580s

The 580s decade ran from January 1, 580, to December 31, 589.

Millennium: 1st millennium
Centuries:
Decades:
Years:
Categories:
  • Births
  • Deaths
  • Establishments
  • Disestablishments

Events

580

By place

Byzantine Empire
Europe
Britain
  • Æthelberht succeeds his father Eormenric as king (bretwalda) of Kent (approximate date).
Asia
  • The Northern Zhou Dynasty, strategically based in the basin of the Wei River, is supreme in Northern China. In the south only the Chen Dynasty remains a rival.[2]
  • The Chinese city of Ye (Henan) is razed to the ground by Yang Jian, future founder of the Sui Dynasty, who defeats a resistance force under Yuchi Jiong.

By topic

Religion

581

By place

Byzantine Empire
  • Byzantine–Sasanian War: A Byzantine army commanded by Maurice, and supported by Ghassanid forces under King Al-Mundhir III, fails to capture the Persian capital, Ctesiphon, along the Euphrates.[3]
  • Maurice accuses Mundhir III of treason, and brings him to Constantinople to face trial. Emperor Tiberius II Constantine treats him well, and allows Mundhir with his family a comfortable residence.[4][5]
  • Al-Nu'man VI, son (de facto) of Mundhir III, revolts with the Ghassanids against the Byzantine Empire, after his father is treacherously arrested.
Europe
Britain
Asia
  • The Northern Zhou Dynasty ends: Yáng Jiān executes the last ruler, 8-year-old Jing Di, along with 58 royal relatives at Chang'an. He proclaims himself emperor, and establishes the Sui Dynasty in China.
  • The "Great City of Helu", situated on the shores of Taihu Lake, is renamed Suzhou during the Sui Dynasty (approximate date).
  • In the Turkic Empire an interregnum begins, since there are several candidates to the throne: Talopien (late khagan's candidate), Ishbara (Kurultai's choice) and Tardu (western yabghu).
  • Ishbara Qaghan, grandson of Bumin Qaghan, becomes the new ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).
  • The Sui dynasty begins.

By topic

Literature
  • Maurice writes an encyclopedic work on the science of war (the Strategikon), which exercises a major influence on the military system.
Religion

582

By place

Byzantine Empire
Europe
  • Siege of Sirmium: The Avars, under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I, aided by Slavic auxiliary troops, capture the city of Sirmium after almost a 3-year siege. Bayan establishes a new base of operations within the Byzantine Empire, from which he plunders the Balkan Peninsula.
  • Gundoald, illegitimate son of Clotaire I, arrives with the financial support of Constantinople in southern Gaul. He claims as usurper king the cities Poitiers and Toulouse, part of the Frankish Kingdom (approximate date).
  • The Visigoths under King Liuvigild capture the city of Mérida (western central Spain), which is under the political control of its popular bishop Masona. He is arrested and exiled for 3 years.
Persia
  • A Persian army under Tamkhosrau crosses the Euphrates River and attacks the city of Constantina (modern Turkey), but he is defeated by the Byzantines and killed.
Asia
  • Spring Emperor Xuan, age 52, dies after a 13-year reign and is succeeded by his incompetent son Houzhu, who becomes the new ruler of the Chen Dynasty.
  • Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty orders the building of a new capital, which he calls Daxing (Great Prosperity), on a site southeast of Chang'an (modern Xi'an).

By topic

Religion

583

By place

Byzantine Empire
  • Emperor Maurice decides to end the annual tribute to the Avars, a mounted people who have swept across Russia and threatened the Balkan Peninsula. They capture the cities of Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and Viminacium (Moesia).
Europe
  • King Liuvigild lays siege to Seville (Southern Spain), and forms an alliance with the Byzantines. He summons his rebellious son Hermenegild back to Toledo, and forces him to abandon the Chalcedonian Faith.
  • The city of Monemvasia (Peloponnese) is founded by people seeking refuge from the Slavs and Avars.
  • Eboric (also called Euric) succeeds his father Miro as king of the Suevi (Hispania Gallaecia).
Arabia
Mesoamerica

