Editing 740

{{short description|Calendar year}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{About year|740|the car|Volvo 700 Series#Volvo 740}}
{{Year nav|740}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Alonso I of Asturias.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|King [[Alfonso I of Asturias]] ([[Spain]])]]
[[File:Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|Map showing major events of the [[Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion]] (740)]]
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Year '''740''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DCCXL]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Friday]] of the [[Julian calendar]], the 740th year of the [[Common Era]] (CE) and ''[[Anno Domini]]'' (AD) designations, the 740th year of the [[1st millennium]], the 40th year of the [[8th century]], and the 1st year of the [[740s]] decade. The denomination 740 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 ==
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=== By place ===

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* [[Battle of Akroinon]]: Following the disastrous [[Battle of Sebastopolis]] (see [[692]]), Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] has largely confined himself to a defensive [[strategy]], while the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] armies regularly launch raids into [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]-held [[Anatolia]].<ref>{{The End of the Jihad State|pages=104–105, 117}}</ref> Caliph [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik]] assembles an expeditionary force (90,000 men) under his son [[Sulayman ibn Hisham]]. One of these armies, 20,000 men strong under [[Abdallah al-Battal]], is defeated at Akroinon (modern-day [[Afyonkarahisar|Afyon]]) by the Byzantines, led by Leo and his son, the future emperor [[Constantine V]]. About 6,800 [[Arab Muslims|Muslim Arabs]], however, resist and manage to conduct an orderly retreat to [[Synnada in Phrygia|Synnada]] ([[Phrygia]]).<ref>{{The End of the Jihad State|page=170}}</ref> 
* [[October 26]] &ndash; [[740 Constantinople earthquake]]. An [[earthquake]] strikes [[Constantinople]] and the surrounding countryside, causing destruction to the city's land [[Defensive wall|walls]] and buildings.

==== Europe ====
* The [[Berber people|Berber]] tribes in the recently conquered region of [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] (northwest [[Spain]]) rebel. This facilitates the establishment of an independent kingdom in the [[Cantabrian Mountains]] under King [[Alfonso I of Asturias]].<ref>{{cite book|last=de Oliviera Marques|first=A. H.|title=Hova Historia de Portugal. Portugal das Invasões Germânicas à Reconquista|year=1993|publisher=Editorial Presença|location=Lisbon|editor=Joel Serrão and A. H. de Oliverira Marques|page=123|chapter=O Portugal Islâmico}}</ref>
* Duke [[Thrasimund II of Spoleto|Thrasimund II]] recovers the [[duchy of Spoleto]] and kills [[Hilderic of Spoleto|Hilderic]] with Papal-[[Duchy of Benevento|Beneventian]] aid.<ref>Hartmann, Ludo Moritz. ''Geschichte Italiens im Mittelalter''. II, pp. 2, 139.</ref> He does not return the confiscated [[Pope|papal]] cities, and his [[Military alliance|alliance]] with [[Pope Gregory III]] ruptures.
* [[December]] &ndash; King [[Liutprand, King of the Lombards|Liutprand]] of the [[Lombards]] attempts to counter the growing independence of the Lombard [[Duchy|duchies]] in southern [[Italy]].
* [[Sicily]], [[Sardinia]], [[Provence]], and [[Greece]] are raided by a fleet of [[Arabs|Arab]] Muslim ships sent by the governor of [[Ifriqiya|Ifriqya]], the ones raiding South Western [[Europe]] are led by [[Habib ibn Abi Obeida al-Fihri|Habīb Ibn Abi ‘Ubayda Al-Fihrī]], while the fleet raiding Greece is led by [[Mu'awiya ibn Hisham|Mu’awiya ibn Hishām]]. All of them are successful, submitting the Islands and returning with much wealth from the spoils of war.

==== Britain ====
* King [[Eadberht of Northumbria]] marches his army north to attack the [[Picts]]. King [[Æthelbald of Mercia]] takes advantage of his absence, and ravages the city of [[York]]. Internal struggles re-emerge in [[Northumbria]] with the murder of Eardwine, probably the son of the late [[Usurper|usurping]] king [[Eadwulf I of Northumbria|Eadwulf I]].<ref>D.P. Kirby, ''The Earliest English Kings.'' London: Unwin Hyman, 1991. pp. 150 & 154 {{ISBN|0-04-445691-3}}</ref><ref>Barbara Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms in Early Anglo-Saxon England.'' London: Seaby, 1990. p. 89 {{ISBN|1-85264-027-8}}</ref>
* King [[Æthelheard of Wessex]] dies after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother (and probably distant relative) [[Cuthred of Wessex|Cuthred]]. Æthelbald of [[Mercia]] takes control of [[Berkshire]] from [[Wessex]].

