9th century

The century IX d. C. (ninth century AD) or IX century and. c. (ninth century of the common era) began on January 1, 801 and ended on December 31, 900. It is called the "Century of the Normans", although in Europe it is the century of the political union of the Christianity around the figure of Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, the main power in Europe.

Global map (except America) around the year 800.

Global map (except America) around 900.

The 9th century stands out for Europe being the focus of attacks by Norman pirates, also called Vikings, who devastated the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland and France. Known for fighting against such attacks is King Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, one of the kingdoms that would later form the Kingdom of England. Alfredo stopped the Vikings at the Battle of Ethandun, restoring order to the Anglo-Saxon territories.

In the Carolingian Empire, after the death of Charlemagne, Ludovico Pío, his son, inherited his vast empire, but Ludovico's reign was very chaotic, especially when his sons began to fight for the territories they would inherit, leading to open civil war, finally, with the Treaty of Verdun, Ludovico's sons: Lotario, Luis and Carlos, inherited his empire that was divided into three kingdoms.

In the Islamic world, there was an important advance in the field of mathematics and science. The scholar Al-Khuarismi laid the foundations of algebra and established the Arabic numeral system we use today, replacing the ancient Roman numerals.

Geopolitics

France

The notion of "France" as a single State it appears only very progressively over the centuries. Some consider that one cannot speak of France except after the Treaty of Verdun (843). During the Middle Ages, the first lasting political union (the previous ones were rather ephemeral) was made with Charlemagne, who also conquered other lands forming an Empire, which his grandchildren later divided. In the Carolingian period there was a remarkable development of the arts and letters, which is known as the "Carolingian Renaissance".

On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Romans” in Rome, and his son Charles "the Younger" as King of the Franks. It was one more of the gestures carried out by the papacy to define the roles of papal authority and imperial power; as well as to consider him as the successor of the Roman emperors. This led to a series of disputes with the Eastern Roman Empire, whose inhabitants, though of Greek origin, never ceased to refer to themselves as Romans (Rhōmaîoi, from the Greek Ῥωμαῖοι). Conflicts over the legitimacy of the title ended in 812, when the Byzantine emperor Michael I Rangabé recognized Charlemagne as emperor (basileus), but not as emperor of the Romans (Βασιλεύς των Ρωμαίων).

The kingdom of Charlemagne was divided in the Treaty of Verdun (843): the Central Franks to Lothair I, the East Franks to Louis the German, and the West Franks to Charles the Bald. Charlemagne had several children, but only one survived him, Louis the Pious, who succeeded his father in 814 as head of the empire's territory. After three civil wars, Luis died in 840, and his three surviving sons decided to divide up the territory in the Treaty of Verdun, in 843:

Lothair I, emperor since the year 817, was assigned the Central Franks with the imperial capitals of Aachen and Rome; Territories that were subdivided among his sons in Lotharingia, Burgundy, and northern Italy. Louis the German, became King of the East Franks. Charles the Bald, became king of the West Franks (present-day Germany), fighting against his nephew Pepin, King of Aquitaine. Later, through the treaties of Mersen (870) and Ribemont (880) a new division of the territories was made, to the detriment of Lotharingia. On December 12, 884, after a series of deaths, Emperor Charles III the Fat reunited most of the Carolingian Empire, although Boson of Provence held out as king around Vienne.

At the end of 887, his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, revolted and seized the title of King of the East Franks (present-day Germany). Carlos withdrew and died soon after, on January 13, 888; the absence of an authority favored regional fragmentation, abandoning the Carolingian lineage: Transjuran and Cisjuran Burgundy had their own kings, and in western France, Eudes, Count of Paris was elected king, as was Ranulf in Aquitaine. Ten years later, the Carolingians regained power in western France, where they ruled until 987, the year of Louis V's death.

