In Spain – The Eighth Church Council of Toledo demands that converted Jews sign a written promise not to marry within the forbidden degrees of family relations and that they themselves inflict the death penalty on any person who disobeys the observance of the Catholic faith.

In Egypt – Revolt and death of UTHMAN (end June); first civil war among Muslims as the Umayyads take revenge for the murder of the Caliph.

Caliph ALI IBN ABU TALEB (MOHAMMAD's cousin and son-in-law) rules Islam.

Caliph ALI enters Firuz-Shapur in Iran; the Gaon of Pumbedita and thousands of Jews welcome him with enthusiasm.

Caliph MU'AWIYA (first Umayyad caliph) rules the Islamic world and settles Jews whom he considers faithful allies in Tripoli and in Syria. He transforms the Arab world into a secular state in which religion takes second place.
This begins a period of prosperity for Jews and Christians in Palestine.

Seige of Constatinople.

In Greece – The Avars and Slavs invade.

In Spain – The Eleventh Council of Toledo is called upon to destroy "the Jewish pest", prohibits Jewish festivals, and institutes a surveillance of converted Jews.

In Jerusalem – Tenth caliph, 'ABD AL-MALIK IBN MARWAN, commissions the rebuilding of the shrine on the Rock as Islam's answer to the monumental churches of the city that surround the rocks and caves of Christian significance.
Qur'anic verses are laid into its walls that refute the divine sonship of Jesus in the mistaken belief of it protecting the holiness of God (i.e. that calling Jesus 'Son of God' implies God had sex with Mary and is therefore blasphmeous).

In Jerusalem – The Dome of the Rock is built by Caliph ABD AL-MALIK.

In 'Christian' Spain – Jews are accused of treason and reduced to slavery.

See Leviticus 25.

In Jerusalem – Caliph AL-WALID I repairs and extends Temple Mount's retaining walls upward with smaller rocks, and constructs many other buildings in the vicinity, including a mosque on the southwest corner of the Haram (Temple Mount).

In Spain – The Muslim invasion under TARIK brings respite to the Jews and leads to a golden era for Spanish Jewry.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor JUSTINIAN II is decapitated.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor PHILIPPUCUS is blinded and murdered.

In Palestine – Caliph SULEIMAN IBN ABD AL-MALIK builds Ramleh; a quarter of the town is reserved for dyers, a distinctly Jewish industry.

Caliph 'UMAR (II) AL-AZIZ orders all Jews and Christians (so-called dhimmis) across the Muslim empire to wear distinctive clothing. Jewish women are required to wear tinted shoes with bells. He is reported to have excluded Jews from Temple Mount and restricted them to praying at only one gate.

Byzantine Emperor LEO III begins the iconoclast movement (destruction of venerated/worshipped images). (Probably influenced by its offensiveness to the Islamic world).
He is opposed by Pope GREGORY II.
Beginning of the rift between Byzantine and Roman Christianity.

The Franks under CHARLES MARTEL defeat Moorish (Islamic) invaders at the battle of Tours (or Poitiers).

In southern Russia – The Khazar rulers convert to Judaism. (The Khazars were a Turkic-speaking people of Central Eurasia).

September 11: An earthquake wrecks Jerusalem, collapsing the eastern and western sides of the Dome of the Rock. The 'Nea' church complex is also destroyed and not rebuilt. (see 527)

The 'ABBASID dynasty of caliphs destroy the last UMAYYADs and, in 762 AD/CE, move their capital from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad, with serious economic consequences for Jerusalem.
Islam begins to move away from Qur'anic inclusivity of Jews and Christians and proclaim Islam as the one and only true faith.

July: An Islamic army defeats the Tang Dynasty Chinese on the Talas river, Kyrgyzstan, for control of Syr Darya. The art of paper-making (from mulberry bark, a closely guarded secret by the Chinese) is obtained from prisoners taken at the battle, resulting in paper mills being built in the islamic cities of Samarkand and Baghdad. The Arabs improve upon the Chinese techniques by using starch which leads to the Muslim preference for pens versus the Chinese for brushes.

