Directory

875 CE

The Great Heathen Army, led by Guthrum, moves on Cambridge. He later returns to Wessex, to establish a winter quarter. King Alfred the Great fights the Danes in a naval engagement. Emperor Louis II dies in Brescia, after having named his cousin Carloman, son of King Louis the German, as his successor. Louis is buried in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. King Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, travels to Italy. He receives the Imperial Regalia at Pavia, and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor as Charles II at Rome.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Harald Fairhair of Norway subdues the rovers on the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands, and adds them to his kingdom (approximate date).source

Conflict & Security

  • June – The Great Heathen Army, led by Guthrum, moves on Cambridge. He later returns to Wessex, to establish a winter quarter. King Alfred the Great fights the Danes in a naval engagement.source
  • Danish Vikings, probably led by Halfdan Ragnarsson, invade Dublin. During the fighting, Eystein Olafsson, king of Dublin, is killed.source
  • Battle of Dollar: Invading Danish Vikings defeat the Scots and the Picts, under King Constantine I, at Dollar. They occupy Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Moray, far to the north.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • King Jayavarman III founds a new dynasty at Indrapura (Quảng Nam) in Champa, in the central region of modern-day Vietnam. He initiates a building program in the Dong Duong Style.source
  • The Samanid Dynasty establishes a court at Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan), which becomes a rival city to Baghdad on the strategic Silk Road.source
  • Fall – An Arab fleet from Taranto sails up the Adriatic Sea and sacks Comacchio, putting it to flames. They attack Grado (bishopric of the Venetian Republic), but are repelled by the Venetians.source

Religion & Belief

  • December 29 – King Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, travels to Italy. He receives the Imperial Regalia at Pavia, and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor as Charles II at Rome.source
  • Bretons begin to flee the land, seeking the relative security of Britain. Vikings loot the Abbey of Saint-Melaine at Rennes (approximate date).source
  • The construction of the Great Mosque of Kairouan is completed by Ibrahim II. He builds another three bays, reducing the size of the courtyard.source

Climate & Environment

  • Donyarth, the last recorded king of Cornwall, drowns in what is thought to be the River Fowey.source

Culture & Society

  • Louis the Stammerer, son of Charles the Bald, marries for the second time Adelaide of Paris, after divorcing Ansgarde of Burgundy, with whom he is secretly married.source

Births

  • March 22 – William I, duke of Aquitaine (d. 918)source
  • Sale Ngahkwe, king of Burma (approximate date)source
  • Spytihněv I, duke of Bohemia (approximate date)source
  • Ermentrude, Frankish princess, daughter of Louis the Stammerer (or 878)source
  • Sueiro Belfaguer, Portuguese nobleman (d. 925)source
  • Lady Ise, Japanese poet (approximate date)source
  • Fruela II, king of Asturias and León (approximate date)source
  • Mary the Younger, Byzantine saint (d. 902)source
  • Gerhard I, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)source
  • Adalbert II, Frankish margrave (approximate date)source
  • Fujiwara no Nakahira, Japanese statesman (d. 945)source

Deaths

  • August 12 – Emperor Louis II dies in Brescia, after having named his cousin Carloman, son of King Louis the German, as his successor. Louis is buried in the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.source
  • August 12 – Louis II, king of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor (b. 825)source
  • October 28 – Remigius of Lyon, Frankish archbishopsource
  • November 11 – Teutberga, queen of Lotharingiasource
  • 'Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn Yazdad al-Marwazi, Persian officialsource
  • Martianus Hiberniensis, Irish monk and calligrapher (b. 819)source
  • Donyarth, king of Cornwall (approximate date)source
  • Eystein Olafsson, Norse–Gael king of Dublinsource
  • Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabids, dies and is succeeded by his brother Ibrahim II. Towards the end of his reign, a caravan of pilgrims from Mecca introduces the plague in Ifriqiya (Tunisia).source
  • Gyeongmun, king of Silla (Korea) (b. 841)source
  • Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Persian scholarsource
  • Amram Gaon, Jewish liturgist (approximate date)source
  • Xiao Fang, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 796)source
  • Muhammad II, emir of the Aghlabidssource