A Concise Timeline of the History of the Known World - from 700 CE to 800 CE:
700 CE: Musa bin Nusair leads an Islamic army to the Straits of Hercules. He finds an ally in the Wisimarid Godigisel II of Tangiers, who after assassinating his father converts to Islam.
702 CE: Justinian II is forced to flee Constantinople after a palace coup. A military council proclaims Maurice II Belisarius (a descendant of the great general) as Emperor. In order to gain a measure of legitimacy, Maurice II appoints the 1 year old Julio-Argead prince Alexandros, a grandson of Alexandros XVII as co-Emperor.
703 CE: Justinian II finds refuge at the court of Tervel, Khagan of the Bulgars. He grants Tervel the title of Caesar and offers him all the Balkan territories of the Empire in exchange for putting him back on the throne. Maurice II convinces the Dacians and the Sarmatians to attack Bulgaria thus forestalling a potential invasion. Christians in Armenia revolt against the Empire.
705 CE: Maurice II campaigns in Armenia in order to secure its continued vassalage. He has all Christian nakharars rounded up in churches and burned alive. Captured Christian nobles are sacrificed to Sol in a great ceremony on the shores of Lake Van. Justinian II and a Bulgarian army under Tervel enter Constantinople through the Constantine Aqueduct. Justinian II is in control of Constantinople and appoints Tervel co-Emperor. The young Alexandros XVIII flees West to Rome.
706 CE: Maurice II gathers his forces in Anatolia. Justinian II rounds up the Byzantine senators and has all of them mutilated, their ears and noses cut off. He parades them through the city inciting the crowds to attack them. Several senators are killed in the ensuing riots.
707 CE: The Exarchate of Valentia declares itself independent. Julius Severus proclaims himself King of Valentia. Maurice II crosses the Helespont, but is defeated by Tervel and Justinian II in a battle outside Kaliopolis. He is captured by the Bulgarians and quartered. Justinian II asks Tervel for his skull to use as a drinking cup, and the Bulgar co-Emperor obliges.
708 CE: Ceolred, King of Mercia and Bretwalda of the Saxons is defeated and captured by the allied Osred, King of Northanhymbra and High King of the North and Agravanus Pendragon, the Sarmato-Brython High King of Brythonia. He is executed in the ancient Sarmatian fashion, with a Sword of Victory being driven through his heart. Saxon power in Britannia is diminished.
710 CE: The Kahinid prince Amnay founds the Berber Kingdom of Nekor. Gelimer II, the Vandal King of Baetica converts to Islam after being promised support by Godigisel II of Tangiers against a Visigothic invasion.
711 CE: A large Islamic Vandal-Berber-Arab force crosses the Straights into Hispania to aid Gelimer II against the Visigothic High King Roderic. The Islamic allies win a pyrrhic victory at Guadalete. The Visigoths retreat from Baetica.
712 CE: Radbod, King of Frisia humiliates the Frankish army sent to subdue him. Frisia is confirmed to be independent of Frankish authority. Musa bin Nusair and his Vandal allies expand Islamic control in Southern Hispania.
714 CE: Justinian II is assassinated on the orders of Tervel who reigns alone in Constantinople. Outraged by this the Eastern parts of the Empire rebel. The commanders of the Eastern legions proclaim Leo, the client King of Isauria and descendant of the Isaurian dynasty Emperor.
715 CE: Leo III besieges Constantinople. A Muslim army led by Musa bin Nusair is defeated by Roderic near Toledo. The Muslims are driven South into Baetica.
716 CE: Leo III enters Constantinople in Triumph after elements of the garrison betray Tervel. Tervel is captured and burned alive as a sacrifice to Sol in the Great Forum. All Bulgarians in the Imperial capital are also burned alive, while former supporters of Justinian II and Tervel are summarily executed wherever they are found, their bodies also burned in the Forum. Leo III proclaims Constantinople to have been "purged by fire".
