Kofuku, the titular temple of the powerful…

Rains and heavy storms around the southern seaport of Yangzhou destroy over a thousand ships and boats in the usual congested waterway traffic of the Tang Dynasty.

Sculpture in Unified Silla had freed itself of stiffness at the outset of the eighth century and taken on a softened naturalistic look.

The standing Amitabha and Maitreya (dated 721) from the site of Kamsan Temple may be considered typical examples of the first half of the eighth century and as stylistic stepping stones leading to the fully mature sculptures of the Sokkuram cave temple of the mid-eighth century.

The main Buddha of the cave temple has a massive body and a full, round face.

Yet this is no mere hulking physical mass of monumental stone.

The tranquil facial expression, the solid massive curves of the upper torso, and the somewhat formalized, simple drapery are skillfully synthesized and radiate the spiritual power and grace of the Buddha.

The surrounding reliefs on oblong slabs are of the same quality.

In the case of the bodhisattvas, shapely feminine bodies are superbly reproduced on the rough granite surface; the curves, however, are covered by thin robes, executed in a stylized manner to de-emphasize the physical attractions and enhance the spiritual qualities.

These figures may have been inspired by similar T'ang figures, such as those executed in 703 for the Pao-ching Temple in Sian, China.

The Sokkuram figures, however, lack the secular and erotic character of the T'ang sculptures.

Silla is concerned also by the Balhae resurgence.

Xuanzong's reign had begun well.

He has carried out a sweeping reform of the bureaucracy, which had become vastly inflated by great numbers of nominal and supernumerary officials, many of whom had been appointed by patronage or by the open purchase of their posts.

Under Xuanzong, the purchase of office has been restricted and the authority of the throne, the efficient functioning of the bureaucracy, and the finances of the state have been largely restored.

Moreover, the canal system, upon which the capital at Ch'ang-an relies and which had fallen into decay while Empress Wu resided in Lo-yang, has been restored to action.

Successful campaigns have been waged against the Tibetans, the Turks, and the Khitan.

During this early stage of Xuanzong's reign, which lasts until about 721, he has successfully maintained a balance of power and influence between the competing factions of the examination-recruited ministers who had served the empress Wu, the members of the Imperial clan, and the palace officials and members of the families of the imperial consorts.

But a period of wide-ranging reforms in administration had begun in 720, and the whole structure of central government is changed in such a way as to concentrate more and more authority in the hands of the chief ministers.

A large-scale re-registration of the population produces a greatly increased number of taxpayers and restores state control over vast numbers of unregistered families.

The new household and land taxes are expanded.

At the same time there is a marked resurgence of the influence of the old aristocracy at court, and the period beginning in 721 is to be one of continuous political tension between the aristocrats and the examination-recruited professional bureaucrats.

The Türgesh name first appears in Chinese sources in 651, by which time the Turgesh dwelt in Ili Valley, and disappears after 766.

The Turgesh Kaganate seems to have come into existence towards the end of the seventh century, after a massive revolt against the Western Turkic khan, a Chinese puppet.

The Turgesh leader was Ushyly (Wushile), who titled himself Baga Tarkhan and led a strong army to victory, putting the puppet khan to full speed flight.

His power soon spanned from the present-day Zhetysu area to Turpan and Kucha.

Ushyly Kaghan had then decided to ally with Tang China and the Kyrgyz people to stem the rise of the Second Göktürk Empire, ruled by Khapghan Kaghan.

Turgesh and Göktürks/Türküts had clashed in 698 in a battle fought at Bolchu (in modern Dzungaria) where the latter side, led by Bilge Tonyukuk, prevailed: the Yabgu (Ruler of West) and Shad (Ruler of East) of the Turgesh were killed and Ushyly Kaghan himself had been taken prisoner and had to concede vassalage.

Eight years after this burning defeat, Ushyly died and was replaced by his son, Soko, who fought to retain independence from the Göktürks/Türküts.

He had been defeated in 701 in Transoxiana, southeast of Samarkand, again by Tonyukuk, and finally in 711, when he was killed at Bolchu against Kül Tigin and Bilge Shad as he was trying to strike an alliance with Tang China.

The Turgesh had been put under the rule of Bars Bek; as we know from the Orkhon Inscriptions, in those years the main subdivision in Kara (Black) and Sary (Yellow) Turgesh was established.

Soko's brother Chenu, perhaps sensing the impending disaster, had revolted even before the battle and fled to the court of Kapagan Kaghan.

Suluk's aim is to reconquer all of Transoxiana from the Arab invaders—his war is paralleled, much more westwards, by the Khazar empire.

In 721, Turgesh forces, led by Kül Chor, defeat the Caliphal army commanded by Sa'id ibn Abdu'l-Aziz near Samarkand.

Sa'id's successor, Al-Kharashi, massacres Turks and Sogdian refugees in Khujand, causing an influx of refugees towards the Turgesh.

The Bulgarians, who had conquered much of the Balkan Peninsula in about 720, now extend their domain to the lowlands of what is today central Albania.

Many Illyrians flee from coastal areas to the mountains, exchanging a sedentary peasant existence for the itinerant life of the herdsman.

Other Illyrians will intermarry with the conquerors and eventually assimilate.

The invaders in general have destroyed or weakened Roman cultural centers in the lands that are to become Albania.

Al-Samh returns to al-Andalus to gather more Muslim fighters prior to attacking the strongly defended Christian city of Toulouse, a possession that will open up Aquitaine to him on the same terms as Septimania.

He returns to France with a massive army of over Arab and Moorish infantry, horsemen and mercenaries, as well as siege engines.

The siege of Toulouse, with its near-impregnable walls, lasted until early summer.

The defenders, short of provisions, are close to breaking when, around June 9, 721, Odo leads a mixed force of Aquitanians and Franks in attacking al-Samh's rear and launching a highly successful encircling movement.

A major, decisive battle ensues.

Caught between the Toulouse defenders and Odo's men, al-Samh tries to break out but is trapped with the bulk of his troops in a place called Balat where he makes a determined last stand as his army is decimated by the Christian forces.

This battle will be recorded as one of the worst military defeats in Muslim history, pushing them back across the Pyrenees into Spain and hindering the spread of Umayyad control westward from Narbonne into Aquitaine.

Al-Samh, critically wounded, manages to get away with a fraction of his forces, but …

… dies shortly afterward at Narbonne, leaving Anbasa ibn Suhaym Al-Kalbi as governor of al-Andalus.

Liutprand, following the death of Theodo, had turned from his former Agilolfing allies to bind himself to Charles, duke of the Franks, and …

…now concentrates his chief warmaking energies on taking Bavarian castles on the River Adige.