7th century

601 – 700 · 16 events

What happened around the world

622 Hijra: Muhammad's migration to Medina — The first Muslim community forms and the Islamic calendar starts
636 Battle of the Yarmuk — The caliphate wrests Syria and Palestine from Byzantium
638–639 Plague of Amwas — The pandemic's echo strikes the Arab army in Syria
680 Battle of Karbala — The death of the Prophet's grandson defines Shia memory

641 Arab conquest of Egypt — Fustat seeds Cairo as the Nile valley feeds the caliphate
652 The Baqt treaty with Nubia — Christian Nubia halts the Arabs for six centuries
670 Founding of Kairouan — An army camp becomes Islam's first capital in the Maghreb
698 Fall of Carthage and the Arab conquest of the Maghreb — North Africa becomes part of the Islamic world for good
c. 700 The rise of the Kanem Empire — A Lake Chad empire whose dynasty ruled for nearly 800 years

605–610 Grand Canal of China — The Sui link the Yellow River and Yangtze to feed the north
618 Founding of the Tang dynasty — China's golden age of poetry and Silk Road trade begins
628 Brahmagupta and the rules of zero — Zero becomes a number, the root of modern arithmetic
629–645 Xuanzang's journey to the West — The runaway monk behind 'Journey to the West'
c. 671 Rise of Srivijaya — A Sumatran sea power controls the Strait of Malacca
676 Silla unifies Korea — Tang's ally ends up driving the Tang off the peninsula

615 Pakal the Great becomes ruler of Palenque — A boy king rules 68 years and makes his city a Maya jewel

China: dynasties: Sui 581 – 618, Tang 618 – 907
Japan: shoguns & emperors: Prince Shōtoku 593 – 622, Asuka period (Yamato emperors) 622 – 710
Rome and Byzantium: Justinian I 476 – 610, Heraclians and Isaurians 610 – 867