8th century

(7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries)

Events

• The Iberian peninsula is conquered by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost eight centuries of Muslim presence there.
• Sometime this century, Beowulf is probably composed.
• Borobodur, the famous Indonesian Buddhist structure, begins construction, probably as a non-Buddhist shrine.
• Buddhist Jataka stories are translated into Syriac and Arabic as Kalilag and Damnag.
• An account of Buddha's life is translated into Greek by Saint John of Damascus, and widely circulated to Christians as the story of Barlaam and Josaphat.
• The Nara period begins in Japan.
• The Moravian principality and Nitrian principality arise in central Europe (see Great Moravia)
• Many Volga Bulgarians convert to Islam.
• Kanem-Bornu arises north of Lake Chad.

Significant persons

• Alcuin, English monk, scholar, and teacher
• Charlemagne, king of the Franks from 771 to 814
• Charles Martel
• The Venerable Bede, English scholar
• Pepin the Short
• Harun al-Rashid, fifth Abbasid Caliph
• Li Po, Chinese poet
• Du Fu, Chinese poet

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• heavy plow in use in the Rhine valley
• horsecollar in use in Northern Europe in 8th or 9th century - perhaps introduced from Asia
• papermaking introduced from China to Arabs
• beginning of the decline of the Classical Maya civilization
• ca. 770: iron horseshoes come into common use

Decades and years