The previous part is here: https://bartoll.se/2024/03/history-matrix-part51/
All parts of this series can be found here: https://bartoll.se/world-playbook-quickstart/
In mid-668 AD, the Byzantine/Roman Emperor Constans II was killed in his bath during a mutiny at Syracuse. Likely, Constans was assassinated by his chamberlain on orders of the Byzantine general Mezezius who shortly after was proclaimed emperor by the army.
After a 27-year reign, Constans was succeeded by his son Constantine IV (the “Bearded”,) alongside his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius as co-emperors.
Constantine IV organized an expedition to suppress the military revolt in Syracuse, Sicily.
In the Arabian Empire, Caliph Muawiyah I received an invitation from Saborios, the Byzantine commander of the troops in Armenia, to help overthrow the new emperor Constantine IV in Constantinople. He sent a Muslim army under his son Yazid, and before the end of the year, Yazid reached Chalcedon in Bithynia where took the important Byzantine center of Amorium (present-day Turkey.)
In Britannia, Theodore of Tarsus was made archbishop of Canterbury. He introduced a strict Roman parochial system that became the model for the so-called secular state.
In 669 AD, during the spring, Arab forces led by Yazid had taken Chalcedon, on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, threatening the Byzantine capital Constantinople. However, the Muslim-Arab forces were decimated by the lack of resources as famine and disease hit them. Yazid, the Arab commander, retreated to the island of Cyzicus (present-day Turkey.)
In 670 AD, the Arab-Byzantine War continued as the Arab fleet dominated the Aegean Sea and conquered the strategic islands of Rhodes, Cos and Chios. Eventually, the shore on the southern part of the Sea of Marmara was taken, which provided an excellent base at Cyzicus to begin the blockade of Constantinople by sea.
In Britannia, King Oswiu of Northumbria died during a pilgrimage to Rome in the company of bishop Wilfrid. He was succeeded by his son Ecgfrith, while his youngest son Ælfwine became king of Deira. Oswiu was buried at Whitby Abbey, alongside Edwin of Northumbria.
In 671 AD, In Italy, Perctarit returned from exile and reclaimed his realm, which was being ruled on behalf of Garibald, since his father King Grimoald I died. He deposed the young king, and became the new ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy. Shortly after, Perctarit made Roman Catholicism the official religion. However, he did not recognize papal authority. Not as it matters, as the pope is simply a public figure, a puppet of those who actually controls the Catholic Church.
In Britannia, the Battle of two Rivers took place where King Ecgfrith of Northumbria defeated the Picts under King Drest VI, in the vicinity of Moncreiffe Island, near Perth (Scotland.) After the battle the Picts are reduced to into slavery, and subjected to captivity for the next 14 years.
In 672 AD, King Cenwalh of Wessex died after a 31-year reign, in which he has lost much of his territory to Welsh and Mercian forces. He was succeeded by his widow Seaxburh.
In 673 AD, King Chlothar III of Neustria and Burgundy died after a reign of 16 years, in which he has been a puppet of the Neustrian mayor of the palace, Ebroin. He was succeeded by his brother Theuderic III.
As Theuderic was not as easily managed, the Burgundian nobles, under the leadership of bishop Leodegar and Adalrich, invited Childeric II to become king in Neustria and Burgundy. He invaded Theuderic’s kingdom and displaced his brother, becoming sole king of the Frankish Kingdom.
In Britannia, King Ecgberht I of Kent died after a reign of nearly 9 years. He was succeeded by his brother Hlothhere.
In 674 AD, after years of planning and building up dominance, the Arab fleet entered the Sea of Marmara and appeared before the southern walls of Constantinople to blockade the Byzantine capital.
During the summer, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, companion and standard-bearer of Muhammad, was killed during the first attempt to lay siege to Constantinople.
And as winter approached, the Arab forces under Yazid (the son of caliph Muawiyah I) retired to Cyzicus (Turkey.) For the next 4 years the Arab fleet installed a loose blockade around Constantinople.
Meanwhile, Muslim-Arab forces raided Crete, killing and enslaving many soldiers.
