Pepin and his Frankish army, in return…

The wife of Japanese emperor Shomu dedicates his household effects to the Todai-ji; the many decorated objects, mostly Chinese imports, are placed in the temple storehouse in 756.

Greek-Bulgarian conflict is resolved with a peace treaty between Kormisosh and Constantine V that probably confirms the existing frontier.

It is sometimes supposed that this defeat brought the reign of Kormisosh to its end through a palace coup, but the next ruler Vinekh may have been from the same royal house.

Vinekh ascends the Bulgarian throne after the defeat of his predecessor Kormisosh by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine V, which has led some scholars to assume that he was an usurper.

Around 756 Constantine V campaigns against Bulgaria by land and sea, and defeats the Bulgarian army led by Vinekh at Marcellae (Karnobat).

The defeated monarch sues for peace and undertakes to send his own children as hostages.

Ibn al-Muqaffa, though a resident of Basra, was originally from the town of Jur (or Gur, Firuzabad, Fars) in the Iranian province of Fars.

Born of Persian parents about 720, he converts to Islam as an adult and perfects his Arabic so that his translations into that language from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) become models of elegant Arabic prose.

His father had been a state official in charge of taxes under the Umayyads, and after being accused and convicted of embezzling some of the money entrusted to him, was punished by the ruler by having his hand crushed, hence the name Muqaffa (shrivelled hand).

His book of animal fables, “Kalila and Dimna,” stems from the Sanskrit “Fables of Bidpai” and the Pahlavi “Panchatantra.” Al-Muqaffa also gains renown for his “Great Book of Manners” on the ethics of rulers and courtiers.

Al-Muqaffa’s translations lead to a new refinement in Arabic prose called “adab,” often interspersed with poetry and featuring rhymed prose (“saj'“), the style of the Koran.

He paves the way for later innovators who will bring literary fiction to Arabic literature.

Ibn al-Muqaffa is also an accomplished scholar of Middle Persian, and is the author of several moral fables.

Ibn al-Muqaffa is burned at the stake around 756 or 757 by the order of the second Abbasid caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur reportedly for heresy, in particular for attempting to import Zoroastrian ideas into Islam.

There is evidence, though, that his murder may have been prompted by the caliph's resentment at the terms and language that Ibn al-Muqaffa had used in drawing up a guarantee of safe passage for the caliph's rebellious uncle, Abdullah ibn Ali; the caliph found that document profoundly disrespectful to himself, and it is believed Ibn al-Muqaffa paid with his life for the affront to al-Mansur.

The Iberian Peninsula has been occupied by Muslim Arab forces for some time, and Abd al-Rahman (nicknamed al-Dākhil, the 'Immigrant') recognizes political opportunity for himself in the rivalries of the Qais and Yaman, the dominant Arab factions here.

By shifting alliances and using mercenary support, he places himself in a position of power.

On May 14, 756, in the Battle of Musarah, Abd al-Rahman defeats Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri in a battle for control of the Iberian Peninsula and re establishes the Umayyad dynasty at Córdoba with himself himself as Emir.

He refuses to submit to the Abbasid caliph, as Abbasid forces have killed most of his family.

As news of his success spreads eastward, men who had previously worked in the Umayyad administrative system come to Spain to work with 'Abd ar-Rahman, and his administration comes to resemble that formerly operative in Damascus.

Over a thirty-year reign, he will establish a tenuous rule over much of al-Andalus, overcoming partisans of both the al-Fihri family and of the Abbasid caliph.

The Lombards threaten to take over the whole Italian peninsula.

Pope Stephen II (or III; 752-757) appeals for aid to the Frankish ruler Pepin III (the Short), who in 756 “restores” the lands of central Italy to the Roman see, ignoring Constantinople’s claim to sovereignty there.

This Donation of Pepin provides the basis for the papal claim to temporal power.

In the same year, by the Treaty of Pavia, the Lombard king Aistulf cedes territory in northern and central Italy.

Desiderius, born in Brescia, was originally a royal officer, the dux Langobardorum et comes stabuli, "constable and duke of the Lombards," an office apparently similar to the contemporaneous Frankish office of dux Francorum.

King Aistulf had made him duke of Istria and Tuscany and he becomes king after the death of Aistulf in 756.

At this time, Aistulf's predecessor, Ratchis, leaves his monastic retreat of Montecassino and tries to seize the kingdom, but Desiderius puts his revolt down quickly with the support of Pope Stephen II.

At his coronation, Desiderius promises to restore many lost papal towns to the Holy See, in return for the papacy's endorsement of his claim.

An Lushan crosses the Yellow River on January 8, 756, quickly capturing Chenliu (roughly modern Kaifeng, Henan) and …

…Yingyang (roughly modern Zhengzhou, Henan) Prefectures.

Approaching Luoyang, An Lushan encounters an ill-prepared army commanded by Feng.

Defeating Feng quickly, he forces Feng to flee and concede Luoyang to him.

Feng joins forces with Gao and urges a retreat to Tong Pass; Gao agrees, and they take up defensive positions there.

An does not proceed quickly, but remains at Luoyang, planning to declare himself emperor there.

(Emperor Xuanzong, Soon, due to accusations of the eunuch Bian Lingcheng, soon executes Feng and Gao and replaces Gao with Geshu Han.)