==== Africa ====
* [[Battle of the Nobles]]: The Berber rebels under chieftain [[Khalid ibn Hamid al-Zanati]] defeat and overwhelm the Umayyad forces of [[Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri]], near [[Tangier]] (Northern [[Morocco]]), undermining [[Arabs|Arab]] domination in [[Islam]]ic [[North Africa]]. The rebellion spreads in [[Al-Andalus]] ([[Spain]]), causing governor [[Ubayd Allah ibn al-Habhab]] to withdraw [[Moors|Moorish]] troops from many [[garrison]]s north of the [[Pyrenees]].<ref>David Nicolle (2008). Poitiers AD 732, Charles Martel turns the Islamic tide (p. 19). {{ISBN|978-184603-230-1}}</ref>

==== Asia ====
* Much to the delight of the citizens of [[Chang'an]], the [[China|Chinese]] government of the [[Tang dynasty]] orders [[fruit tree]]s to be planted along every main avenue of the city, which enriches not only the diets of the people but also the surroundings (approximate date)
* [[Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion]]: The [[Fujiwara clan]] led by Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, dissatisfied with the political powers in [[Japan]], raise an army in [[Dazaifu (government)|Dazaifa]] ([[Kyushu]]) but are defeated by government forces.
* The Japanese imperial capital is moved from [[Heijō-kyō]] to [[Kuni-kyō]].

=== By topic ===

==== Religion ====
* The [[Khazars]], a nation of the [[Black Sea]] [[steppe]], though not ethnically [[Jews|Jewish]], voluntarily convert to [[Judaism]].
* [[Cuthbert of Canterbury|Cuthbert]] becomes [[archbishop of Canterbury]] after the death of [[Nothhelm]] (see [[739]]).
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== Births ==
* [[Aurelius of Asturias|Aurelius]], king of [[Kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] (approximate date)
* [[Gao Ying]], [[chancellor of the Tang dynasty]] (d. [[811]])
* [[Layman Pang]], [[Chinese Chán]] ([[Zen]]) Buddhist (d. [[AD 808|808]])
* [[Mashallah ibn Athari]], Jewish-Arab [[Astrology|astrologer]] (d. [[815]])
* [[Waldo of Reichenau]], Frankish [[List of Imperial abbeys|abbot]] (approximate date)
* [[Theoctista (740-802)|Theoctista]], politically influential Byzantine woman (d. [[802]])

== Deaths ==
* [[Abdallah al-Battal]], Arab general
* [[Æthelburg of Wessex|Æthelburg]], queen of [[Wessex]]
* [[Æthelheard of Wessex|Æthelheard]], king of Wessex
* [[Æthelwold (bishop of Lindisfarne)|Æthelwold]], bishop of [[Lindisfarne]]
* [[Acca of Hexham|Acca]], bishop of [[Hexham]] (or [[742]]) 
* [[Anna, wife of Artabasdos|Anna]], Byzantine princess and empress, wife of [[Artabasdos]]
* [[Frithugyth]], queen of Wessex 
* [[Gregory of Benevento|Gregory]], duke of [[Duchy of Benevento|Benevento]] 
* [[Hilderic of Spoleto|Hilderic]], duke of [[Duchy of Spoleto|Spoleto]] 
* [[Khalid ibn Abi Habib al-Fihri]], Arab general
* [[Maysara al-Matghari]], Berber rebel leader
* [[Meng Haoran]], Chinese [[Chinese poetry|poet]] 
* [[Rhain ap Cadwgan]], king of [[Kingdom of Dyfed|Dyfed]] and [[Brycheiniog]]
* [[Uqba ibn al-Hajjaj]], Arab governor
* [[Zayd ibn Ali]], Arab [[imam]] and grandson of [[Husayn bin Ali|Husayn ibn Ali]] (b. [[695]])
* [[Zhang Jiuling]], chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. [[673]])

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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