Directory

827 CE

Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for the help of North African Arabs, to retake Sicily and Malta from the Byzantines. Emir Ziyadat Allah I of Ifriqiya promises to return the islands to Euphemius, in exchange for a yearly tribute, and sends an Arab Muslim expeditionary force of 10,000 men under the 70-year-old Asad ibn al-Furat, which lands at Mazara del Vallo in Sicily. Pope Eugene II dies after a 3-year reign, and is succeeded by Valentine as the 100th pope of the Catholic Church. Pope Valentine dies just after a two-month reign, and is succeeded by Gregory IV as the 101st pope of Rome.

Conflict & Security

  • Giustiniano Participazio deposes his younger brother Giovanni I, and is appointed doge of Venice. Giovanni, who is part of a pro-Frankish faction, is exiled to Zara (modern Croatia).source
  • Fall – Siege of Syracuse: Muslim forces under Asad ibn al-Furat, in support of the rebel Byzantine army, besiege Syracuse, Sicily.source
  • Emperor Jing Zong is assassinated by a group of conspirators. He is succeeded by his brother Wen Zong, as ruler of the Tang Dynasty.source
  • Summer – Omurtag, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, launches an attack to the West, and penetrates into Pannonia. He expels the local chiefs, and installs Bulgar governors over the Slavic tribes to control them. Omurtag conquers the cities of Beograd, Braničevo, Sirmium, and most of eastern Slavonia.source
  • Æthelstan establishes himself as king of East Anglia, after killing King Ludeca of Mercia in battle. Ludeca is succeeded by Wiglaf, father-in-law (and probably distant cousin) of the late king Ceolwulf I's daughter.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for the help of North African Arabs, to retake Sicily and Malta from the Byzantines. Emir Ziyadat Allah I of Ifriqiya promises to return the islands to Euphemius, in exchange for a yearly tribute, and sends an Arab Muslim expeditionary force of 10,000 men under the 70-year-old Asad ibn al-Furat, which lands at Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.source
  • The Saracens, who found spinach originally in Persia (modern Iran), introduce the plant to Sicily.source

Religion & Belief

  • Khalid ibn Abd al-Malik al-Marwarrudhi and Ali ibn Isa al-Asturlabi travel to the Plain of Sinjar (modern Iraq), under orders of Caliph Al-Ma'mun, to measure the size of the Earth.source

Births

  • Cyril, Byzantine missionary and bishop (d. 869)source
  • Ibn al-Rawandi, Muslim scholar and writer (d. 911)source
  • Maura of Troyes, Frankish noblewoman and saint (d. 850)source

Deaths

  • January 1 – Adalard of Corbie, Frankish abbotsource
  • August 27 – Pope Eugene II dies after a 3-year reign, and is succeeded by Valentine as the 100th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • August 27 – Eugene II, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • October 10 – Valentine, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • October 10 – Pope Valentine dies just after a two-month reign, and is succeeded by Gregory IV as the 101st pope of Rome.source
  • Jing Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 809)source
  • Grigol of Kakheti, Georgian princesource
  • Agnello Participazio, doge of Venicesource
  • Guillemundus, Frankish noblemansource
  • Wu Chongyin, Chinese general (b. 761)source
  • Yaoshan Weiyan, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 745)source