843

The parting of the Frankish Empire (843)

Year 843 (DCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Europe

• May 24 – Battle of Blain: Breton forces under Erispoe, count of Vannes, defeat the Franks led by Renaud d'Herbauges, near the town of Messac, at the River Vilaine. This battle marks a Breton war between Charles the Bald and Nominoe, duke of Brittany.
• Summer – Viking raiders attack Nantes, located on the River Loire; they kill the town's bishop along with many of the clergy, and murder men, women and children. They plunder the western parts of Aquitaine and reach an island north of the mouth of the River Garonne, near what later will be La Rochelle. There the Vikings bring materials from the mainland and build houses to spend the winter.
• August 10 – Treaty of Verdun: The Frankish Empire is divided into three kingdoms, between the three surviving sons of the late emperor Louis the Pious. King Louis the German receives the eastern portion (everything east of the River Rhine), called the Eastern Frankish Realm, which is the precursor to modern-day Germany. Emperor Lothair I receives the central portion (Low Countries, Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy and the northern half of Italy), called the Central Frankish Realm. King Charles the Bald receives the western portion (everything west of the River Rhône), called the Western Frankish Realm, which later becomes France.

British Isles

• King Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) of the Scots also becomes king of the Picts; he is crowned (on the Stone of Destiny) as first monarch of the new nation of Scotland. The Alpin Dynasty of Scottish kings begins to reign.

Arabian Empire

• Summer – A Byzantine expedition, led by Theoktistos, conquers Crete from the Saracens. After initial success, he is forced to abandon his army, due to political intrigues in Constantinople. The troops are left behind and slaughtered by the Arabs.
• Al-Andalus: The city of Zaragossa rises against the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba in modern-day Spain.

Asia

• In the Chinese capital of Chang'an, a large fire consumes 4,000 homes, warehouses and other buildings in the East Market, yet the rest of the city is at a safe distance from the blaze which is largely quarantined in East Central Chang'an, thanks to the large width of roads in Chang'an that produce fire breaks.

By topic

Religion

• March 11 – Feast of Orthodoxy – Official end of Iconoclasm: Empress Theodora II restores the veneration of icons in the Orthodox churches in the Byzantine Empire.
• Theodora II orders a persecution against the Paulicians throughout Anatolia; about 100,000 followers in the Byzantine theme of Armenia are massacred.

Births

• Judith of Flanders, queen of Wessex and countess of Flanders (approximate date)

Deaths

• April 19 – Judith of Bavaria, Frankish empress
• 2 November – Anthony the Confessor, Byzantine bishop of Thessalinike
• Al-Mada'ini, Muslim scholar and historian (b. 752)
• Ardo Smaragdus, Frankish abbot and hagiographer
• Bridei VI, king of the Picts (Scotland)
• Fergus mac Fothaid, king of Connacht (Ireland)
• Fujiwara no Otsugu, Japanese statesman (b. 773)
• Jia Dao, Chinese poet and Buddhist monk (b. 779)
• Landulf I, gastald (or count) of Capua (Italy)
• Liu Congjian, Chinese governor (jiedushi) (b. 803)
• Qiu Shiliang, Chinese eunuch official
• Renaud d'Herbauges, Frankish nobleman (b. 795)