718 CE: King Nechtan IV of the Picts expells all Christian missionaries from the Pictish lands. Charles Martel, Lord Palatine of the Franks expands his authority within the Frankish Kingdoms.
720 CE: Leo III campaigns against Bulgaria. Tervel II submits and becomes a client King.
722 CE: Large scale Viking raids in the British Islands. Leo III refuses to accept Alexandros XVIII, still in exile in Rome as co-Emperor. Saint Boniface is burned alive and sacrificed to Sowilo by the Germans.
726 CE: Leo III introduces the cult of the Luwian Sun Goddess Arinniti to Constantinople. He has several statues of the Sun Goddess erected in the capital. He proclaims Sol to be the consort of the Goddess, and the Emperor her consort in the flesh.
727 CE: The Roman Senate elects Alexandros XVIII as Princeps of the Western Empire. Alexandros XVIII demands the submission of Ravenna and all Italian territories of the Eastern Empire.
728 CE: War between the Western and Eastern Empires. Alexandros XVIII besieges Ravenna.
729 CE: The indecisive Battle of Ravenna, the Roman armies slaughter each other refusing to surrender or accept defeat. Leo III's army is left in control of the field after Alexandros XVIII decides to retreat in order to end the carnage. It is said that the waters of the Po river run red with blood and for several years fishermen refrain from eating fish from the river.
730 CE: Leo III campaigns in Italia. He has all Christian icons and statues destroyed, and churches in conquered towns converted to Temples of Arinniti.
731 CE: Leo III besieges Rome. Alexandros XVIII asks for the support of the Franks.
732 CE: A Western Roman-Frankish army under Charles Martel is humbled by Leo III outside Pavia. Leo III pursues the Franks into Gallia.
733 CE: Leo III defeats Charles Martel near Lyon. The Frankish Lord Palatine humbles himself before Leo III swearing never again to interfere in the affairs of the Romans. Leo III recieves the submission of various Western Roman hereditary military governors.
734 CE: Leo III besieges Rome once more. Maysara rebellion in North Africa. Spread of Kharijite influence in the Maghreb.
735 CE: On the Ides of March Leo III orders a general assault and Rome falls. He enters the city in Triumph. He has Alexandros XVIII publicly sacrificed to Arinniti, by being trampled by a raging bull in the Colosseum. Leo III is sole Roman Emperor. All senators who refuse to publicly worship Arinniti join Alexandros XVIII in death by being trampled by bulls in subsequent spectacles held in the Colosseum.
737 CE: Leo III begins a vast programme of persecution against Christian priests within the Empire and orders all Christian imagery destroyed. Several Christian rebellions are put down. Pope Gregory III is challenged by the Emperor to see if his faith can pacify several raging bulls in the Colosseum. His faith fails him and the Pope is killed. Leo III has his corpse desecrated and cut into pieces. Its various parts are sent as "presents" to various Christian bishops outside the Empire.
740 CE: The Khazars convert to Judaism. On the 25th of December, Leo III is assassinated on the senate floor by members of the Roman Senate. He is said to have received no less that 20 wounds before expiring. His last words are reported to have been: "You can't even kill a man properly."
741 CE: Leo Constantine, Leo III's son by the Constantinian princess Hellena is proclaimed Emperor in Constantinople. In Rome, the Roman senate elects the Valentinian magnate Theodosius as Princeps. The Armenian general Artavasd is proclaimed Emperor by the Eastern Legions.
742 CE: Leo Constantine accepts Artavasd as co-Emperor. Artavasd campaigns against the Muslims in the East.
743 CE: Leo Constantine lands in Italia with a vast army. He offers amnesty to all those who would submit to his authority.
744 CE: Leo Constantine enters Rome without a fight as Theodoisus II decides to surrender in exchange for clemency. Leo Constantine spares his life, after having him mutilated. Theodosius II is forced to sacrifice to Arinniti. His wife, the staunchly Christian Marcia refuses. Leo Constantine has her forced to publicly copulate with a bull in the Colosseum as punishment. She expires after her ordeal, Leo Constantine famously declaring to her agrieved husband: "She had a frail constitution, you can do better."