King PEPIN of the Franks promises central  Italy to the Pope. The beginning of the temporal power of the papacy.

King PEPIN III, in overcoming the last stronghold of the Moors in his Frankish empire, gives half of this city, Narbonne, to the Jews in recognition of their help.

In Babylon – the Jewish 'chief in exile' of the Bustanai family dies without an heir. Two candidates to replace him are the brothers ANNAN and YOSHIYAHU, allegedly descended from King David. ANAN BEN DAVID founds the Kairite movement in Judaism as a protest against rabbinic law and to assert the unique authority of Holy Scripture. However,the heads of the Jewish yeshivas (theological schools) choose his younger brother YOSHIYAHU, known for his piety, to be their new 'chief in exile'.

In Jerusalem – Caliph Al-MANSOUR in agreement recognises YOSHIYAHU as the Jewish head and imprisons his older brother ANNAN. The division between the two brother tears apart the unity of the Jewish community. Both groups are expelled from Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem – Another earthquake destroys the Temple Mount (Haram) Mosque.

Caliph AL-MAHDI commissions the rebuilding of the Temple Mount (Haram) Mosque on a larger scale than ever before with a beautiful dome. It is now called al-masjid al-aqsã – 'the Remote Mosque' – identifying it with MOHAMMAD's 'Night Journey with [angel] Gabriel'.

In Mecca, Arabia – An uprising against the ABBASIDS is followed by widespread bloodshed and the flight of many Shi'a to the Maghreb, where the survivors established the Idrisid kingdom. The ABBASIDS also execute the direct descendants of the Prophet MUHAMMED who were also the Shia Imams, which includes Imam JAFAR SADIQ and other respected nobles.

In Britain – The Vikings attack and sack the monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria. The following year they attack the northern areas now called Scotland.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor CONSTANTINE VI is blinded and killed.

See Leviticus 25.

In Jewish communities, it now becomes increasingly popular to date the year from the "creation of the world" (anno mundi, AM) as calculated by the rabbis, in a range 3762-3758 BC/BCE.
However, Jewish communities in the East still continue to use the Hellenistic dating (Minyan Shetarot, Era of Contracts) until about the 16th century AD/CE.
Year-date equivalents are –

Jews in northern France and northern Italy migrate into the German Rhineland.
Jewish pamphleteer, HIWI AL-BALKHI, scandalizes Jewish communities by openly attacking the morality of Scripture and issuing an expurgated version for use in schools that omits "offensive" materials.

December 23: In Rome – In a secret meeting at the Lateran Palace Pope LEO III humiliates himself before CHARLES the Frank in denying accusations against himself of various crimes and vices, in the presence of Frankish, Lombard and Roman clergy and generals, and two representatives of abbot ALCUIN of Yorkshire (senior adviser to CHARLES).
CHARLES eventually accepts his pleas of innocence after the Pope swears a series of oaths that he is guiltless.
December 25: In Rome, St Peter's Basilica – Pope LEO III, without warning insists on performing a Roman ritual in which he places a crown on CHARLES' head and prostrates himself before him as his emperor, as the Frank celebrates Christmas in the church.

In Bethlehem – Riots break out in the Nativity Church between Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) Christians over doctrinal differences.

In Jerusalem – An earthquake seriously damages the dome of the Anastasis, and a locust plague devastates the countryside which leads to severe famine in Palestine. The repairs to the Christian Anastasis increased the size of its dome and lead friction with local Muslims. Also, the ceremony of Holy Fire in the Anastasis that now begins to be practiced appears to supernaturally produce fire to prove the superiority of Christianity to the extreme irritation of Muslims.
The Muslim name for Jerusalem is now al-Quds – "the Holy."

