8th century

The 8th century is the period from to  in accordance with the  in the.

Overview
During this century the, the coast of and the  Peninsula comes rapidly under   domination. The westward expansion of the is famously halted at the. The tide of Arab conquest came to an end in the middle of the 8th century. Late in the century the, seafaring peoples from begin raiding the coasts of  and the  creating a terrifying legacy. They go on to found several important kingdoms.

Events



 * Sometime this century, is probably composed.
 * The first Serbian state is formed at the beginning of the century.


 * , the famous  structure, begins construction, probably as a non-Buddhist.
 * Buddhist stories are translated into  and  as.
 * An account of 's life is translated into by Saint, and widely circulated to  as the story of  and.
 * The and the  arise in central Europe (see )
 * Many convert to.
 * arises north of.
 * Height of the in   history.
 * Śāntideva, a Buddhist monk at Nalanda Monastery in India, composes the famous Bodhicharyāvatāra, or Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life
 * The height of the in, China is extended by 5 stories.
 * , the is enacted in late  Japan
 * , the reign of 's first and only sole-ruling empress,, ends in this year
 * -, Arab armies occupied.
 * , moves the capital to  (present day ), initiating the  of Japan.
 * , crosses the Straits of Gibraltar. With the creation of, most of the  is conquered by  and  , thus ending the  rule, and starting almost eight centuries of Muslim presence there.
 * , . Near Poitiers, France, leader of the Franks Charles Martel and his men, defeat a large army of Moors under the governor of Cordoba, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, who is killed during the battle. The Battle of Tours halts the advance of Islam into Western Europe and establishes a balance of power between Western Europe, Islam and the Byzantine Empire.
 * , for the  of the  Chinese capital city  and its  of Jingzhou Fu (including small towns in the vicinity), the  records that in this year there were 362,921 registered families with 1,960,188 persons.
 * , the Chinese monk Jian Zhen writes in his Yue Jue Shu of the international sea traffic coming to, ships from Borneo, Persia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and others bringing tons of goods.
 * , The last   (–750) is overthrown and executed by the first  Caliph, .  The  is moved to, within the territory of the former ; this would prove to be a momentous event for Baghdad which developed into a centre of trade and culture.
 * , Arabian armies defeated  troops in the, in the high  near  and conquest  completely.
 * –, the devastates China during the mid.
 * , and  s and travelers burn and loot the Chinese city of, while the Tang Dynasty authorities shut the port down for the next five decades.
 * –, invades what is now northwestern Germany, battling the  for more than thirty years and finally crushing their, incorporating  into the  and the Christian world
 * , beginning in this year, Chinese begin landing regular  missions on the coast of, cutting out middlemen Arab sea merchants.
 * –, writing between these years, the Chinese Jia Dan describes large lighthouse pillars built in the, which is confirmed a century later by  and
 * , the very first raid is carried out on the abbey of  in northern.
 * , moves the capital to Heian-kyō (present day ), initiating the  of Japan.

Significant persons

 * , Frankish leader until
 * , king of the until
 * , king of the from  to
 * , English monk, scholar, and teacher; 's advisor in educational affairs
 * The Venerable, scholar
 * , fifth
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.
 * , Arab general who conquered and.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

 * heavy plow in use in the valley
 * in use in in 8th or  — perhaps introduced from
 * making introduced from to
 * beginning of the decline of the Classical
 * ca. 770 — s come into common use
 * , Chalukya Architecture
 * The Chinese   applies the first known clockwork  mechanism to operate and rotate his astronomical
 * The peoples of  design the first European triangular