Overview

Events

• Islam begins in Arabia, the Qur'an is documented.
• The world's population shrinks to about 208 million people.
• The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy emerges at the beginning of this century.
• Sutton Hoo ship burial, East Anglia (modern England)
• Xuan Zang (aka Hsuan-Tsang) traveled from China to India, before returning to Chang An in China to translate Buddhist scriptures.
• End of sporadic Buddhist rule in the Sindh.
• Croats and Serbs entered their present territory early in the 7th century AD, settling in six distinct tribal delimitations, whilst Croats set up early states.
• Teotihuacan is sacked and burnt.
• The religion of Shugendo evolves from Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto and other influences in the mountains of Japan.
• The Bulgars arrive in the Balkans; establishment of the powerful Bulgarian Empire.
• Arab traders penetrate the area of Lake Chad.
• Earliest attested English poetry
• 600, Smallpox spreads from India into Europe.
• 606, Boniface elected papal successor on the death of Pope Sabinian. He sought and obtained a decree from Byzantine Emperor Phocas which stated that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches". This ensured that the title of "Universal Bishop" belonged exclusively to the Bishop of Rome.
• 610, Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows East Roman Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor. His first major act is to change the official language of the East Roman Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population)
• 615, The Sassanid Empire under Chosroes II sacks Jerusalem, taking away the relic of the True cross.
• 616, Khosrau II of Persia invades Egypt.
• 616, Aethelfrith of Northumbria defeats the Welsh in a battle at Chester.
• 618, Tang Dynasty of China initiated by Li Yuan.
• 618, The Chenla kingdom completely absorbed Funan.
• Guangzhou, China, becomes a major international seaport, hosting maritime travelers from Egypt, East Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Nestorian Christians.
• 622, Year one of the Islamic calendar begins, during which the Hijra occurs — Muhammad and his followers emigrate from Mecca to Medina in September.
• 623, The Frankish merchant Samo, supporting the Slavs fighting their Avar rulers, becomes the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe.
• 626, The Avars and the Persians jointly besiege but fail to capture Constantinople.
• 627, Emperor Heraclius defeats the Persians, ending the Roman-Persian Wars.
• 629, The Byzantine-Arab Wars begin. Much of the Roman Empire is conquered by Muslim Arabs led by Khalid ibn al-Walid.
• 629-630, Emperor Taizong's campaign against Eastern Tujue, Chinese Tang Dynasty forces under commanders Li Jing and Li Shiji destroy the Göktürk Khanate.
• 632, The Muslim conquests begin.
• 636, Around this time the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah resulted in a decisive victory for Muslims in the Islamic conquest of Persia, the Persian Empire is conquered by Muslim Arabs led by Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas.
• 639, Muslim conquest of Egypt and Armenia
• 642, Library of Alexandria destroyed again
• 664, Conquest of Kabul by Muslims.
• 650, The Khazar-Arab Wars begin.
• 651, Emperor Yazdgerd III is murdered in Merv, ending the rule of Sassanid dynasty in Persia (Iran).
• 656–661, The First Islamic civil war.
• 658, Two Chinese monks, Zhi Yu and Zhi You, reconstruct the 3rd century South Pointing Chariot mechanical compass-vehicle for Emperor Tenji of Japan.
• 661, Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib is assassinated. He is succeeded by Hasan ibn Ali as the Shia Imam and Muawiyah I as the Sunni Caliph. This was the foundation of the Umayyad caliphate.
• 663, The Tang Dynasty of China and Korean Silla Kingdom gain victory against the Korean Baekje Kingdom and their Yamato Japanese allies in the naval Battle of Baekgang.
• 668, The end of the Goguryeo-Tang Wars, as Goguryeo fell to a joint attack by Tang China and Unified Silla of Korea, the latter of which held the Goguryeo domains.
• 670 In 670 an Arab Muslim army under Uqba ibn Nafi entered the region of Ifriqiya. Finally in the late 670s conquest of North Africa has been completed.
• 674, The first Arab siege of Constantinople begins.
• 677, Most of the Arab fleet is destroyed by Greek fire.
• 680, Battle of Karbala took place near Kufa which led to killing of Husayn ibn Ali and the division of Muslim community. The Bulgars subjugate the country of current-day Bulgaria.
• 683–685, The Second Islamic civil war.
• 688, Emperor Justinian II of the Byzantine Empire defeats the Bulgars.
• 694, Hispano-Visigothic king Egica accuses the Jews of aiding the Muslims, and sentences all Jews to slavery.
• 698, The Arabs capture Carthage from the Byzantine Empire, and destroy it completely.

Significant persons