In Khazaria – King BULAN of the (Turkic) Khazars converts to Judaism and is followed by his people. Khazaria becomes a place of refuge to many oppressed Jewish communities under Byzantine and Persian rule.

The Jewish Exilarch of (Islamic) Babylonia demands financial support from the Jewish communities of (Islamic) North Africa and Spain.

Virtually the whole population of Jerusalem (Jews, Christians, Muslims) flee in panic from a peasants revolt led by TAMIM ABU HARB. The city is plundered, including mosques and churches. The Anastasis escapes destruction by a large bribe paid by the Christian Patriarch.

The Gaon (sage/principal) of the Talmudic academy at Sura in Babylonia, NATRONAI II, teaches that to vocalize the scrolls of the Pentateuch (Torah) in use in the synagogue is a violation of the law of lo toseph: "thou shalt not add thereto" (Deut.13:1). (Chomsky 1957:95).
However, within fifty years the 'antiquity theory' of the vowel-signs used in reading the Torah is becoming accepted.

In Britain – The city of York with its defensible Roman walls (the only town north of the Humber river) is captured by a Viking army. It becomes known as Yorvik as is ruled by them until 954 when Anglo-Saxons take control.

Under DANIEL AL-QUMUSI the Kairite settlement in Palestine prospers and spreads to north-western Africa and non-Muslim Spain. A barrage of Kairite treatises stimulates renewed study of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew language, resulting in the development of vocalization systems and eventually the Massoretic text acceptable to both Kairites and Rabbinites in the 10th cent. by BEN NAFTALI and BEN ASHER.

In Iceland – Norwegian chieftain Ingólfur ARNARSON becomes the first permanent settler.

In England – Vikings from Denmark, Norway and Sweden settle permanently.

The great Viking/Norman siege of Paris, during which the church of Sainte-Geneviève des Ardents is founded on Ile de la Cité in the city.

In Tiberius, Palestine – MOSES BEN ASHER copies and vocalizes a manuscript of the Prophets (It is kept today in the Kairite synagogue in Cairo).

See Leviticus 25.

The Rabbinite Jewish community of Babylonia is in a state of chaos and dissolution.

In Palestine Jewish rabbinic academy is headed by the Meir family of gaon MEIR, his son AARON, and his grandson ABRAHAM.

In Babylonia – Exilarch DAVID BEN ZAKKAI (reigns 916/917-940) appoints SA'ADIA BEN JOSEPH to head the Sura rabbinic academy. SA'ADIA's translation of the Jewish Bible (T'nach) into Arabic and his Arabic commentaries make the rabbinic (Pharisaic) understanding of the Tenach accessible to masses of Jews.

Islamic Qarmatian sect (founded by HAMDAN QARMAT in Bahrain) attacks Mecca and seizes the Black Stone of the Ka'bah, taking it to their Bahraini homeland (Bildad al-Qadim). It is returned after a ransom is paid. (See 1076).

See Leviticus 25.

In Wales – Vikings from Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides raid the coastal monastries.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ROMANUS II dies by poisoning.

In Poland – King MIESZKO (I) accepts Christianity.

In Palestine – Shi'ah caliphs of Egypt (Fatimids) take control of Jerusalem.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor NICEPHORUS II is stabbed, decapitated, and his head displayed publicly.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor JOHN I is poisoned to death.

Great Slav rebellion against German eastward expansion.

In Kiev – king VLADIMIR accepts Christianity.

In Sweden – King OLOF SKUTKONUNG accepts Christianity.

Europe enjoys 300 years of warmer weather that increases harvests and allows wheat to be cultivated much further north and at higher elevations.

Viking chief LEIF (the Lucky) ERICSSON discovers North America after being blown off course in a storm during this 'Medieval Climate Optimum' (see above) and establishes a settlement in the coastal area of northern Newfoundland which becomes known as Vinland.

In Hungary – (St.) STEPHEN is crowned king with a crown sent by the Pope.

