Directory

850 CE

King Ramiro I dies in his palace at Santa María del Naranco (near Oviedo), after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Ordoño I, as ruler of Asturias. Emperor Ninmyō dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Montoku, as the 55th emperor of Japan. Coffee is discovered (according to legend) by the Ethiopian goatherder Kaldi in East Africa, who notices that his goats become energetic after chewing the red berries from certain wild bushes (approximate date).

Conflict & Security

  • King Kenneth I (also called Kenneth MacAlpin) of Alba (modern Scotland) invades Northern Northumbria during the period of 850–858, burning Dunbar and Melrose.source
  • Danish Viking raiders, led by King Rorik, conquer Dorestad and Utrecht (modern-day Netherlands). Emperor Lothair I recognizes him as ruler of most of Friesland.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Uxmal becomes the capital of a large state in the Puuk hills region of northern Yucatán (modern Mexico). The city is connected by causeways (sakbe) to other important Puuk sites, such as K'abah, Sayil, and Labna (approximate date).source

Religion & Belief

  • April 22 – Gunther becomes archbishop of Cologne (modern Germany).source
  • June 18 – Perfecto, a Christian priest in Muslim Córdoba, is executed (beheaded) after he refuses to retract critical comments he made about Muhammad.source
  • The Pillar of Eliseg is erected by King Cyngen ap Cadell of Powys (Wales), as a memorial to his great-grandfather Elisedd ap Gwylog (or Eliseg) (approximate date).source
  • King Louis II, the eldest son of Lothair I, is crowned joint emperor by Pope Leo IV at Rome, and becomes co-ruler of the Middle Frankish Kingdom.source
  • The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil issues a decree that orders Jews and Christians to wear the zunnar, honey-coloured outer garments and badge-like patches on their on their servants' clothing.source

Science & Discovery

  • Coffee is discovered (according to legend) by the Ethiopian goatherder Kaldi in East Africa, who notices that his goats become energetic after chewing the red berries from certain wild bushes (approximate date).source

Disasters & Accidents

  • It is hypothesized that sometime around 850 a group of Buddhist pilgrims travelling through a valley near Roopkund (modern India) were killed when caught out in the open in a sudden hailstorm. Their remains were discovered in 1942.source

Births

  • June 27 – Ibrahim II, emir of the Aghlabids (d. 902)source
  • Hucbald, Frankish music theorist (or 840)source
  • Du Guangting, Chinese Taoist priest and writer (d. 933)source
  • Aribo of Austria, Frankish margrave (approximate date)source
  • Reginar I, duke of Lorraine (approximate date)source
  • Smbat I, king of Armenia (approximate date)source
  • Tuotilo, German monk and composer (approximate date)source
  • Onneca Fortúnez, Basque princess (or 848)source
  • Hermenegildo Gutiérrez, Galician nobleman (d. 912)source
  • Gerolf of Holland, count of Friesland (approximate date)source
  • Herbert I, count of Vermandois (approximate date)source
  • Ranulf II, duke of Aquitaine (d. 890)source
  • Berno of Cluny, Frankish abbot (approximate date)source
  • Abu Zayd al-Balkhi, Muslim mathematician (d. 934)source

Deaths

  • February 1 – Ramiro I, king of Asturiassource
  • February 1 – King Ramiro I dies in his palace at Santa María del Naranco (near Oviedo), after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Ordoño I, as ruler of Asturias.source
  • April 18 – Perfectus, Spanish monk and martyrsource
  • May 6 – Emperor Ninmyō dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Montoku, as the 55th emperor of Japan.source
  • May 6 – Ninmyō, emperor of Japan (b. 808)source
  • July 14 – Wei Fu, chancellor of the Tang Dynastysource
  • Ishaq ibn Ibrahim, Muslim official and advisorsource
  • Vlastimir, Serbian prince (approximate date)source
  • Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, Persian mathematiciansource
  • Huangbo Xiyun, Chinese Zen Buddhist monksource
  • Bishr al-Hafi, Muslim theologian (approximate date)source
  • Eanred, king of Northumbria (approximate date)source
  • Li Deyu, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 787)source
  • William of Septimania, Frankish nobleman (b. 826)source