Rome (Feudalism)

The pressure of the Lombards on the pope caused the king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, to carry out repeated campaigns in northern Italy between 756 and 758. The pope, in gratitude, confirmed him as king of the Franks (despite having usurped the title) and granted the rank of patrician to the royal family of France.

The situation escalated after Pipino's death. The Frankish kingdom was divided among his sons, again increasing Lombard pressure on the papacy. However, the reunification of the Franks under Charlemagne led to a new intervention in Italy in 774. After a brief battle, Charles seized the kingdom of Lombardy, which, while maintaining its autonomy, was integrated into the Carolingian Empire, which over time would unite most of Western Europe. Charlemagne sponsored a cultural renaissance and a political and religious unity, which crystallized with his coronation as Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in the year 800. His new empire considered itself heir to the Western Roman Empire, with the emperor as the highest temporal authority. of Europe and in charge of watching over Christianity.

After Charlemagne's conquests in Italy and the founding of the Papal States, northern Italy became part of the Carolingian territories as the Kingdom of Italy. On the other hand, the south would remain in constant conflict between Byzantines, Muslims and Normans. The north-south division of Italy left a deep mark on Italian history that is still visible to this day, with an industrialized north much more advanced than the south.

Given the occupation of the territory by the Lombards, the help of Charlemagne and the Franks to Leo III was vital. Thus began Caesaropapism, a close papal-vassal relationship. Part of the land seized from the Lombards was ceded to the pope, who then created a state in central Italy, the Papal States, the historical seed of the current Vatican City. These were administered directly by him or through vassals. Most of central Italy became an independent state under the rule of the popes. In gratitude, the pope crowned Charlemagne emperor of the West in the year 800.

The southern Lombard duchies were never conquered by Charlemagne, who had to march north to fight the Saxons and they were not part of his empire. The Lombard dukes of Benevento maintained their independence, eventually becoming the Principality of Benevento and pushing the Byzantines south. However, the assassination of Duke Sicardo de Benevento divided the country between his brother Siconulfo de Salerno, who was proclaimed prince of Salerno, and his murderer Radelchis, who seized power in Benevento. The division allowed nobles in Gaeta, Capua and Amalfi to gain autonomy, who formed counties and duchies of their own. To the south, Naples, Sicily and the southernmost part of the Italian peninsula (Bari, Calabria, Apulia) remained a Byzantine province.

The rise of Islam hit the south, which fell victim to raids from North Africa. Sardinia had been occupied by the Arabs in 710 after being abandoned by the Byzantines to their fate, but seventy years later, taking advantage of the distance from the Arab bases, there was a local revolt that established local governments known as giudicati. Corsica also suffered Muslim attacks, combined with Frankish, Lombard interventions and the Marquis of Tuscany, Bonifacio I, to secure the border.

In 826, a Byzantine defector offered Sicilian territory to the Muslim Emir of Ifriquiya, which would lead to a series of wars. By 965 the island had been converted into the Emirate of Sicily, from which attacks were launched on the ports of the peninsula. The Byzantines reformed their possessions in the southern part of the peninsula after repelling one of the Muslim attacks on Bari in 876, creating the Catapanato of Italy, at war with Muslims and Lombards.

Great Britain

Personas significativas

Nacimientos

370

Map of the world at the end of the centuryix.

Wars and Politics

• 802: Jayavarman Șssa founded the Khmer Empire in Cambodia.
• 809-817: War between the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarians.
• 811: Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus I dies in the Battle of Pliska, where Byzantines are defeated.
• 814: Charlemagne dies in Aachen.
• 818: Revolt of the Saqunda Arrabal in Qurtuba (Córdoba). Afterwards, when defeated and part emigrated, with part of them, from the Andalusí quarter in Fez (Morocco).
• 827: Aglabis land in Sicily.
• 840: Muere Ludovico Pio, which begins a new civil war in the Carolingian Empire.
• 841: Dublin is founded by the Vikings.
• 843: Treaty of Verdun
• 862: Rikovich Dynasty boom in present Russia. The Rúricos will rule the region for nearly a thousand years until 1612, when Basil IV of Russia died without an heir.
• 867: Basil I founded the Macedonic Dynasty, beginning a new golden age in the Eastern Roman Empire (Roman Eastern Empire).Byzantine).
• 878: Battle of Ethandun between Saxons and Vikings.
• 882: The Rus of Kiev, the first great State of Russia, is established.
• 885: Auge of Bagratuni Dynasty in Armenia.
• End of the Pallava Dynasty in southern India.

