Middle Ages
Battle of Covadonga (722): Pelagius and the Kingdom of Asturias
Asturian victory over a Muslim expedition; Pelagius secured an independent Christian lordship that became the Kingdom of Asturias.
Era · c. 500 – 1500
Middle Ages
Kingdoms, crusades and plagues: the medieval world from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople.
Middle Ages
Boniface Fells Donar's Oak (723): Converting the Germans
The felling of the oak became a symbol of Boniface's mission, which built a church organisation across central Germany.
Middle Ages
Yaxchilan Lintels: Lady Xoc and the Maya Bloodletting Rite
Three stone lintels created one of the finest and most revealing images of Classic Maya royal ritual and of the public role of a royal woman.
Middle Ages
Byzantine Iconoclasm: The Battle Over Holy Images, 726-843
Images were restored in 843, an event celebrated by the Orthodox Church as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.
Middle Ages
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731)
Bede's five-book history became the foundation of early English history and helped make AD dating standard in Western Europe.
Middle Ages
Battle of Tours (732): Charles Martel Halts the Umayyad Advance
Frankish victory; Abd al-Rahman was killed and the Umayyad army withdrew south, ending the largest raid north of the Pyrenees.
Middle Ages
Copan's King 18 Rabbit Captured by Quirigua (738)
Quirigua won its independence and became a major city, while Copan suffered a political shock but recovered under later kings.
Middle Ages
Ardagh Chalice: Treasure of Early Christian Ireland
The chalice became the best-known example of early medieval Irish church metalwork and is displayed in the National Museum of Ireland.
Middle Ages
Donation of Constantine: The Forgery Behind Papal Power
A forged imperial grant supported papal claims for centuries until humanist scholars, above all Lorenzo Valla, proved it a fake.
Middle Ages
Birka: Viking Age Trading Town on Lake Mälaren (c. 750)
Birka flourished as a hub of long-distance trade for about two centuries and was abandoned in the late 10th century; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Middle Ages
Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258): The Golden Age of Baghdad
The Abbasids ruled the central Islamic world from Baghdad, presided over a flowering of science and culture, and lost real power long before the Mongols ended the caliphate in Baghdad in 1258.
Middle Ages
Sican Culture: Gold Masks and Pyramids of Batan Grande
The Sican became one of the richest metal-working societies of the ancient Andes before being absorbed by the Chimú around 1375.