November 13: In England – King AETHELRED authorises the massacre of all Danish settlers in an attempt to exterminate them.

In Jerusalem – The 6th Fatimid caliph, AL-HAKIM, orders the destruction of all Christian shrines, and persecutes Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

In Germany – Jews are expelled from Mainz in the Rhineland.

In Spain – in the caliphate of Cordova, the Jew 'AVICEBRON' (SALOMON IBN GEBIROL), poet, moralist and philosopher, writes 'Fountain of Life' (a mixture of Aristotelian, Neoplatonic and Jewish thought) which significantly influences the development of medieval thought.

In Palestine – Bedouin revolts ('second war of the sons of Jarrah') continue badly affecting Jewish communities in Ramleh and Jerusalem.

An earthquake disturbs the surface area of Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The subsidence around 'Solomon's Stables' is filled up with archaeologically rich debris.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ROMANUS III is poisoned and drowned.

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor MICHAEL V is blinded to end his rule.

See Leviticus 25.

A star explodes in the constellation of Taurus which later forms the Crab nebula.

In Britain – Jews (from Rouen) enter, in the wake of the Norman invasion authorized by the Pope.
In Egypt – A seven year famine begins during which the Nile does not rise. (1066-1073) see 1876 BC

In Palestine – Seljuq Turks displace Egyptian rule and cut off Christian pilgrim routes to Jerusalem, which stimulates the Crusade movements to Palestine.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ROMANUS IV is poisoned and blinded.

GREGORY VII is elected Pope: beginning the conflict between Empire and papacy.

In Bahrain – Local tribesmen massacre the Qarmatians. (See 930).

In Italy – Pope GREGORY VII issues a bull banning Jews from holding any official positions in Christian countries.

The Bishop Rüdiger of Speyer grants privileges to the Jews according to the model of the protection letters of LOUIS the Pious.

See Leviticus 25.

Trier, France – The first pogrom against the Jews by the Catholic Crusaders.

Pope URBAN II calls for the 'reconquest' of the Holy Land from the Muslims.
Crusader Latin kingdom of Jerusalem is set up, and the Dome of the Rock becomes the Christian 'Templum Domini' church.

European Crusaders conquer the port of Acre in Palestine.

German eastward expansion resumes.

In England – a separate exchequer and special justices are set up at Westminster to deal with the extensive activities of the Jewish community.

Se Leviticus 25.

In England: Interest rates of Jewish money-lenders averages 50%, rising to a high of 66 2/3%.
Norwich monk, THOMAS of Monmouth, accuses Jews of the ritual murder of a child (WILLIAM of Norwich), encouraged by monks of monasteries heavily indebted to Jewish money-lenders, causes anti-Jewish riots and murders. THOMAS' book on the subject launches the 'blood libel' against Jews across Europe.

In Morocco, north Africa – Under the Almohade dynasty, Jews and Christians must now choose between conversion to Islam or emigration. Synagogues and churches are destroyed or turned into mosques. Many Jews and Christians migrate but others agreed to say the formula of the Moslem creed while secretly continuing the observance of their own religion. MAIMUN BEN JOSEPH (father of Maimonides, see 1180AD) who had settled at Fez with his family, writes his "Epistle of Consolation" in which he advises his fellow Jews not to lose heart and faith. His son MOSES writes his "Letter concerning Conversion" to encourage those who felt the gravity of even this outward desertion from the faith of their fathers.

In England – HENRY II's re-establishment of law and order allows Jewish communities to flourish again.

In Morocco – ABU YUSUF YA'QUB AL-MANSUR (ابو يوسف يعقوب المنصور) forces Jews to wear distinguishing clothing of a black tunic with long sleeves, and a yellow scarf as head-covering. (His successor Abu Abdallah changed the color of the gaberdine also to yellow).

GENGHIS (CHINGIS) KHAN, founder of the Mongol Empire, is born.

