a heresy.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Æthelbald of Mercia overruns a large portion of Somerset, and wrests the county from Wessex control (approximate date).source

Conflict & Security

  • Umayyad conquest of Gaul: Munuza, Moorish governor of Cerdagne (eastern Pyrenees), rebels against Umayyad authority. He is defeated and executed by Muslim forces under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi at Urgell (Catalonia). Muslim garrisons in Septimania raid the cities Millau and Arles.source
  • Charles Martel leads two raids across the Loire River into the Berry region. The Franks seize and plunder Bourges (central France), but the city is immediately recaptured by Eudes of Aquitaine.source
  • 731 or 732 (traditional date) – Sack of Luxeuil (no evidence for event).source
  • Battle of the Defile: An Umayyad relief army (28,000 men) is sent to Samarkand (modern Uzbekistan), which is besieged by the Turgesh. The Muslims are ambushed near the Zarafshan Range, at the Tashtakaracha Pass. The battle results in a Pyrrhic victory, with heavy casualties for the Umayyad army, halting Muslim expansion in Central Asia for almost two decades.source

Religion & Belief

  • June 10 – The Mercian Tatwine is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.source
  • November 1 – Synod of Rome: Gregory III summons a council at the shrine of Saint Peter. All western bishops participate, including the Roman nobility. Gregory condemns Iconoclasm as a heresy.source
  • Bede, Anglo-Saxon monk and historian, completes his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum at the monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth.source
  • Autumn – King Ceolwulf of Northumbria is deposed by opponents, and forced to enter a monastery. His supporters subsequently restore him to the throne (or 732).source
  • Ragenfrid, ex-mayor of the palace of Neustria, meets Duke Eudes of Aquitaine, to accept his rule and independence from the Frankish Kingdom. Fearing an alliance against him, Charles Martel exiles Ragenfrid's supporter Wandon of Fontenelle, and imprisons bishop Aimar of Auxerre.source

Births

  • Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (d. 809)source
  • Telets, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date)source
  • Abd al-Rahman I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (d. 788)source

Deaths

  • February 9 – Zhang Yue, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 667)source
  • February 11 – Pope Gregory II dies at Rome after a 16-year reign, in which he has fought Iconoclasm. He is succeeded by the Syrian-born cleric Gregory III, as the 90th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • February 11 – Gregory II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 669)source
  • August 31 – Ōtomo no Tabito, Japanese poet (b. 665)source
  • December 22 – Yuan Qianyao, official of the Chinese Tang dynastysource
  • Ragenfrid, mayor of the palace of Neustriasource
  • Munuza, Moorish governor of Cerdagnesource
  • Barjik, prince of the Khazar Khaganatesource
  • Berhtwald, archbishop of Canterburysource
  • Yuwen Rong, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (or 730)source