800

Events

Europe

• December 25 - Charlemagne, king of the Franks, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III as Charles I, with the title "Emperor of the Franks and the Lombards". The coronation takes place during Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, on Christmas Day. The Frankish Empire is formed in Western Europe, which is not recognized by Empress Irene at Constantinople. This triggers a series of disputes with the Byzantines around who is officially ruling the former Western Roman Empire.
• The Rus' Khaganate is created by people who are called Rus', after the 182-year dominance of the Khazars. This is the starting period of the rise of the Kievan Rus', and the later states of Belarus and Ukraine.
• King Eardwulf of Northumbria has his men seize prince Ealhmund, son of the late king Alhred, and put him to death. He is buried at Derby in St. Alkmund's Church, and later revered as a saint.

  Asia

• The ci, a new type of lyric poetry with irregular lines, is set to a melody during the Tang Dynasty.

  Africa

• Sijilmasa is founded as the departure point, for caravans between North Africa and the western Sudan.
• Ife, in present-day Nigeria, becomes an important urban center.

  Mesoamerica

• Itza culture starts in Mesoamerica.

  Polynesia

• The first settlers of the Hawaiian Islands arrive.

  By topic

Religion

• Archbishop Hygeberht of Lichfield retires; he is succeeded by Ealdwulf. King Coenwulf of Mercia is on better terms with the archepiscopal of Canterbury than his predecessor, and unsuccessfully attempts to have the Mercian archepiscopal see transferred to London.
• The Book of Kells is written and illuminated in a Columban monastery, in Ireland.

Births

• Aldric, bishop of Le Mans
• Al-Abbās ibn Said al-Jawharī, Muslim mathematician
• Álvaro of Córdoba, Mozarab scholar
• Amoghavarsha I, king of Rashtrakuta
• Boso the Elder, Frankish nobleman
• Fatima al-Fihri, Arab university founder
• Govindasvāmi, Indian astronomer
• Louis, Frankish abbot
• Methodios I, patriarch of Constantinople
• Nicholas I, pope of the Catholic Church
• Nominoe, duke of Brittany
• Pribina, Slavic prince
• Robert III, Frankish nobleman
• Rorgon II, count of Maine
• Swithin, bishop of Winchester
• Valentine, pope of the Catholic Church

  Deaths

• June 3 - Staurakios, Byzantine chief minister
• September 26 - Berowulf, bishop of Würzburg
• Ailill mac Fergusa, king of South Brega
• Alkelda, Anglo-Saxon princess
• Beatus of Liébana, monk and theologian
• Ealhmund, prince of Northumbria
• Luitgard, Frankish queen and wife of Charlemagne
• Vatsraja, king of the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty