Middle Ages
Treasure of Guarrazar: Visigothic Votive Crowns (7th Century)
The finest surviving group of Visigothic goldwork, now mainly in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.
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
Visigothic Code (654): The Liber Iudiciorum of Recceswinth
A single written law code for all subjects of the Visigothic kingdom, later translated as the Fuero Juzgo and used in Spain for centuries.
Middle Ages
Battle of the Masts (655): First Great Arab Naval Victory
Decisive Arab naval victory; Byzantine dominance of the eastern Mediterranean was broken, though the Arabs did not immediately exploit it.
Middle Ages
First Fitna (656-661): Civil War After Uthman's Murder
Ali was assassinated in 661, his son Hasan abdicated and Mu'awiya founded the Umayyad caliphate; the conflict created lasting divisions within Islam.
Middle Ages
Church of San Juan de Baños (661): Visigothic Architecture
A small basilica that survives as the oldest securely dated church in Spain and a key example of Visigothic architecture.
Middle Ages
Umayyad Caliphate (661-750): The Empire Ruled from Damascus
The dynasty built the largest empire of its time and established Arabic and Islam across it, but was overthrown by the Abbasid Revolution in 750.
Middle Ages
Battle of Baekgang (663): Tang and Silla Defeat Japan
Decisive Tang-Silla victory; the Baekje restoration collapsed and Yamato Japan withdrew from the Korean peninsula.
Middle Ages
Synod of Whitby (664): Rome or Iona for Northumbria
Oswiu adopted the Roman method of dating Easter; Bishop Colmán and many Irish-trained monks left Northumbria.
Middle Ages
Silla Unification of Korea (668): The Three Kingdoms End
Silla absorbed Baekje and southern Goguryeo, expelled the Tang by 676 and ruled the peninsula south of the Taedong River until 935.
Middle Ages
Great Mosque of Kairouan: The Oldest Mosque of the Maghreb
Kairouan became the first Arab capital of the Maghreb, and its mosque, rebuilt by the Aghlabids, became a model for mosques across North Africa.
Middle Ages
Fengxian Temple at Longmen Grottoes: Tang Colossal Buddha (672)
A colossal open-air group of nine figures centred on the Vairocana Buddha was completed in 675, the high point of Tang sculpture at Longmen.
Middle Ages
Greek Fire: The Byzantine Empire's Secret Incendiary Weapon
A closely guarded naval weapon that helped Byzantium defeat Arab and Rus fleets; its exact formula was eventually lost.