9th century

As a means of recording the passage of the 9th century was the  that lasted from  to.

"Dark Ages" applied later to this period
Starting about 400 years after the period, influential figures in the early phases of the would refer back to these times, and the 3 centuries previous, as the "." The reference based on the eclipse of the, after , and the general loss of classical art forms, reduction of urban centers, and diffusion of political power to a petty level. Regional enities never grew to the level of nationhood, let alone empire. Only the had true international power, and this was somewhat limited due to poor communications between the regions of Europe. Classical civilization's former record was preserved by the efforts of Catholic monks hand copying manuscripts, but since only a tiny percentage of the populace could read and write, little information or knowledge was disseminated. Most western people were engaged in rural agriculture, and the Roman cities were largely in ruins. Still, certain arts, related to the Church and the ruling class, led to at least a small degree of support to artisans. There is a legacy of brass and gold objects preserved in the world's museums from Europe's "."

Art of the "Dark Ages"
First and foremost, art existed because the Church required it. The basic tools of the Roman Catholic mass, thousands of golden art objects were made. Sacred cups, vessels, reliqueries, crucifixes, rosaries, altar pieces, and statues of the Virgin and Child or Saints all kept the flame of art from dying out in the period. Architecture began to revive to some extent by the 9th century. It took the form of Church facilities of all kinds, and the first castle fortifications since Roman times began to take form in simple "moat and baily" castles, or simple "strong point" tower structures, with little refinement.

Worldwide Events
passengers aboard for sailing missions into the. He wrote that the draft of Chinese ships was too deep for entering the (modern-day Iraq), which forced them to land small boats on the banks of the river for passengers and cargo instead.
 * The Arab merchant Shulama wrote that Chinese ships could carry 600 to 700
 * An unknown event causes the of the.
 * might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the.
 * Reign of, and concurrent (and controversially labeled) in Western Europe.
 * Large-scale attacks on Europe begin, devastating countless numbers of people.
 * The arrive in what is now, taking it from.
 * The settle in the  river valley.
 * traders settle in the northwest and southeast of.
 * — Arab fleet sails up the.
 * — Construction on the in   is complete, after 90 years of rock-carving on a massive cliff-side.
 * C. –c. — period of serious Arab naval raids on shores of Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas.
 * -, a library and translation institute, established by , , in  to transfer the knowledge of Greeks, Persians, Idnians, etc to Muslim world. Also  which is one of the book of  is written by  who worked there.
 * – — The west bank of the is annexed into the city of . A, commissioned by , is built around what came to be called the.
 * — The Arab merchant Suleiman al-Tajir visits the Chinese at  in southern China, and observes the manufacturing of, the Islamic  built at Guangzhou, the  system of the city, and how its  administration functioned.
 * — The Chinese author describes the,  trade, and  trade of  in.
 * — founded.
 * – — rule of as a independent Muslim dynasty in North Africa.
 * – — The first arrive on.
 * Muslim established the oldest university in the world,, in
 * – — period of schism between eastern and western churches.
 * — under
 * – — leads an unsuccessful rebellion against the  in China.
 * Late 9th century: stretches from the mouth of the  to  and.
 * In, some cities became free republics: for instance , in the.
 * The Christian n kingdom reaches its peak of prosperity and military power..
 * was victorious at the, and was unified into one kingdom.
 * reaches.
 * — The beginning the in
 * — arrival of the disciples of SS. and,  and  in Bulgaria. Development of the.
 * — onward Revival of the under the  dynasty.
 * The begins.
 * The begins.

Significant people

 * and
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * and
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * and
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –
 * (Βασίλειος Α') (–), ruled –


 * , legendary female Pope
 * , legendary female Pope

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

 * begins to devolve into various
 * First image of a rotary grindstone in a European source — illustration shows crank, first known use of a crank in the West (, A.D. )
 * Invention of by Chinese
 * First known printed book, the , printed in China using in 868 AD.