Editing 720

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2011}}
{{about|the year|the number|720 (number)||720 (disambiguation)}}
{{Year nav|720}}

{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Nihonshoki tanaka version.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Page from a copy of the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'']] 
[[File:Fujiwara-Fuhito.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|[[Fujiwara no Fuhito]] (659–720)]]
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Year '''720''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DCCXX]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Monday]] of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 720 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.

== Events ==
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=== By place ===

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* Summer &ndash; Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian|Leo III]] secures the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] frontier, by inviting [[Slavs|Slavic]] settlers into the depopulated districts of the [[Thracesian Theme]] (western [[Asia Minor]]). He undertakes a set of civil reforms, and reorganizes the [[Theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] structure in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] region. Leo's 2-year-old son  [[Constantine V]] is associated on the [[throne]], and married to [[Tzitzak]], daughter of the [[Khazars|Khazar]] ruler (''[[khagan]]'') [[Bihar (Khazar)|Bihar]].

==== Europe ====
* [[Islamic invasion of Gaul#Umayyad conquest of Septimania|Umayyad conquest of Gaul]]: Governor [[Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani|Al-Samh]] continues his campaign; he makes [[Narbonne]] the capital city of Muslim [[Septimania]] (Southern [[France]]), and uses it as a base for [[Roundup (history)|razzia]]s. King [[Ardo]] is killed, and becomes the last ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom of [[Hispania]]. Some  [[Visigoths]] refuse to adopt the [[Islam|Muslim faith]], and flee north to [[Aquitaine]]. This marks the end of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]].
* [[Arab Muslim|Muslim]] forces under Al-Samh begin the prolonged [[siege]] of [[Carcassonne]], a [[Defensive wall|fortified]] Visigothic town located in the [[Languedoc-Roussillon]].<ref>David Nicolle (2008). Poitiers AD 732, Charles Martel turns the Islamic tide (p. 17). {{ISBN|978-184603-230-1}}</ref>

==== Britain ====
* King [[Ine of Wessex]] builds a stone [[Church (building)|church]] at [[Glastonbury Abbey]] in [[Somerset]] (approximate date).

==== Arabian Empire ====
* [[Muslim conquest of Transoxiana#Umayyad–Türgesh Wars|Umayyad conquest of Transoxiana]]: The first [[Turgesh]] attack on [[Arab Muslims|Muslim-Arabs]] in [[Transoxiana]] leads to the [[Relief of Qasr al-Bahili|siege and relief]] of the Umayyad [[garrison]] at the fortress of Qasr al-Bahili, near [[Samarkand]] (or [[721]]).
* [[Yazid ibn al-Muhallab]], former governor of [[Iraq]], revolts and is defeated at [[Basra]], by [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] forces under [[Al-Abbas ibn al-Walid]] and [[Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik]]. He is arrested and later executed.
* [[February 10]] &ndash; Caliph [[Umar II]] is poisoned by a [[Domestic worker|servant]], and dies in [[Aleppo]] ([[Syria]]) after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousin [[Yazid II]]. 
* The Umayyad Caliphate reaches its greatest extent in Spain, controlling all of it except a small region in the north controlled by the [[Kingdom of Asturias]].

==== Asia ====
* In the Chinese capital of [[Chang'an]], the walls of a gated city [[Ward (country subdivision)|ward]] collapse during the night, which unexpectedly forms a large pool out in the open. This is most likely caused by a [[sinkhole]] created when ground water eroded the [[limestone]] [[bedrock]] beneath. As a consequence of this, more than 500 homes are destroyed (approximate date).

==== Americas ====
*The [[Third Tikal-Calakmul War]] begins.

=== By topic ===

==== Literature ====
* The [[Nihon Shoki]] (日本書紀), one of the oldest history books in [[Japan]], is completed under the editorial supervision of [[Prince Toneri]], and with the assistance of [[Ō no Yasumaro]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD 697 | author-link = William George Aston | first = William George | last = Aston | page = xv | chapter = Introduction | publisher = Tuttle Publishing | edition = Tra | date = July 2005 | orig-year = 1972 | isbn = 978-0-8048-3674-6}}, from the original Chinese and Japanese</ref>

==== Religion ====
* Contact between the [[Church in Wales|Welsh Church]] and [[Saint-Yvi|Yvi]] of [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]] is the last known link between two [[Celtic nations|Celtic]] countries. After this, each nation goes its own separate way (approximate date).

==== Astronomy ====
* A second series of gravitational interactions with [[Saturn]], the second since [[1660s BC|1664 BC]], once again force the [[Centaur (minor planet)]] [[2060 Chiron|Chiron]] into a new orbit, shifting it from orbiting in the edges of the Solar System to orbiting near the inner regions.
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== Births ==
* [[Baizhang Huaihai]], Chinese [[Zen]] Buddhist monk (d. [[814]])
* [[Bernard, son of Charles Martel|Bernard]], Frankish [[Nobility|nobleman]] (approximate date)
* [[Bertrada of Laon]], wife of [[Pippin the Short]] (d. [[783]])
* [[Modestus (Apostle of Carantania)|Modestus]], Irish [[missionary]] (approximate date)
* [[Thierry IV]], Frankish nobleman (approximate date)

== Deaths ==
* [[Ardo]], king of the [[Visigoths]] (or [[721]])
* [[Aubert of Avranches]], Frankish bishop<ref>{{cite book |last1=Baxter |first1=Ron |title=The Royal Abbey of Reading |year=2016 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |isbn=978-1-78327-084-2 |page=314 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uvKjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA314 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Fujiwara no Fuhito]], Japanese statesman (b. [[659]])
* [[Muhammad ibn Marwan]], Muslim general (or [[719]])
* [[Odile of Alsace]], Frankish [[abbess]] (approximate date)
* [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]], Muslim general (b. [[670]])
* [[Umar II]], Muslim caliph (b. [[682]])
* [[Xue Ne]], general of the [[Tang dynasty]] (b. [[649]])
* [[Yazid ibn al-Muhallab]], Muslim governor (b. [[672]])
* [[Yeh Fa-shan]], [[Taoism|Daoist]] wonder-worker (b. [[631]])
* [[Djamila (singer)|Jamila]], Arabian [[qiyan]]-courtesan singer

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:720| ]]