644

Updated on Oct 03, 2024

Edit

Comment

Year 644 (DCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 644 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Byzantine Empire

Valentinus, Byzantine general, attempts to usurp the throne of his son-in-law Constans II. He appears at the gates of Constantinople with a contingent of Byzantine troops, and demands to be crowned emperor. His claim is rejected, and Valentinus is lynched by the populace.

Britain

Oswine, son of the late king Osric of Deira, manages, despite armed objections from King Oswiu of Bernicia, to establish himself as king of Deira (Northern England). His succession, probably the choice of the people of Deira, splits the Kingdom of Northumbria.

Arabian Empire

November 6 – Caliph Umar, age 65, dies of wounds inflicted on November 3 by the Persian slave Piruz Nahavandi at Medina, after a 10-year reign. On his death bed he appoints a committee to determine his successor. They select Uthman ibn Affan, who becomes caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.

Asia

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sends a Chinese expeditionary force, to invade and annex the Tarim Basin kingdom of Karasahr in Xinjiang, a vassal of the Western Turkic Khaganate. The oasis state is conquered, and Western Turks sent to assist Karasahr are defeated by the Tang forces.

Zenkoji, a Buddhist temple and landmark spot in Nagano, Japan, officially built by Empress Kogyoku.

Births

K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II, ruler of Palenque

Li Jiao, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 713)

Deaths

October 10 – Paulinus, Archbishop of York

Umar I, Muslim caliph (b. 579)

Otto, mayor of the palace (Austrasia)

Radulf, king of Thuringia (approximate date)

Trudpert, Irish missionary (or 607)

Valentinus, Byzantine general and usurper

References

644 Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Contents