Editing 859 (section)

== Events ==
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=== By place ===

==== Europe ====
* [[January 15]] &ndash; Battle of St. Quentin: Frankish forces, led by [[Humfrid]], defeat King [[Louis the German]] at [[Saint-Quentin, Aisne|Saint-Quentin]] (Northern [[France]]). Humfrid is [[Feoffment|enfeoffed]] with the [[Autun|County of Autun]], and appointed [[Duke of Burgundy|Margrave of Burgundy]], by King [[Charles the Bald]].
* Summer &ndash; The [[Vikings|Viking]] chieftains [[Hastein]] and [[Björn Ironside]] (a son of [[Ragnar Lodbrok]]) begin an expedition, and sail from the [[Loire|Loire River]] with a fleet of 62 ships, to raid cities and [[Monastery|monasteries]] in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].<ref>Haywood, John (1995). ''The Historical Atlas of the Vikings'', pp. 58–59. Penguin Books: {{ISBN|0-14-051328-0}}</ref>
* Viking raiders invade the [[Kingdom of Pamplona]] (Western [[Pyrenees]]), and capture King [[García Íñiguez of Pamplona|García Íñiguez I]], somewhere in the [[Andalusia]]n heartland. They extort a [[ransom]], rising to around 70,000 [[gold dinar]]s.{{sfn|Martínez Díez|2007|p=25}}
* The Russian city of [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]] is first mentioned in the [[Sofia First Chronicle|Sofia Chronicles]].
* Winter – The weather is so severe that the [[Adriatic Sea]] freezes, and [[Italy]] is covered in snow for 100 days.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Black Sea Flood Question|last=Yanko-Hombach|first=Valentina|publisher=Springer|year=2006|isbn=1402047746|pages=638}}</ref>

==== Iberian Peninsula ====
* [[Battle of Monte Laturce|Battle of Albelda]]: King [[Ordoño I of Asturias]], and his ally García Íñiguez I, defeat the Muslims under [[Musa ibn Musa ibn Qasi|Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi]] at [[Albelda]]. 
* Viking raiders burn the mosques of [[Seville]] and [[Algeciras]] in [[al-Andalus]] (modern [[Spain]]).<ref name=rucquoi1993>{{cite book|last=Rucquoi|first=Adeline|title=Histoire médiévale de la Péninsule ibérique|year=1993|publisher=Seuil|location=Paris|isbn=2-02-012935-3|page=85}}</ref>

==== Africa ====
* The [[University of Al Quaraouiyine|University of Al Karaouine]] is founded in [[Fes, Morocco|Fes]] (modern [[Morocco]]), by [[Fatima al-Fihri]] (recognized by the [[Guinness Book of World Records]] as the oldest still-operating university in the world).

==== China ====
* [[September 7]] &ndash; Emperor [[Emperor Xuānzong of Tang|Xuān Zong]] ('''Li Yi''') dies after a 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his eldest son [[Emperor Yizong of Tang|Yi Zong]], as ruler of the [[Tang dynasty]].

==== Syria ====
*[[859 Syrian coast earthquake]]. It affected the Mediterranean coast of [[Syria (region)|Syria]]<ref name="Antonopoulos">{{cite journal | last1=Antonopoulos | first1= J.  | title=''Data from investigation of seismic Sea waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from 500 to 1000 A.D.'' | volume= 33 | issue= 1 | year=1980 | journal=Annals of Geophysics | url =https://www.annalsofgeophysics.eu/index.php/annals/article/viewFile/4702/4786|doi=10.4401/ag-4701| doi-access=free }}</ref> It caused almost the complete destruction of [[Latakia]] and [[Jableh]], major damage at [[Antioch]] and led to many deaths.<ref name=Ambraseys>{{cite book |last=Ambraseys|first=N.|author-link=Nicholas Ambraseys|date=2009|title=Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: A Multidisciplinary Study of Seismicity up to 1900|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzXSBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT955|edition=First|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=243–244|isbn=978-1-316-34785-0}}</ref>
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