In Britannia, Æthelthryth, former queen of Northumbria, gave away large areas of land to bishop Wilfrid to found Hexham Abbey. It was also around this time that the first glass windows were placed in English churches.
In 675 AD, the new king of Neustria and Burgundy, Childeric II, was murdered by a band of dissatisfied Neustrians, along with his wife Bilichild and their 5-year-old son Dagobert, while hunting in the forest of Livry.
Theuderic III reclaimed the throne of his elder brother Childeric II, as he inherited the Frankish kingdoms of Neustria and Burgundy.
In Britannia, King Wulfhere of Mercia died after a 17-year reign, in which he had extended his sway over much of England south of the Humber River, including Essex, Surrey, and part of Wessex north of the Thames. Wulfhere was succeeded by his brother Æthelred.
In Japan, a platform for astrologers to observe the stars was erected for the first time in history. Also, Emperor Tenmu decreed the end of serfdom (debt bondage and servitude.) He also ordered an end to granting lands to Princes of the Blood, to Princes and to Ministers and Temples.
In 676 AD, King Æthelred of Mercia invaded Kent, in an attempt to enforce overlordship and diminish Kentish influence in Surrey and London. His armies destroyed the Diocese of Rochester (the seat of the bishops in West Kent,) and ravaged the surrounding countryside.
Æthelred also founded the monastery at Breedon on the Hill on the site of The Bulwarks.
In 678 AD, during the autumn, Byzantine/Roman Emperor Constantine IV confronted the Arab besiegers in a head-on engagement. The Byzantine fleet, equipped with Greek fire, destroyed the Muslim fleet at Sillyon, ending the Arab threat to Europe, and forcing Yazid to lift the siege on land and sea.
In Britannia, King Æthelred of Mercia defeated the Northumbrian forces under King Ecgfrith, in a battle near the River Trent. After the battle, Archbishop Theodore helped to resolve differences between the two, Æthelred agreeing to pay a Weregild to avoid any resumption of hostilities.
Meanwhile, Wilfrid, bishop of York, was at the height of his power and owned vast estates throughout Northumbria. After his refusal to agree to a division of his see, Ecgfrith and Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, had him banished from Northumbria.
In 679 AD, Emperor Constantine IV signed a peace treaty, of a nominal 30-year duration, with Caliph Muawiyah I of the Umayyad Caliphate. Constantine paid an annual tribute of 3,000 pounds of gold, 50 horses and 50 slaves. The Arab garrisons were withdrawn from their bases on the Byzantine coastlands, including Crete and Cyzicus.
In Europe, King Dagobert II was murdered during a hunt, near Stenay-sur-Meuse (Ardennes,) likely on orders from Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace of Austrasia. He was succeeded by Theuderic III, who became sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.
In Britannia, King Æthelred of Mercia married Princess Osthryth, sister of King Ecgfrith of Northumbria.
In 680 AD, after only a year of peace, the Byzantine Empire was yet again at war. This time, the Bulgars under Asparukh subjugated the country of current-day Bulgaria, north of the Balkan Mountains. Emperor Constantine IV led a combined land and sea operation against the invaders and besieged their fortified camp in Dobruja.
Months later, The Byzantine army of roughly 25,000 men under Constantine IV was defeated by the Bulgars and their Slavic allies in the Danube Delta. Constantine retreated to Nesebar to seek treatment for a leg injury.
In Europe, King Wamba was deposed after an 8-year reign, and forced to retire to a monastery. He was succeeded by Erwig who became ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
Meanwhile in Italy, King Perctarit made his son Cunipert co-ruler of the Lombard Kingdom. He signed a formal peace treaty with Constantine IV of the Byzantine/Roman Empire.
In 681 AD, Emperor Constantine IV was forced to acknowledge the Bulgar state in Moesia, and to pay protection money to avoid further inroads into Byzantine Thrace. Consequently, Constantine created the Theme of Thrace, a province located at the south-eastern Balkans, of the Byzantine Empire.
Later that year, Constantine IV had his brothers Heraclius and Tiberius mutilated, so they would be unable to rule. He ordered that their images no longer would appear on any coinage, and that their names be removed from official documentation.
To be continued in the next part.