Editing 642

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{About year|642}}
{{Year nav|642}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Pope Theodore I.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|[[Pope Theodore I]] (642–649)]]
__NOTOC__
Year '''642''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DCXLII]]''') was a [[common year starting on Tuesday]] of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 642 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 ===

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* Emperor [[Constans II]] marries [[Fausta (wife of Constans II)|Fausta]].

==== Europe ====
* [[April 30]] &ndash; [[Chindasuinth]], a [[Goths|Gothic]] warlord (already 79 years old), commences a rebellion and deposes King [[Tulga]] in [[Toledo, Spain]]. He is proclaimed king by the [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] nobility and anointed by the [[bishop]]s. Tulga is [[tonsure]]d and sent out to live his days in a [[monastery]].
* [[Radulf, King of Thuringia|Radulf]], a [[Franks|Frankish]] aristocrat, revolts against King [[Sigebert III]] of [[Austrasia]] and defeats his army, taking the title of ''rex'' or king of [[Thuringia]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Reuter |first=Timothy |author-link=Timothy Reuter |date=1991 |page=55 |title=Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800–1056 |location=New York |publisher=Longman |isbn=0-582-08156-4}}</ref>

==== Britain ====
* [[August 5]] &ndash; [[Battle of Maserfield]]: King [[Penda of Mercia]] defeats and kills King [[Oswald of Northumbria]], age 38, at [[Oswestry]] ([[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]). He commands a united [[Celtic Britons|British]] and [[Mercia]]n force, which includes the Welsh army of Kings [[Cadafael Cadomedd ap Cynfeddw|Cadafael Cadomedd of Gwynedd]] and [[Cynddylan|Cynddylan of Pengwern]]. The Mercians become dominant in the [[The Midlands, England|English Midlands]].
* [[Oswiu of Northumbria|Oswiu]] succeeds his half-brother Oswald as king of [[Bernicia]]. He strengthens his position by marrying [[Eanflæd]], daughter of King [[Edwin of Northumbria]], then in exile in the [[Kingdom of Kent]].{{sfn|Bede Book&nbsp;III|loc=[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book3.html Chapter&nbsp;XV]}} This marriage takes place between 642 and [[644]].

==== Persia ====
* [[Battle of Nahāvand]]: The [[Rashidun army]] (30,000 men) under [[Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas]] defeats the Persians at [[Nahavand|Nahāvand]] (modern [[Iran]]). The Persian cavalry, full of confidence, mounts an ill-prepared attack. The [[Arabs]] retreat to a safe area, where they outmanoeuvre and destroy the Persians in a narrow mountain valley.

==== Africa ====
* [[First Battle of Dongola|Battle of Dongola]]: [['Amr ibn al-'As]] sends an Arab expedition of 20,000 horsemen, under his cousin [[Uqba ibn Nafi]], to [[Kingdom of Makuria|Makuria]] (Southern [[Egypt]]). The Nubians strike hard against the [[Muslim]]s near [[Dongola]] with [[Hit-and-run tactics|hit-and-run]] attacks. The Arab incursions into [[Nubia]] are temporarily halted.

==== Asia ====
* Emperor [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Taizong]] of the [[Tang dynasty]] issues a [[decree]] throughout China, that increases the punishment for men who deliberately inflict injuries upon themselves (most commonly breaking their own legs) in order to avoid military [[conscription]]. This decree is an effort to eradicate this practice that has grown as a trend since the time of the rebellion against the [[Sui dynasty]].
* Taizong [[Tang campaigns against the Western Turks|supports a revolt]] by Turkic tribes against the rebellious [[Yukuk Shad|Tu-lu Qaghan]] of the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]].
* Empress [[Empress Kōgyoku|Kōgyoku]] ascends to the throne of Japan, after her husband (and uncle) Emperor [[Emperor Jomei|Jomei]]'s death in [[641]].
* Winter &ndash; [[Yeon Gaesomun]] seizes power over [[Goguryeo]] ([[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Korea]]), and places King [[Bojang of Goguryeo|Bojang]] on the throne.

=== By topic ===

==== Arts and sciences ====
* The earliest surviving dated Arabic-language [[papyrus]] ([[PERF 558]]), found in [[Heracleopolis Magna|Heracleopolis]] (Egypt), and the earliest known Arabic text with [[diacritic]]al marks is written.

==== Architecture ====
* Arabs begin construction of the [[Mosque of Amr ibn al-As|Mosque of Amr]] at [[Cairo]], the first [[mosque]] built in Egypt and in all of Africa.

==== Religion ====
* [[October 12]] &ndash; [[Pope John IV]] dies after a 2-year reign. He is succeeded by a [[Jerusalem]]-born [[Clergy|cleric]] of Greek descent, [[Pope Theodore I|Theodore I]], as the 73rd [[pope]] of Rome.
* A [[Monasticism|monastic]] settlement is founded in [[Hampshire]] (England) which later becomes [[Winchester Cathedral]].
</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
* [[Ceolfrith]], Anglo-Saxon [[abbot]] (approximate date)
* [[Hasan of Basra|Hasan al-Basri]], Arab [[Theology|theologian]] (d. [[728]])
* [[Julian of Toledo|Julian]], archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo|Toledo]] (d. [[690]])
* [[Máel Ruba]], Irish abbot (d. [[722]])
* [[Mujahid ibn Jabr]], Muslim scholar (or [[645]])

== Deaths ==
* [[March 21]] &ndash; [[Cyrus of Alexandria]], Patriarch of Alexandria and governor of Egypt
* [[August 5]] or [[641]] &ndash; [[Oswald of Northumbria|Oswald]], king of [[Northumbria]]
* [[October 12]] &ndash; [[Pope John IV]]
* [[Emma of Austrasia|Emma]], Anglo-Saxon queen
* [[Eowa of Mercia|Eowa]], king of [[Mercia]] ([[The Midlands|English Midlands]])
* [[Domnall Brecc]], king of [[Dál Riata]]<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Lynch |editor1-first=Michael |page=5 |title=The Oxford companion to Scottish history |date=February 24, 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-969305-4}}{{full citation needed|date=July 2021|reason=missing publication date for the version actually used here}}</ref>
* [[Domnall mac Áedo]], high king of Ireland
* [[Flaochad]], [[Mayor of the Palace]] ([[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]])
* [[Heraklonas]], Byzantine emperor (approximate date)
* [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], Arab general (b. [[592]])
* [[Mardanshah]], Persian general
* [[Nanthild]], Frankish queen
* [[Pulakeshin II]], king of [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukya]] (India)
* [[Willibad]], patrician (of [[duke]]) of [[Kingdom of Burgundy|Burgundy]]
* [[Yeongnyu of Goguryeo|Yeongnyu]], king of [[Goguryeo]] ([[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Korea]])
* [[Yuwen Shiji]], [[Chancellor of the Tang dynasty#Heads of the Legislative Bureau|chancellor]] of the [[Tang dynasty]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |last=Bede |author-link=Bede |title=Book III |work=[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People]] |publisher=Internet History Sourcebooks Project |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/bede-book3.html |ref={{harvid|Bede Book&nbsp;III}}}}
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:642}}
[[Category:642| ]]