Four Saracen columns depart in 850 from…

Old regulations prescribing special dress for Christians and Jews are reinstated with new vigor.

Unlike his predecessors, al-Mutawakkil, who has reigned in Samarra from 847, applies a discriminatory policy toward Minority groups like the Nestorian Christians and Jews.

In a decree of 850, the caliph orders that these "Protected Peoples" be made to wear various specific identifying marks and honey-colored robes and even to make their slaves immediately identifiable in the marketplaces.

The caliph issues a yellow badge edict, and forbids non-Muslims to ride on horses.

These decrees also force the destruction of all churches and synagogues built since Islam had been established and confiscate one out of every ten Christian or Jewish homes with the stipulation that, where suitable, mosques should occupy the sites or that the sites should be left open.

The doors of remaining buildings are to be identified by wooden images of devils that are to be nailed to them.

The decree also stipulates that Jewish and Christian graves should be flat against the ground, which will identify them as non-Muslim ones.

Al-Mutawakkil bars Jews and Christians from ruling over Muslims, thus effectively removing them from government service, and limits their schooling to that which is taught by Jews and Christians, forbidding Muslims from teaching them.

The aggregate effect of these rulings is a means of identifying "infidels", their women and even their slaves, the doorways of their houses, and their graves, in order to expose them to the wrath of the mob.

Vijayalaya, a Chola chieftain, attacks the city of Tanjore, apparently with the approval of the Pallavas, his nominal overlords.

With the critical military assistance of the Velirs of Kodumbalur, he captures the city from his rivals, the Muttaraiyars, in approximately 850.

The region of Madras (Tamil Nadu), in southeast India located on the Coromandel coast of the Bay of Bengal, becomes, from 850, the seat of the independent Chola state inaugurated by Vijayalaya.

Fustat has become the largest Jewish community in the East by the mid-ninth century.

Hebrew is considered the primary language of trade between the Carolingian and 'Abbasid domains because Jews often serve as a mercantile bridge between the Latin- and Arab-speaking worlds,

Sallam, a Spanish Jewish merchant said to speak thirty languages, had in 845 reportedly reached China.

Ibn Laid al-Hassan, a Muslim traveler, writes of riots in 850, in China's Kansu province in which Jews are counted among the dead.

The unstable situation of the Balkan Slavs, located as they are on the frontier between the Eastern Empire and the semi-nomadic peoples of Asia, enable them to assert some measure of independence.

The basis of the Serbs' social organization is the zadruga, or extended family.

Several zadruge are grouped locally under a zupan, or chieftain.

With kinship and locality playing such a pivotal role in social organization, sustained collaboration within larger groups is difficult.

Several zupani might, on occasion, unite under a veliki zupan, or grand chieftain, who for a short time would succeed in establishing control over a substantial territory and declare himself king or emperor.

The first such state to which Serbs trace a political identity is created in about 850 by Vlastimir.

This state is centered on an area in eastern Montenegro and southern Serbia known as Raska and extends over the valleys of the Piva, Tara, Lim, and Ibar rivers (or roughly between the Durmitor and Kopaonik mountain ranges).

The kingdom initially accepts the supremacy of Constantinople.

…Bari to sack Apulia, …

…Campania, …

…Calabria, and …

…Abruzzi.

The Viking Conquest of Dorestad and Rorik's Rule in Frisia (850)

By 850, the Danish Viking leaders Godfrid Haraldsson and Rorik, cousins and members of the Danish royal family, launch a major campaign against the Frankish-controlled Low Countries, targeting Frisia and its wealthy trading centers.

Godfrid and Rorik’s Campaign Against Lothair I

• Godfrid Haraldsson, having once been a baptized ally in Lothair I’s retinue, had returned to Denmark after falling out with the emperor in the 840s.
• He joins forces with his cousin, Rorik, and together they raid Dorestad and Utrecht, two of the most important commercial centers in Northern Europe.
• Rorik seizes control of Frisia, while Godfrid devastates Flanders and Artois, before returning to Denmark for the winter.

Lothair I’s Response: Recognizing Rorik as a Vassal (850)

• After Rorik and Godfrid conquer Dorestad and Utrecht, Emperor Lothair I is forced to acknowledge Rorik as ruler of most of Frisia.
• Instead of attempting to oust the Vikings militarily, Lothair grants Rorik de facto control, ensuring that Frisia remains nominally within the Frankish realm.
• As a sign of Lothair’s sovereignty, coins minted at Dorestad continue to bear his name, symbolizing that the region is still officially under imperial control, even though Rorik exercises practical authority.

The Decline of Dorestad

• Though once a prosperous trade hub, Dorestad had already begun to decline economically due to:
  • Increased Viking attacks that had weakened its commercial activity.
  • Shifting trade routes, particularly as the importance of riverine trade moved to other Frankish cities.
  • The silting of the Rhine, which made access to the port increasingly difficult.
• By leaving Dorestad in Viking hands, Lothair suffers little financial loss, as the city was already waning in influence.

The Significance of Rorik’s Rule in Frisia

• This marks a shift from sporadic Viking raids to political integration, as Norse leaders assume semi-independent rule under Frankish overlordship.
• The tolerance of Viking rulers like Rorik in Frisia foreshadows the later granting of Normandy to Rollo in 911, when the Franks again choose pragmatic accommodation over outright warfare.
• Viking control over Frisia and Dorestad allows them to continue launching attacks deeper into Frankish lands, further weakening Carolingian power.

By 850, Rorik and Godfrid’s conquest of Dorestad and Frisia signals the growing Viking influence in the Carolingian world, as Norse leaders transition from raiders to rulers, using their foothold in Frisia to expand their political and military power in Northwestern Europe.