745 CE: Foundation of the Uyghur Empire by Qutlugh Bilge Kol. Artavasd kills the Umayyad Caliph Yazid III in the Battle of Al-Mafraq and campaigns in Judea.
746 CE: A second vast Roman army led by Leo Constantine lands near Ascalon. Leo Constantine marches inland and receives the submission of several Muslim held cities. He establishes the Exarchate of Palaestina, comprising the Roman possessions on the Coast and the newly reconquered territories.
747 CE: Leo Constantine supports Abu Muslim's rebellion against the Umayyads. He besieges Jerusalem while Artavasd besieges Damascus.
748 CE: Leo Constantine captures Jerusalem. He has the Church of the Holy Sepulchre torn down and orders the construction of a temple to Arinniti and the Thousand Gods of Light in its place. Artavasd abandons the siege of Damascus as he decides to go to the aid of the Abbasid rebellion in Mesopotamia.
749 CE: Ctesiphon falls to the Abbasids. Leo Constantine receives the submission of the Jewish prince of the Sinai.
750 CE: The Battle of the Zab. Artavasd and the Abbasids defeat the Umayyad army. Marwan II flees to Damascus. Al-Saffah is proclaimed Abbasid Caliph in Mesopotamia.
751 CE: Unwilling to see the Abbasids consolidate their power at the expense of the Umayyads, Leo Constantine has the two Caliphs negotiate a peace. Marwan II is Umayyad Caliph in Damascus while Al-Saffah is Abbasid Caliph in Ctesiphon. After the truce is negotiated, Leo Constantine leaves the Levant and returns to Italia to deal with Christian rebellions.
752 CE: Pepin the Short, Lord Palatine of the Franks takes the title of High King as well. The Merovingian High King Childeric III continues on as a lesser puppet-King in his new capital of Paris.
753 CE: A North African Muslim army lands in Sardinia and besieges Agrigentum. In a whirlwind campaign Leo Constantine expells the Muslim army from the Island. He appoints the Aetid Comes of Panormus as Hereditary military governor of the new province of Western Sicilia, in spite of the protests of the Hieronid client King of Siracusa.
755 CE: The Umayyad Abd-ar-Rahman I lands in Hispania. He receives Valentian support, and proclaims himself to be the true Caliph.
756 CE: Much of Southern Hispania recognizes Abd-ar-Rahman I as Caliph. Desiderius, the vassal High King of the Lombards demands increased toleration for the Christians, faced with potential large scale rebellion, Leo Constantine issues the Edicts of Limited Toleration. Christians are tolerated within the Western half of the Empire, while Christian imagery is still banned. After receiving a petition from the Roman senate to increase the powers of the Roman consuls, Leo Constantine starts a system of yearly co-Emperors in Rome. These so-called Emperors have little authority in practice and are kept under tight observation by Leo.
757 CE: The Berbers of Sijilmasa lead the Berber Gurzil tribes into a grand campaign against the Muslims of North Africa. Offa is King of Mercia. He marries the Artorian princess Axyra, allying himself with the Brythons. The Tassilid prince, Tassilo I of Austria declares independece from Bavaria with Avar support.
762 CE: The Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur founds a new capital at Baghdad. Ciniod, King of the Picts purges his kingdom of the last remnants of Christian missionary activity.
765 CE: The Banu Ifran Berbers found an independent Kingdom. Offa of Mercia is Bretwalda of the Saxons, he rules in peace establishing good relations with the High Kings of Brythonia and Northanhymbra.
767 CE: The Karluks and the Oghuz establish themselves as regional powers. The Armenian Emperor Artavasd dies peacefully in Teluch. Leo Constantine is sole Roman Emperor.
771 CE: Charlemagne is High King of the Franks. Leo Constantine orders non-noble Christians in the Empire to be stamped with a distinctive symbol on their hands.
