Penda, a son of Pybba, succeeds his…

Li Shimin is by 626 fearful that he will be killed by Li Jiancheng, and his staff members Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Zhangsun Wuji are repeatedly encouraging Li Shimin to attack Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji first—while Wei Zheng is encouraging Li Jiancheng to attack Li Shimin first.

Li Jiancheng persuades Emperor Gaozu to remove Fang and Du, as well as Li Shimin's trusted guard officers Yuchi Jingde and Cheng Zhijie , from Li Shimin's staff.

Zhangsun, who remains on Li Shimin's staff, continues to try to persuade Li Shimin to attack first.

In summer 626, the Eastern Turkish khaganate is making another attack, and under Li Jiancheng's suggestion, Emperor Gaozu, instead of sending Li Shimin to resist the Turks as he was inclined initially, decides to send Li Yuanji instead.

Li Yuanji is given command of much of the army previously under Li Shimin's control, further troubling Li Shimin, who believes that with the army in Li Yuanji's hands, he will be unable to resist an attack.

Li Shimin has Yuchi summon Fang and Du back to his mansion secretly, and then on one night submits an accusation to Emperor Gaozu that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji are committing adultery with Emperor Gaozu's concubines.

Emperor Gaozu, in response, issues summonses to Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji for the next morning, convening the senior officials Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda to examine Li Shimin's accusations.

As Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji approach the central gate leading to Emperor Gaozu's palace, Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin carries out the ambush he had set.

He personally fires an arrow that kills Li Jiancheng.

Subsequently, Yuchi kills Li Yuanji.

Li Shimin's forces enter the palace and, under the intimidation of Li Shimin's forces, Emperor Gaozu agrees to create Li Shimin crown prince, and two months later passes the throne to him (as Emperor Taizong).

Li Jiancheng's and Li Yuanji's sons are all executed as well, with Emperor Gaozu not daring to oppose the action.

Emperor Gaozu, as retired emperor, does not appear to have tried to exert much influence in the reign of his son Emperor Taizong, and not much is recorded about his activities.

Indeed, Emperor Taizong, almost immediately, begins reversing some of his policies, including his policies of creating many relatives to be imperial princes (which Emperor Taizong reverses later in 626, reducing the ranks of most of those princes to dukes) and Emperor Gaozu's gathering of many ladies in waiting (which Emperor Taizong will reverse in 628, releasing about three thousand ladies in waiting from service, although Emperor Taizong himself, later in his reign, appears to have gathered as many if not more).

The Avars continue to war against the Romans, in 626 surrounding and almost occupying Constantinople itself with a horde of about eighty thousand men (including large contingents of Slavs, Bulgars, and other "barbarians").

Khosrau II, planning an all-out effort against Constantinople, returns to Anatolia with two armies—of unknown size, presumably more than fifty thousand men each.

He sends one army to besiege Constantinople and another to oppose Heraclius.

The Persian led by Shahin Vahmanzadegan, advance to the Bosporus on the Asiatic side of the city, hoping to join the Avars in their assault on the land walls of Constantinople.

The Theodosian Walls are stormed with the most up-to-date siege equipment in the form of traction trebuchets.

The Avars have also mobile armored shelters (medieval 'sows') and siege towers, the latter covered in hides for fire protection.

The defense of the capital (twelve thousand well-trained imperial troops) is in the hands of patriarch Sergius I and Bonus as magister militum.

During the attack, Sergius maintains the morale of the valiant garrison by proceeding about the walls, bearing the image of Christ to ward off fire, and by painting upon the gates of the western walls images of the Virgin and child to ward off attacks launched by the Avars—the “breed of darkness.” On July 31, the Avars and Persian allies under Shahrbaraz launch an attack along the entire length of the Theodosian Walls (about 5.7 kilometers), the main effort concentrated against the central section, particularly the low-lying mesoteichion.

After a fierce infantry battle on the walls, the imperial army holds off repeated assaults on the city.

Emperor Heraclius makes arrangements for a new army under his brother Theodore to operate against the Persians in western Anatolia while he returns to his own army in Pontus.

The primitive Avar fleet is to transport Persian units across the Bosporus, but the Avars withdraw when Roman ships defeat the canoes manned by Slavs, upon whom the nomad Avars depend for their naval strength.

On August 7, the Avars, having suffered terrible losses, running short of food and supplies, burn their siege engines, abandon the siege and retreat to the Balkan Peninsula.

The imperial forces achieve an decisive victory at Blachernae under the protection of the Church of the Virgin Mary.

The defenders celebrate their victory by singing Romanos' great hymn Akathistos, with choir and crowd alternating in the chant of the Alleluia.

The hymn (still sung in a Lenten service) commemorates those days when Constantinople survived as a fortress under ecclesiastical leadership, its defenders protected by the icons and united by their liturgy.

This they sing in Greek, as befits a people whose culture is now Greek and no longer Latin.

Heraclius, his army reduced by campaigning to less than thirty thousand men, is on the defensive in Pontus in 626, when Khosrau orders an exceptional levy of troops from across his empire to revive the faltering war effort.

