Editing 640

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{About year|640}}
{{Year nav|640}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
Year '''640''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DCXL]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Saturday]] of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the [[Anno Domini]] [[calendar era]] became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===

==== Europe ====
* [[February 27]] &ndash; [[Pepin of Landen|Pepin the Elder]], [[Mayor of the Palace]] of [[Austrasia]], dies and is succeeded by his son [[Grimoald the Elder|Grimoald]]. He becomes the head of the [[Franks|Frankish]] household, and the most powerful man in the [[Francia|Frankish Kingdom]] (approximate date). 
* King [[Chintila]] dies of natural causes after a 3-year reign, in which he permitted the [[bishop]]s wide authority in [[Hispania]], [[Septimania]] and [[Kingdom of Galicia|Galicia]]. He is succeeded by his son [[Tulga]], who becomes ruler of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] (approximate date). 
* At the request of [[Porga of Croatia]], one of the first dukes or princes ([[Croatian language|Croatian]]: ''[[Knyaz|knez]]'') of [[Principality of Dalmatian Croatia|Dalmatian Croatia]], the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] emperor [[Heraclius]] sends Christian [[Missionary|missionaries]] to the [[Croatia|Croatian Provinces]] (approximate date).
* The French city of [[Lille]] (according to the [[Lydéric and Phinaert|legend]]) is founded by [[Lydéric and Phinaert|Lydéric]]. He kills Phinaert in a duel to avenge his parents' deaths (approximate date).

==== Britain ====
* King [[Eadbald of Kent]] dies after a 24-year reign. He is succeeded by his sons, [[Eorcenberht of Kent|Eorcenberht]] and [[Eormenred of Kent|Eormenred]], who jointly rule the [[Kingdom of Kent]] (now south east England). 
* [[Hartlepool Abbey]] in [[Northumbria]] (northern England) is founded. Wooden huts surrounding a church are built in [[Anglo-Saxon architecture|Saxon]] style.

==== Africa ====
* May &ndash; [[Babylon Fortress|Siege of Babylon Fortress]]: The [[Rashidun army]] lays siege to [[Babylon Fortress]] in the [[Nile Delta]] (near [[Coptic Cairo|Cairo]]). The next two months' fighting remain inconclusive, the [[Byzantine Greeks|Byzantines]] having the upper hand by repulsing every Muslim assault.<ref>Butler, Alfred, ''The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty years of Roman Dominion'', p. 222</ref>
* [[July 6]] &ndash; [[Battle of Heliopolis]]: The [[Arab Muslims|Muslim Arab]] army (15,000 men) under [[Amr ibn al-As]] defeats the Byzantine forces near [[Heliopolis (ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] ([[Diocese of Egypt (Late Antiquity)|Egypt]]). Amr divides his troops into three parts, surrounding the Byzantines.  
* [[December 21]] &ndash; Muslim Arabs capture Babylon after a seven-month siege; during a night assault Arab warriors open the [[city gate]]s.<ref>Al Farooq, Umar by Muhammad Husayn Haykal, chapter nr. 21</ref> The [[Thebaid]] region ([[Upper Egypt]]) is annexed by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]].
* [[December 22]] &ndash; On orders of the Saracen leader, Amar, the [[Serapeum of Alexandria]], containing works that had survived the destruction of the [[Library of Alexandria]], is burned down, along with its collection of 500,000 manuscripts.<ref name=Fires>"Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance'', Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) pp24</ref> This story may be apocryphal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/207/what-happened-to-the-great-library-at-alexandria/|title=What happened to the Great Library at Alexandria?|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2020-01-09}}</ref>