775 CE: Leo Constantine is assassinated by his secretly Christian misstress. She has his body emasculated and marked with crosses. Leo IV is Emperor in Constantinople. In Rome the senate proclaim the yearly co-Emperor Marcus Aurelius V as Emperor and Princeps. Leo IV negotiates with Marcus Aurelius V. Marcus Aurelius V is allowed to remain as co-Emperor and Princeps in Rome in exchange for continuing the anti-Christian policies of the Isaurians and accepting Leo IV as senior Emperor.
777 CE: Abd-er-Rahman ibn Rustam is Imam of the Ibadis in the Maghreb. Charlemagne campaigns against the Saxons but is defeated by Widukind and forced to retreat from Saxon lands.
782 CE: Leo IV fights Slavic rebellions in the Balkans. The Slavic Prince Viseslav accepts to return to the status of client.
785 CE: Viking raids in Britannia. Leo IV is once again in control of the Balkans as the Bulgar King submits to his authority.
789 CE: Idris I founds Fes. With the Balkans firmly secured, Leo IV requests Marcus Aurelius V issue new legislation against the Christians. Christian worship is banned in Rome and the Pope is expelled from the City. Marcus Aurelius V issues an edict against any public Christian worship within the Roman military provinces.
790 CE: Pope Leo III takes refuge at the court of Charlemagne. He entreats the Frankish High King to attack the Empire.
791 CE: Pope Leo III begins preaching a crusade against the Unholy Empire now found in Rome. Marcus Aurelius V establishes a new Imperial Academy in Rome, modeled on the Academy of Alexandria. He proclaims that the best way to stamp out Christianity is through the dissemination of philosophic ideals and a renewed emphasys on reason as the chief principle to be taught Roman citizens within a new system of state education within the cities of the Empire.
792 CE: Pope Leo III crowns Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in Aachen and proclaims him to be the legitimate Sovereign of a new Holy Roman Christian Empire. He calls for all Christians to submit to his authority and join a Holy War against Marcus Aurelius V and Leo IV. Marcus Aurelius V continues his reforms.
793 CE: After having secured an alliance with Bavaria, Austria and the Avars, Charlemagne invades Roman Gallia.
794 CE: The Battle of Lemonum. The early fighting is indecisive, but then according to legend a Fiery Cross is seen in the sky. The Crusading army takes heart and defeats the Romans. A grievously wounded Marcus Aurelius V is captured by Charlemagne. He asks that he be allowed to die, but Charlemagne orders him treated and cured. The magnates and vassal kings of Southern Gallia begin to defect to Charlemagne.
795 CE: The Bulgars rebel in the Balkans. Leo IV is assassinated by his own wife, the Attalid princess Irene. Irene proclaims herself to be Arinniti in the flesh and claims the Imperial throne. Roman power in Southern Gallia collapses as Charlemagne is accepted as Sovereign by all former Roman clients.
796 CE: Irene entreats Julius II Severus of Valentia to attack Charlemagne while she campaigns against the Bulgars. She leads her army in person in the Battle of Durostotum. The Bulgars are defeated. Their King Kardam is captured and the Empress personaly emasculates Kardam and has him force fed his own manhood before expiring.
797 CE: Charlemagne defeats Julius II Severus near Narbo and chases the Severans into Hispania. Irene campaigns succesfully against the Avars. The Bayanid Khan Dulan is captured alive. Irene is merciful. She only turns him into an eunuch and personally blinds him and cuts off his tongue, allowing him to continue to live.
798 CE: Charlemagne overruns the area of Catalonia. Beginning of the establishment of the Marca Hispanica by the Franks. The captive Emperor Marcus Aurelius V starves to death after refusing to continue on as a prisoner. Before his death, he famously quotes his ancestor to Charlemagne: "Death is merely a release from the impressions of the senses, an escape from the desires that make us their puppets." In Italia the Empress Irene takes Mithraius Honorius, the Exarch of Ravenna as a lover.