By topic

Medicine

584

By place

Europe
  • September King Chilperic I is stabbed to death while returning from a hunt near Chelles, after a 23-year reign over a territory extending from Aquitaine, to the northern seacoast of what later will be France. His wife Fredegund, who has paid for his assassination, seizes his wealth, flees to Paris with her son Chlothar II, and persuades the nobles to accept him as legitimate heir while she serves as regent, continuing her power struggles with Guntram, king of Burgundy, and her sister Brunhilda, queen mother of Austrasia.
  • The Lombards re-establish a unified monarchy after a 10-year interregnum (Rule of the Dukes). Threatened by a Frankish invasion that the dukes have provoked, they elect Authari (son of Cleph) as their king and give him the capital of Pavia (Northern Italy).
  • The Visigoths under King Liuvigild capture the city of Seville, after a siege of nearly 2 years. His rebellious son Hermenegild seeks refuge in a church at Córdoba, but is arrested and banished to Tarragona. His wife Inguld flees with her son to Africa.
  • The Exarchate of Ravenna is founded, and organised into a group of duchies, mainly coastal cities on the Italian Peninsula. The civil and military head of these Byzantine territories is the exarch (governor) in Ravenna.
  • The Slavs push south on the Balkan Peninsula – partly in conjunction with the Avars under their ruler (khagan) Bayan I – ravaging the cities Athens and Corinth, and threatening the Long Walls of Constantinople.[10]
  • King Eboric is deposed by his mother (second husband Andeca) who becomes the new ruler of the Kingdom of Galicia (Northern Spain) and the Suevi.
  • Gundoald, illegitimate son of Chlothar I, tries to expend his territory from Brive-la-Gaillarde (Burgundy) and proclaims himself king (approximate date).
Britain
Asia

585

By place

Europe
Persia
  • The Persian commander, Kardarigan ("black hawk"), begins an unsuccessful siege of Monokarton (modern Turkey).
Britain
Asia
  • September 15 Emperor Bidatsu, age 47, dies of smallpox after a 13-year reign, and is succeeded by his brother Yōmei as the 31st emperor of Japan.
  • Emperor Xiao Jing Di succeeds his father Xiao Ming Di as ruler of the Liang Dynasty (China).

By topic

Religion

586

By place

Byzantine Empire
Europe
  • April 21 King Liuvigild dies at Toledo after an 18-year reign, and is succeeded by his second son Reccared I.
  • Slavs advance to the gates of Thessaloniki and the Peloponnese.
  • Avars destroy a lien of Roman camps along the Danubian Limes, including Oescus and Ratiaria.

By topic

Art
  • The Page with the Crucifixion, from the "Rabbula Gospels", at the Monastery of St. John in Beth Zagba (Syria), is completed. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, Italy.
Religion

587

By place

Byzantine Empire
Europe
  • King Guntram sends envoys to Brittany, to stop the raiding on Frankish territory. He compels obedience from Waroch II and demands 1,000 solidus for looting Nantes.
  • King Reccared I renounces Arianism and adopts Catholicism. Many Visigothic nobles follow his example, but in Septimania (Southern Gaul) there are Arian uprisings.
  • November 28 Treaty of Andelot: Guntram recognizes King Childebert II of Austrasia as heir. He signs a treaty with Queen Brunhilda at Andelot-Blancheville.
  • Winter Childebert II appoints Uncelen as the Duke of Alemannia (approximate date).
Britain
  • Sledd succeeds his father Æscwine as king of Essex (approximate date).
Asia
  • Battle of Shigisan: The Soga clan, which has intermarried with the royal Yamato clan, fights the Mononobe and Nakatomi clans over influence in selecting a new successor for the Japanese throne, after Emperor Yōmei dies. The Soga favor importing Buddhism from the Asian mainland, described there as the religion of the most civilized. The Mononobe and Nakatomi hold that Buddhism would be an affront to the gods. The Soga win the civil war and Sushun, age 66, becomes the 32nd emperor of Japan.
  • Fall The Liang dynasty ends: Emperor Wéndi of the Sui Dynasty abolishes Western Liang and expands his territory into the lower valley of the Yangtze River. He sends his official Gao Jiong to the capital Jiangling, to pacify the citizens. The former emperor Xiao Jing Di becomes a vassal and is named the Duke of Liang.
  • Bagha Qaghan becomes the seventh ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Kaganate.

By topic

Religion

588

By place

Byzantine Empire
  • Byzantine-Sassanid War: Unpaid Byzantine troops mutiny against Priscus (magister militum per Orientem). King Hormizd IV begins a Persian offensive, but is defeated at Martyropolis (modern Turkey).
  • Summer Guaram I of Iberia, Georgian prince in exile, is sent by Emperor Maurice to the city of Mtskheta (Georgia). He restores the monarchy and is bestowed with the Byzantine court title of curopalates.
Europe
Britain
Persia
  • First Perso-Turkic War: A Persian army (12,000 men) under Bahrām Chobin, supported by Cataphracts (heavy cavalry), ambush the invading Turks, and win a great victory at the Battle of the Hyrcanian Rock.[19]
Asia

By topic

Religion
  • The Skellig Michael monastery is founded on a steep rocky island off the coast of Ireland (approximate date).
  • The Guanghua Temple in Putian (China) is built during the Chen Dynasty, under Emperor Chen Wu Di.[21]

