8th century

◍ Open on the globe

701 – 800 · 11 events

What happened around the world

Europe

711–718 Umayyad conquest of Hispania — The Visigoths fall and the story of al-Andalus begins
c. 726 Byzantine Iconoclasm begins — Byzantine emperors ban icons, starting a century-long fight
732 Battle of Tours — Charles Martel halts the Arab advance into Western Europe
793 Viking raid on Lindisfarne — A plundered monastery shocks Europe and opens the Viking Age
800 Coronation of Charlemagne — The Pope revives an empire in the West

Middle East

762 Founding of Baghdad — The Round City rises as a hub of Islamic learning

Asia

751 Battle of Talas — Abbasids beat Tang China and Islam takes hold in Central Asia
752 The Great Buddha of Tōdai-ji — A bronze Buddha that consumed a huge share of Japan's copper
794 Founding of Heian-kyō — Future Kyoto becomes the imperial seat for a thousand years
c. 800 Construction of Borobudur — Java raises the world's largest Buddhist temple

Americas

c. 800–950 Drought and the Classic Maya collapse — Severe droughts may explain why Tikal and Copán were abandoned

Who ruled

Franks and France: Charlemagne 768 – 814
China: dynasties: Tang 618 – 907
Japan: shoguns & emperors: Asuka period (Yamato emperors) 622 – 710, Nara period (emperors) 710 – 781, Emperor Kanmu 781 – 806
Rome and Byzantium: Heraclians and Isaurians 610 – 867

Largest states