In England – A group of 20 Christian evangelists arrive in England from the Continent, and are publicly branded as heretics, chained and left to die by the established church (Danziger & Gillingham, 2003 p.201).

In England – The rumour of the crucifixion of the boy (HAROLD of Gloucester) causes a massacre of Jews.

In Egypt: Jewish MAIMONIDES (MOSES BEN MAIMON or RAMBAM) becomes the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism. His greatest work, 'Guide for the Perplexed' is an attempt to accommodate philosophy to revealed religion.

In England – Jews receive permission to create cemeteries outside the walls of the city in which they reside rather than having to bring their dead to London for burial.

MAIMONIDES completes his Mishneh Torah (Code of the Torah) in 14 systematic volumes. Unfortunately it contains inflammatory statements such as –

In England – the rumour of the crucifixion of the boy (ROBERT of Edmonsbury) causes a massacre of Jews.

In France – King PHILIP AUGUSTUS, using the pretext that Jews had crucified a Christian child, expelled all Jews from his realm and confiscated their goods.

In England – AARON of Lincoln (a Jew), dies, who financed the building of Lincoln Cathedral, Peterborough and St Albans Abbeys, and at least nine Cistercian convents. The Crown sets up a special exchequer, the Scaccarium Aaronis, to collect his debts, a process which takes 20 years.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ANDRONICUS I is mutilated and tortured to death.

October 2: SALADIN conquers Jerusalem. He closes all 12 entrances to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher but one door is only sealed off, and the key to this remaining entrance is entrusted to a Muslim family. The key has stayed in the same family ever since.

In England – the Jewish community of York is massacred, but HUGH of Lincoln provides protection.
In Scotland – Bishop of Glasgow forbids his churchmen to "ledge their benefices for money borrowed from Jews".

In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ISAAC II is blinded.

In Jerusalem – SALADIN removes the cross from the top of the Dome of the Rock .

FIBONACCI, a mathematician born in the Republic of Pisa, Italy, who had studied in Bejaia (Bougie) in Algeria, North Africa, writes his book Liber Abaci to promote the use of Arabic numerals (orginally derived by the Arabs from India) in Europe.

December 13: MAIMONIDES (Moses ben Maimon), Jewish philosopher and physician to Sultan SALADIN, dies.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ALEXIUS IV is strangled.
In Constantinople – Byzantine Emperor ALEXIUS V is blinded and maimed.

Pope INNOCENT III writes to ALFONSO of Castile that like Cain the murderer Jews are to wander the earth in slavery by their guilt till the time shall come in the last days for their conversion.

In England – King JOHN brutally extorts £44,000 from Jews, using mass arrests and other means.
Christian 'heretics' arriving from the continent are arrested and burnt at the stake.

In England – Archbishop LANGTON assists in engineering the Magna Carta and helps insert three anti-Jewish clauses.
November: The Fourth Lateran Council (12th Ecumenical Council) under Pope INNOCENT III decrees that Jews are to wear different clothing to others for easy identification, be banned from holding civil office or owning land, and are to be confined indoors during passion week.

In England – The Synod of Oxford at the request of Archbishop STEPHEN LANGTON prescribes that all Jews must wear a distinctive woolen patch on their clothing.

In France – The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a distinguishing badge.

Crusader troops gain control of Jerusalem.
Emperor FREDERICK II (excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX) who led this Crusade crowns himself king of Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. He sentences all Jews to perpetual slavery for the crucifixion of CHRIST, yet is reported as saying that, CHRIST, MOSES and MOHAMMED were all self-deceived impostors. He fortifies the castle of Jaffa and leaves two inscriptions in its walls, one in Latin and the other in Arabic.

Rabbi SOLOMON of Montpellier, in southern France, instigates the church authorities to burn MAIMONIDES' "Guide for the Perplexed" as a dangerously heretical book.

Pope GREGORY 9th condemns the Talmud.

Islamic re-conquest of Jerusalem.

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