==== Asia ====
[[File:Emperor Taizong's campaign against Xiyu states.svg|thumb|right|[[Emperor Taizong's campaign against the Western Regions]]]]
* [[Emperor Taizong of Tang]] begins the [[Emperor Taizong's campaign against the Western Regions|military campaigns against the Western Regions states]] in the [[Tarim Basin]]. General [[Hou Junji]] [[Tang campaign against Karakhoja|captures the kingdom]] of [[Gaochang]], to [[Tang campaigns against the Western Turks|solidify Tang rule]] in Central Asia.
* [[Church of the East|Nestorian]] missionaries build the [[Daqin Pagoda]] in [[Chang'an]] ([[Shaanxi]]). ''[[Daqin]]'' is the name for the [[Roman Empire]] or the [[Near East]].<ref>Hill, John E. (2003). "The Kingdom of Da Quin". The [[Western Regions]] according to the Hou Hanshu (2nd ed.). Retrieved 2008-11-30</ref>

=== By topic ===

==== Religion ====
* [[Disibod]], Irish [[monk]] and [[hermit]], arrives as a missionary in [[Francia]]. He begins his religious work in the [[Vosges]] and [[Ardennes]].
* [[May 28]] &ndash; [[Pope Severinus]] succeeds [[Pope Honorius I|Honorius I]] as the 71st [[pope]]. He dies in Rome only two months after being [[Consecration|consecrated]]. 
* [[December 24]] &ndash; [[Pope John IV]] succeeds Severinus as the 72nd pope. His [[Papal conclave|election]] is accepted by the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]].

==== Economy ====
* A surge in atmospheric lead in ice core drilled in the Colle Gnifetti Glacier in the [[Swiss Alps]] signals an increase in silver mining because of economic recovery, after natural disasters in [[530s]] and [[540s]].<ref>[https://www.science.org/content/article/why-536-was-worst-year-be-alive "Why 536 was 'the worst year to be alive{{'"}}]. sciencemag.org Nov. 15, 2018.</ref></onlyinclude>

== Births ==
* [[Al-Akhtal]], Arab poet (approximate date)
* [[Arikesari Maravarman]], king of the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyan Empire]] (approximate date)
* [[Asparuh of Bulgaria|Asparuh]], ruler of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] (approximate date)
* [[Godeberta]], Frankish [[abbess]] (approximate date)
* [[Isonokami no Maro]], Japanese statesman (d. [[717]])
* [[Saint Kilian|Kilian]], Irish [[bishop]] (approximate date)
* [[Luo Binwang]], Chinese poet (d. [[684]])
* [[Musa ibn Nusayr]], Arab general (d. [[716]])
* [[Winnoc]], Welsh [[abbot]] (approximate date)
* [[Wulfhere of Mercia|Wulfhere]], king of [[Mercia]] (approximate date)
* [[Wulfram of Sens|Wulfram]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sens|archbishop of Sens]] (approximate date)

== Deaths ==
* [[February 27]] &ndash; [[Pepin of Landen|Pepin the Elder]], [[Mayor of the Palace]]
* [[August 2]] &ndash; [[Pope Severinus]]
* [[September 12]] &ndash; [[Sak Kʼukʼ]], queen of [[Palenque]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uncoveredhistory.com/mexico/palenque/tomb-of-the-red-queen/|title=The Mystery of the Red Queen of Palenque|date=2015-12-22|website=Uncovered History|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-01-21}}</ref>
* [[Saint Alena|Alena]], Frankish [[martyr]] (approximate date)
* [[Aretion]], Byzantine governor of Jerusalem
* [[Arnulf of Metz]], Frankish bishop and [[saint]] 
* [[Bilal ibn Rabah]], companion of [[Muhammad]] 
* [[Chintila]], king of the [[Visigoths]] (approximate date)
* [[Dushun]], ([[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhist]]) patriarch (b. [[557]])
* [[Eadbald of Kent|Eadbald]], king of [[Kingdom of Kent|Kent]] (approximate date)
* [[Eanswith]], Anglo-Saxon princess (approximate date)
* [[John, Duke of Barcaina|John]], Byzantine duke of [[Barca (ancient city)|Barca]]
* [[Li Xiaogong]], prince of the [[Tang dynasty]] (b. [[591]])
* [[Romanus of Rouen|Romanus]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen|bishop of Rouen]] (approximate date)
* [[Tysilio]], Welsh prince and bishop
* [[Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan]], Arab general

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:640}}
[[Category:640| ]]