Shahin Vahmanzadegan is put in charge of these new recruits, together with a large number of veterans, and sent against Heraclius, who, apparently leaving a strong imperial garrison in Trapezus, withdraws northeastward along the Black Sea into …

…Colchis, where he halts the Persians by aggressive defensive-offensive operations along the Phasis River.

By attracting the Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan in Anatolia, he provides Theodore with the opportunity to defeat them.

The dejected Shahin falls ill and dies and Khosrau, enraged at Shahin's failure, mistreats the general's corpse, which had been sent to him preserved in salt.

By the end of the summer, Heraclius threatens the communication of the Persians at Chalcedon.

Both Meccans and Muslims prepare, in the aftermath of Uhud, for the decisive battle that must eventually come.

Abu Sufyan, whose position as leader is no longer undisputed, sets about forging alliances with surrounding nomadic tribes in order to build up strength for another advance on Medina.

Muhammad leads or sanctions razzias that are apparently aimed at extending his own alliances and at preventing others from joining the Meccans.

The success of the Meccans' rousing of tribes against Muhammad reaps disastrous consequences for him and the Muslims with two main losses: one was when a Muslim party had been invited by a chieftain of the Ma'unah tribe, who were then killed as they approached by the tribe of Sulaym; while the other was when the Muslims had sent out instructors to a tribe which stated it wanted to convert to Islam—the instructors had been led into an ambush by the guides of the would-be Muslim tribe, and were subsequently killed.

Soon thereafter, Muhammad becomes convinced that the Jewish tribe Banu Nadir harbors enmity towards him and are plotting to kill him.

Opposition to Muhammad in Yathrib comes chiefly from 'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy and other so-called hypocrites (munafiquin) who had abandoned Muhammad at Uhud and who together have fostered disaffection.

Arioald, brother-in-law of Agilulf's heir Adaloald, deposes the him with the support of the nobility in 626, for young king has gone mad.

Upon becoming king, he has his wife locked up in a monastery, accusing her of plotting against him with Tasson, duke of Friuli.

He also reestablishes Arianism in the Lombard kingdom.

His only recorded wars are against the Avars, whom he succeeds n repelling during an attempted invasion of northeast Italy.

Sulpitius of Bourges: A Merovingian Bishop and Defender of Church Reform

Born at Vatan (Diocese of Bourges) before the end of the sixth century, Sulpitius (later known as Saint Sulpitius the Pious) rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential bishops of early medieval Gaul. His life, as described in his Vita, highlights his devotion to Scripture, charitable works, and Church discipline.

1. Early Life and Ecclesiastical Training

• Sulpitius was born into a noble family but chose to dedicate his life to religion and study.
• He was trained in Scripture and theology, preparing for a career in the Frankish Church.
• Under Bishop Austregisilus of Bourges, he advanced through the Church hierarchy:
  • Ordained a cleric.
  • Appointed deacon.
  • Made director of the episcopal school, where he trained clergy and future bishops.

2. Service as Chaplain to King Chlothar II

• Chlothar II, impressed by his reputation for holiness and wisdom, summoned Sulpitius to serve as chaplain to the royal armies.
• This position gave him influence at the Frankish court, allowing him to advocate for Church reforms and Christian policies in governance.

3. Bishop of Bourges (c. 624 CE)

• After Bishop Austregisilus’ death (~624 CE), Sulpitius was recalled to Bourges to succeed him.
• As bishop, he focused on:
  • Restoring ecclesiastical discipline, ensuring clergy lived according to strict religious standards.
  • Providing relief to the poor, following the example of Saint Martin of Tours.
  • Promoting the conversion of Jews, a major focus of the Merovingian Church.

4. The Council of Clichy (626 CE) and Anti-Jewish Policies

• Sulpitius attends the Council of Clichy in 626 CE, an important Frankish Church synod.
• One of the most significant decrees issued at this council mandates that:
  • Any Jew holding public office must convert to Christianity.
• This reflects the ongoing exclusion of Jews from government roles, part of a broader Merovingian policy of forced conversions and restrictions on Jewish communities.

5. Sulpitius’ Legacy in the Frankish Church

• His tenure as bishop is marked by strict moral leadership and a commitment to social justice and orthodoxy.
• He is venerated as a saint, known for his piety and dedication to Church reforms.
• The Merovingian Church strengthens its power through figures like Sulpitius, reinforcing Christian dominance in governance and legal affairs.

Conclusion: A Champion of Church Authority

Sulpitius’ career, from royal chaplain to bishop of Bourges, exemplifies the powerful role of the Frankish Church in Merovingian politics. His efforts in discipline, charity, and conversion shaped Frankish Christianity, while his participation in the Council of Clichy contributed to the ongoing exclusion of Jews from public life, further entrenching the alliance between the Church and the Merovingian monarchy.

Edwin defeats the West Saxons under Cynegils, who has tried to thwart the growing strength of Edwin by having him assassinated.

Edwin obliges Cynegils to acknowledge Northumbria's supremacy.

Edwin invades the Isle of Man, then …