Culture and science

• It is thought that in this century the famous Anglo-Saxon poem was written Beowulf.
• 803: The construction of the Great Buddha of Leshan ends.
• 814: The tomb of the Apostle James is discovered in Compostela.
• 824: Chinese writer Han Yu die.
• 830: The house of wisdom is built in Baghdad.
• 833: Publication of the book Reintegration and comparison computation Al-Juarismi.
• 845: Buddhism is persecuted in China.
• 852: The oldest documented version of the parachute, the work of Abbas Ibn Firnas, called "Armen Firman" in a latinized version, is invented.
• 856: Begins the construction of the Buddhist temple of Prambanan in Indonesia.
• 859: Foundation of the University of Qarawiyyin, the oldest in the world (still in operation).
• 864: Bulgaria is Christianized by King Boris I.
• 868: Se print the First book in China: Diamond Sutra.
• 870: The castle of Prague is built.
• 870: Christianity of Serbia
• 875: The oldest documented version of the delta wing is invented, also by Armen Firman/Abbas Ibn Firnas.

Relevant people

• Abd al-Rahman III (891-961), future emir omeya and founder of the Caliphate of Córdoba (929-1031) in 929.
• Adi Shankara (788-820): Hindu thinker.
• Ahmad bin Hanbal (780-855): founding theologian of Hanbalism.
• Al-Juarismi (783-846): Persian "father" mathematician of the Algebra.
• Al-Jahiz (781-861): Arab writer.
• Alfonso II de Asturias (760-842): King of the Kingdom of Asturias, during his reign was discovered the tomb of the Apostle Santiago.
• Alfredo the Great (849-899): Wessex king, famous for his struggles against the Vikings.
• Árpád (840?-907): Great Prince of the Magyres.
• Armen Firman (Latinized version of Abbas Ibn Firnas), 810-887: Andalusian scientist, born in round and quirtubí of residence, famous for being an excellent manufacturer of lenses, and inventor of clepsidra, planetariums and the first documented ancestors to this day of parachute (852) and delta wing (878), among many other inventions and improvements.
• Basil I (811-886): Byzantine emperor.
• Boris I of Bulgaria (-907): first Christian king of Bulgaria.
• Charlemagne (742-814): King of the Franks, emperor of the Carolingian Empire.
• Clemente de Ohrid (840?-916): Archbishop of Bulgaria and writer.
• Han Yu (768-824): Chinese writer.
• Harald I (855-930): first king of Norway.
• Jayavarman II (770-850): founder of the Jemer Empire.
• John VIII (820-882): Pope of Rome, known by the legend of the "Papisa Juana".
• Kenneth I of Scotland (800-858): King of the picts and considered first king of Scotland.
• Leo VI the Sabio (866-912): Byzantine emperor.
• Juan Escoto Eriúgena or Erígena, philosopher (c. 810-c. 877)
• Ludovico Pio (778-840): King of the Carolingian Empire, son of Charlemagne.
• Naum de Preslav (830-910): saint, writer and master of Bulgarian origin.
• Ragnar Lodbrock (805?-865): Viking king, distinguished by leading Viking incursions into Christian territories in Europe
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927): King of the First Bulgarian Empire, famous for its military campaigns.
• Wang Geon (887-943): Korean king, founder of the Koryo dynasty.
• Emperor Xianzong of Tang (778-820): outstanding Chinese emperor.