589

By place

Byzantine Empire
  • Byzantine–Sassanid War: A Persian army under Bahrām Chobin captures the fortress city of Martyropolis (modern Turkey).
Europe
  • May 15 King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence at court and among the Lombard nobility.
  • King Childebert II attempts to impose taxes on the citizens of Tours; Bishop Gregory successfully opposes this by claiming state immunity instituted by Fredegund.
  • King Guntram sends an expedition into Septimania (Southern Gaul), in support of a rebellion by the Arian bishop Athaloc.
  • Claudius, duke (dux) of Lusitania, defeats the Franks and Burgundians at Carcassonne (Languedoc) on the Aude River.
  • October 17 Breach at Cucca. The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. Zeno and damaging the walls of Verona.
  • The plague hits Rome, and its victims include Pope Pelagius II.
Persia
Asia
  • The Chinese Empire is reunited under the leadership of Emperor Wéndi (Sui Dynasty), who defeats the Chen forces at Jiankang (modern Nanjing), ending the Chen Dynasty (the last of the Southern Dynasties) that has ruled since 557.
  • Yan Zhitui, scholar-official, makes the first reference to the use of toilet paper in human history. It is used in the Chinese imperial court and amongst the other wealthy citizens.
  • Tulan Qaghan, son of Ishbara Qaghan, becomes the seventh ruler (khagan) of the Turkic Khaganate.

By topic

Religion

Significant people

Births

580

  • Abdel Rahman ibn Awf, companion of Muhammad
  • Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, companion of Muhammad
  • Cadfan ap Iago, king of Gwynedd (approximate date)
  • Clemen ap Bledric, king of Dumnonia (approximate date)
  • Dayi Daoxin, Chán Buddhist patriarch (d. 651)
  • Didier of Cahors, Frankish bishop (approximate date)
  • Fabia Eudokia, Byzantine empress (approximate date)
  • Livinus, Irish apostle (approximate date)
  • Maximus the Confessor, monk and theologian (d. 662)
  • Pepin the Elder, Frankish Mayor of the Palace (d. 640)
  • Umm Salama, wife of Muhammad (approximate date)
  • Wei Zheng, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 643)

581

582

583

584

585

586

587

588

589

Deaths

580

  • Audovera, wife of Chilperic I (approximate date)
  • Bacurius III, king of Iberia (Georgia)
  • Eormenric, king of Kent (approximate date)
  • Galam Cennalath, king of the Picts
  • Gao Anagong, high official of Northern Qi
  • Martin of Braga, missionary and archbishop
  • Wei Xiaokuan, general of Western Wei (b. 509)
  • Xuan Di, emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 559)
  • Yuchi Jiong, general of Northern Zhou

581

  • Feng Xiaolian, concubine of Gao Wei (approximate date)
  • Jing Di, Chinese emperor of Northern Zhou (b. 573)
  • Taspar Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks

582

583

584

585

586

  • April 21 Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths
  • Hermenegild, Visigothic prince (or 585)
  • Prætextatus, bishop of Rouen (or 589)
  • Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd
  • Zhu Manyue, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 547)

587

  • April Yōmei, emperor of Japan (b. 518)
  • August 13 Radegund, Frankish princess
  • Æscwine, king of Essex (approximate date)
  • Ishbara Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Göktürks
  • Mononobe no Moriya, clan leader (Ō-muraji)
  • Varāhamihira, Indian astronomer (b. 505)

588

  • Áed mac Bricc, Irish bishop and saint
  • Ælla, king of Deira (approximate date)
  • Agericus, bishop of Verdun
  • Fridianus, Irish prince and saint
  • Li Ezi, empress of Northern Zhou (b. 536)
  • Monulph, bishop of Maastricht

589

References

  1. "The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 500–c. 700" by Paul Fouracre and Rosamond McKitterick (p. 8)
  2. Imperial Chinese Armies (p. 24). C.J. Peers, 1995. ISBN 978-1-85532-514-2
  3. Treadgold, p. 226
  4. Martindale, Jones& Morris 1992, p. 36
  5. Shahîd 1995, p. 459–462
  6. Grousset 81
  7. Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 679
  8. Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 270
  9. Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 167
  10. Rome at War (AD 293–696), p. 60. Michael Whitby, 2002. ISBN 1-84176-359-4
  11. Imperial Chinese Armies (p. 33). C.J. Peers, 1995. ISBN 978-1-85532-514-2
  12. Thompson 1979, p. 105
  13. Zachariah of Mitylene, Syriac Chronicle (1899), Book 12
  14. Edmonds, Columba (1908)
  15. Greatrex & Lieu 2002, p. 168; Whitby & Whitby 1986, pp. 41–43
  16. History of the Byzantine Empire from DCCXVI to MLVII, George Finlay, p. 316
  17. Martindale, Jones & Morris 1992, p. 322
  18. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS A) s.a. 588
  19. Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F–O, (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007), p. 463
  20. Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 176
  21. Litchi City Putian Archived May 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  22. A Chronicle of England (1864), James Edmund Doyle, p. 22
  23. Brown, Delmer. (1979). Gukanshō, pp. 262-263.

Bibliography

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