566 ( DLXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

. The denomination 566 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the

Anno Domini The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Copti ...

became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* A Byzantine army, under command of

Baduarius Baduarius ( el, Βαδουάριος) was an East Roman aristocrat, the son-in-law of Byzantine emperor Justin II (r. 565–578). Theophanes the Confessor erroneously calls him a brother of the Emperor.. Biography Possibly the son or grandson of ...

, assists the

Gepids The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion ...

in their war against the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

. The Byzantines win the first battle in the lower

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

( Moesia), but Gepid King

Cunimund Cunimund (died 567) was the last king of the Gepids, falling in the Lombard–Gepid War (567) against the Lombards and Pannonian Avars. War with the Lombards Background The Gepids had held the important city of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Se ...

refuses to hand back the fortress city of

Sirmium Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyrian ...

(modern

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

), as he had promised. * Emperor

Justin II Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...

, facing an empty

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

, breaks the treaty with the Gepids that has existed since

565 __NOTOC__ Year 565 (Roman numerals, DLXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 565 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domin ...

. King

Alboin Alboin (530s – 28 June 572) was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572. He had a lasting effe ...

of the Lombards makes an

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

with the Avars under

Bayan I Bayan I reigned as the first khagan of the Avar Khaganate between 562 and 602. As the Göktürk Empire expanded westwards on the Eurasian Steppe during the 6th century, peoples such as the Avars (also known as the ''Pseudo-Avars'', ''Obri'', ...

, at the expense of tough conditions. They demand a tenth of the Lombards'

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

and half of the war

booty Booty may refer to: Music *Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 *Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 * Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by G ...

. * Justin II sends his cousin

Justin Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

to exile in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, where he is installed as '' Augustal prefect'' of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. There he is murdered in his sleep, and his head is cut off and brought to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(probably by assignment of Empress Sophia).

Europe

Ainmuire mac Sétnai Ainmuire mac Sétnai (died 569) or Ainmire or Ainmere was a High King of Ireland from the Cenél Conaill branch of the Uí Néill. He was the great-grandson of Conall Gulban (died 464), founder of this branch. He ruled from 566 to 569. He was the f ...

becomes High King of Ireland, and rules from 566–569 (this according to the

Book of Leinster The Book of Leinster ( mga, Lebor Laignech , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled c. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18 (cat. 1339). It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' "Book ...

Francia

*A poet from Italy named Venantius Fortunatus arrives at the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

court at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. With a strong grasp of traditional Roman poetry, Fortunatus impresses and entertains the Frankish royalty and aristocracy. The success of a Latin poet in Francia suggests that Roman culture persisted well after the Roman Empire disintegrated in Gaul in the late 5th century.

Asia

* Fei Di, age 12, succeeds his father Wen Di, as emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty. He honors his grand-aunt Zhang Yao'er with the title of Grand Empress, and she becomes his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. *

Kirtivarman I Kirttivarman I ( IAST: Kīrtti-varman; r. c. 566-592) was a ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (present-day Badami) in India. He ruled parts of present-day Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Kirttivarman was the son of his pr ...

succeeds his father

Pulakeshin I Pulakeshin (IAST: Pulakeśin, r. c. 540–567) was the first sovereign ruler of the Chalukya dynasty of Vatapi (modern Badami). He ruled parts of the present-day Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states in the western and cen ...

as king of the Chalukya Dynasty (

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

). During his rule he completes the subjugation of the Kadambas and annexes the port of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Unidentified

* A major

volcanic eruption Several types of volcanic eruptions—during which lava, tephra (ash, lapilli, volcanic bombs and volcanic blocks), and assorted gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure—have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are oft ...

occurs in the Antarctic.

Births

Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib ( ar, ٱلْعَبَّاسُبْنُ عَبْدِ ٱلْمُطَّلِبِ, al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; CE) was a paternal uncle and Sahabi (companion) of Muhammad, just three years older than his ...

, uncle of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

(approximate date) * Li Yuan, Emperor Gaozu of the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

(d.

635 __NOTOC__ Year 635 ( DCXXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 635 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

) * Xiao, empress of the Sui Dynasty (approximate date) *

Yuchi Chifan Yuchi Chifan () or Yuchi Fanchi ()The ''Book of Zhou'' gives her given name as Chifan, while the ''History of Northern Dynasties'' gives her given name as Fanchi. (566–595), later Buddhist nun name Huashou (華首), was a concubine of the Emper ...

, empress of

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...

(d.

595 __NOTOC__ Year 595 ( DXCV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 595 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

)

Deaths

* Domnall Ilchelgach, High King of Ireland * Forggus mac Muirchertaig, High King *

, Byzantine aristocrat and general *

, king of the Chalukya Dynasty (

) * Wen Di, emperor of the Chen Dynasty (b.

522 __NOTOC__ Year 522 ( DXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Symmachus and Boethius (or, less frequently, year 1275 ...

)

References

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