776

Ruins of Castle Syburg (near Dortmund)

Year 776 (DCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 776 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

April 24 – Emperor Leo IV ("the Khazar") appoints his 5-year-old son Constantine VI co-ruler of the Byzantine Empire. This leads to an uprising, led by one of Leo's half-brothers, Caesar Nikephoros, the second son of former emperor Constantine V. The revolt is quickly suppressed. Fortunately for Nikephoros, his only punishment is to be stripped of his titles, while the rest of the conspirators are blinded, tonsured, and exiled to Cherson (southern Crimea) under guard.<ref>The Chronicle of Theophanes Anni Mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813): Tr. Harry Turtledove (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), p. 137</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

King Charlemagne spends Easter in Treviso (northern Italy), after putting down a rebellion in Friuli and Spoleto. He removes Hrodgaud of Friuli from power, and reforms the duchy as the March of Friuli (military frontier district).<ref>David Nicolle (2014). The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785, p. 15. Template:ISBN</ref> Co-conspirators who support the revolt are Arechis II, duke of Benevento, and Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius. Frankish counts are placed in the cities of Friuli.
Saxon Wars: The Saxons again revolt against Christianity and Frankish rule. Eresburg falls, but a Saxon assault upon the castle of Syburg fails. Charlemagne hurriedly returns from Italy, launching a counter-offensive which defeats the Saxons. Most of their leaders are summoned to the Lippe at the town of Bad Lippspringe (North Rhine-Westphalia), to submit formally to Charlemagne.<ref>David Nicolle (2014). The Conquest of Saxony AD 782–785, pp. 15–16. Template:ISBN</ref>

Battle of Otford: King Egbert II of Kent defeats the Mercians under King Offa (near Otford), and re-asserts himself as ruler of Kent.

February – Al-Jahiz, Afro-Muslim scholar and writer (d. 868)<ref>Al-Jahiz messages, Alwarraq edition, page 188; Yāqūt, Irshād al-arīb ilá ma`rifat al-adīb, ed. Iḥsān `Abbās, 7 vols (Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1993), 5:2102.</ref><ref name="Easc">Template:Cite book; Yāqūt, Irshād al-arīb ilá ma`rifat al-adīb, ed. Iḥsān `Abbās, 7 vols (Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1993), 5:2102.</ref>
date unknown – Lu Sui, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 835)<ref>Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Old Book of Tang, vol. 17, part 2.</ref>
probable
- Saint George the Standard-Bearer, archbishop (d. 821)<ref>St. George the Confessor the Bishop of Mytilene. OCA - Lives of the Saints.</ref>
- Bai Xingjian, Chinese poet and writer (d. 826)<ref name="BarnstoneChou2007">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Sahnun ibn Sa'id, Muslim jurist (or 777)
- Tahir ibn Husayn, Muslim governor (or 775)