__NOTOC__ Year 568 ( DLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 568 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

By place

Europe

* Spring – The Lombards, led by King Alboin, cross the Julian Alps. Their invasion of

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

is almost unopposed; withered Byzantine forces, that remain in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

and are based at Ravenna, are no match for the overwhelming Lombard incursion. Residents of the Italian countryside flee at the Lombards' approach. Some retreat to the barrier islands along the shore of the Northern Adriatic Sea, where they establish permanent settlements: the nascent city of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. * The Byzantines abandon present-day

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and Tuscany, to establish a frontier march in the hills south of Ravenna (still known as ''Le Marche''). Bavarians, Sarmatians, Saxons and Taifali, join the invasion ''en route''. As they advance, the vacuum left behind them on the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

is filled by Avars,

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

and

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

. * Sigebert I, king of

Austrasia Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the F ...

, repels a second attack from the Avars. His half brother

Chilperic I Chilperic I (c. 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he en ...

strangles his wife Galswintha at the instigation of his mistress Fredegund. * Liuvigild is declared co-king and heir after the second year of the reign of his brother Liuva I. He becomes ruler over the Visigoths in

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

(Eastern Spain). * Mummolus, Gallo-Roman prefect, defeats the Lombards at Embrun and expels them from Provence (Southern Gaul). * The

Avar Khaganate The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...

attempts to expel

Kutrigurs Kutrigurs were Turkic Eurasian nomads, nomadic equestrians who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byza ...

who had fled the

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and ...

, ordering them to go south of the

Sava River The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

; those who leave generally fall under rule of the Turks.

Britain

* Æthelric succeeds his brother Adda as king of Bernicia (modern Scotland). He rules from 568–572 (approximate date). * Battle of Wibbandun: Ceawlin of Wessex defeats Æthelberht of Kent (according to the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

'').

Asia

* The Turks and Sassanids succeed in destroying the Hepthalites on the eastern frontier (approximate date). * A Turkish

khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

sends emissaries to the Byzantine Empire (approximate date).

By topic

Religion

* Emperor Justin II and his wife

Sophia Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places *Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolina, an unincorpor ...

send the ''

Cross of Justin II The ''Cross of Justin II'' (also known as ''Crux Vaticana'', Latin for "Vatican Cross") is a processional cross dating from the sixth century that is kept in the Treasury in St. Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City. It is also one of the oldest surviv ...

'' ("Vatican Cross") to Rome, to improve the relations with the Byzantine Empire.McClanan, p. 167 * Paulinus I, patriarch of

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

, flees with the treasures of his church and transfers them to the island of Grado.

Births

Feng Deyi Feng Lun (; 568–627), courtesy name Deyi (), better known as Feng Deyi, formally Duke Miao of Mi, was a Chinese official of the Sui and Tang dynasties who served as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Gaozu of Tang and Emperor Taizong ...

, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d.

627 __NOTOC__ Year 627 ( DCXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 627 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

) * Ingund, princess, spouse of Visigoth prince Hermenegild (d.

584 __NOTOC__ Year 584 ( DLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 584 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

) * Liu Wenjing, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 619)

Deaths

* Adda, king of Bernicia (approximate date) * Galswintha, queen consort of Neustria, married to

(b.

540 __NOTOC__ Year 540 ( DXL) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1293 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

)

References

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