Directory

809 CE

Caliph Harun al-Rashid dies at Tus, on an expedition to put down an uprising in Khorasan (modern Iran). He is succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Harun al-Amin. A Byzantine fleet lands in the Venetian Lagoon, and attacks a Frankish flotilla at Comacchio, but is defeated. Doge Obelerio degli Antenori marries a Frankish bride, Carola; she becomes the first dogaressa of Venice. Council of Aachen (809): Frankish bishops adopt the filioque addition in the Creed. Pope Leo III intervenes, and refuses to recognize it as valid.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Aznar Galíndez I succeeds Aureolus, as count of Aragon (modern Spain). He is installed by King Louis the Pious (a son of emperor Charlemagne), and remains a Frankish vassal.source
  • Emperor Heizei becomes ill, and abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Saga, who is installed as the 52nd emperor of Japan.source

Conflict & Security

  • Spring – Siege of Serdica: Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, captures the fortress of Serdica (modern Sofia), after a long siege. According to Byzantine sources, he massacres the garrison (supposedly 6,000 men), sacks the city, and razes the city walls, before returning with much loot to Bulgaria. In the following years (and centuries), Serdica will serve as a base for the expansion of the Bulgars to the south of the Balkans.source
  • A rebellion in Gharb al-Andalus (modern Portugal) is crushed by the Emirate of Córdoba.source
  • A Byzantine fleet lands in the Venetian Lagoon, and attacks a Frankish flotilla at Comacchio, but is defeated. Doge Obelerio degli Antenori marries a Frankish bride, Carola; she becomes the first dogaressa of Venice.source
  • Emperor Govinda III defeats his rival Nagabhata II, and obtains the submission of the Pala Empire (India).source

Religion & Belief

  • Council of Aachen (809): Frankish bishops adopt the filioque addition in the Creed. Pope Leo III intervenes, and refuses to recognize it as valid.source

Births

  • Hunayn ibn Ishaq, Muslim scholar and physician (d. 873)source
  • Wen Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 840)source
  • Jing Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 827)source

Deaths

  • March 24 – Harun al-Rashid, Muslim caliph (b. 763)source
  • March 24 – Caliph Harun al-Rashid dies at Tus, on an expedition to put down an uprising in Khorasan (modern Iran). He is succeeded by his son Muhammad ibn Harun al-Amin.source
  • March 26 – Ludger, Frisian missionarysource
  • July 14 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general and Shōgun (b. 731)source
  • Aejang, king of Silla (b. 788)source
  • Cellach Tosach mac Donngaile, Irish kingsource
  • Wang Shizhen, Chinese general (b. 759)source
  • Aureolus of Aragon, Frankish noblemansource
  • Abbas ibn al-Ahnaf, Muslim poet (b. 750)source
  • Elfodd, Welsh bishop (approximate date)source