…Pu Prefecture (in modern Heze).

Huang Chao subsequently roams throughout central China, and his campaign takes him into many engagements with Tang forces.

In spring 877, Huang captures Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture, killing Xue Chong, then captures Yi Prefecture (in modern Linyi, Shandong).

Huang joins forces with Shang Junzhang's brother Shang Rang at Mount Chaya (in modern Zhumadian, Henan) in summer 877.

He and Wang Xianzhi then briefly join forces again and put the Tang general Song Wei under siege at Song Prefecture (in modern Shangqiu, Henan).

However, the Tang general Zhang Zimian then arrives and defeats them, and they lift the siege on Song Prefecture and scatter.

Huang pillages Qi and Huang (in modern Wuhan, Hubei) Prefectures in winter 877, but flees after the Tang general Zeng Yuanyu defeats him.

Huang soon captures Kuangcheng (in modern Xinxiang) and …

Nikephoros Phokas the Elder, the son of the founder of the Phokas family, a middle-ranking military officer (tourmarches) from Cappadocia named Phokas, attested on about, had begun his military career under Basil, probably at the same time as his father was appointed to the post of tourmarches around 872.

Nikephoros had originally been appointed to the guard corps of the Manglabitai, and had possibly participated in Basil's 873 campaign against Samosata.

Shortly after, at any rate before 878, Nikephoros is promoted to the rank of protostrator and the post of commanding general (strategos) of the theme of Charsianon.

Signs of internal decay, in addition to the ongoing Zanj rebellion, began to appear in the 'Abbasid empire as petty states (some not so petty) emerge in different parts of the realm.

The Tulunid dynasty of Egypt, which marks the beginning of the disengagement of Egypt and, with it, of Syria and Palestine from 'Abbasid rule, is one of the first such polities to affect Palestine.

Ahmad bin Tulun, the son of a Turkic slave who had eventually come to command the Caliph's private guard, had gained the favor of the Caliph al-Musta'in after serving in military campaigns against the Roman Empire in Tarsus.

On returning to Baghdad in 863, the Caliph had presented him with a concubine, Meyyaz, with whom he has Khumarawaih, the son who will eventually succeed him as ruler of Egypt.

The Caliph al-Mu'tazz in 868 had appointed Bayik Bey as the governor of Egypt; Bayik Bey in turn had sent Ahmad ibn Ṭūlūn as his regent.

Ibn Ṭūlūn, on arriving in Egypt in September 868, had found that the existing capital of Egypt, al-Fustat, established in 641 by Amr ibn al-'As, was too small to accommodate his armies.

He had founded a new city to serve as his capital, Madinat al-Qatta'i, or the quartered city.

Al-Qatta'i is laid out in the style of grand cities of Persia and the Eastren Roman Empire, including a large public square, hippodrome, a palace for the governor, and a large ceremonial Mosque of Ibn Tulun, which is named for ibn Ṭūlūn. (The city will be razed in 905; the mosque alone has survived.)

Ibn Ṭūlūn's rule in Egypt had been marked initially by a struggle for control with the existing head of the council of financial affairs, Ibn al-Mudabbir, who reported directly to the Caliph, not to the governor of Egypt, and as such had ignored ibn Ṭūlūn entirely.

Ibn al-Mudabbir was disliked by the local population because of high rates of taxation (particularly against non-Muslim citizens, which comprised over half of Egypt's population) and greed.

Ibn Ṭūlūn had used his influence at the Abbasid court to work against Ibn al-Mudabbir, and had finally been able to have him removed after four years.

Bayik Bey had been murdered around 870, and governorship had passed to Yarjukh al-Turki, father of ibn Tulun's wife, Hatun.

Yarjukh had retained ibn Ṭūlūn as his regent in Egypt, and increased his power by granting him authority over Alexandria and other territories in the region.

Ibn Ṭūlūn had led a campaign against the rebellious governor of Syria, ‘Īsā ibn Shaykh ash-Shaybanī, using the rebellion as a pretext in purchasing a large number of slaves to increase the strength of his army, which forms the basis of his personal authority, and allowing him to amass an army of one hundred thousand men.

The Caliph al-Mu'tamid in 871 had appointed his brother Al-Muwaffaq as governor of Damascus, and his son, later the Caliph Al-Mu'tadid, to succeed Yarjukh as governor of Egypt.

The rebellion of the Zanji, a group of black slaves who seized control of Basra and much of southern Iraq during this decade, has siphoned much of the caliphate's resources away from the provinces.

Ibn Ṭūlūn in 874 had taken advantage of the chaos in Iraq to sever relations with Baghdad and declare independence.

When in 877 Ibn Tulun fails to pay Egypt's full contribution to the 'Abbasid campaign against the Zanj uprising in Iraq, the caliphal government, dominated by the caliph's brother al-Muwaffaq, realizes that Egypt is slipping from imperial control.

Al-Mu'tamid sends armed forces under Musa ibn Bugha to retake control of Egypt, but the attempted invasion is a rout, with most of Musa's army scattering before the larger forces led by ibn Ṭūlūn.

Ibn Ṭūlūn's forces follow and take control of large portions of Syria, but the campaign is cut short when ibn Ṭūlūn has to return to Egypt to deal with a revolt led by his own son, ‘Abbās.

Ibn Marwan, hearing of an impending attack by the Emirate forces, had fled northwards from Badajoz,settling in the castle of Karkar (now Carquere, near present Lamego, Portugal).

Afterwards, at Ibn Marwân's request, King Alfonso III of Asturias had sent him auxiliary troops and the combined army had defeated the Emirate forces.

Returning to Badajoz, now a well fortified city, he establishes his rule throughout the whole of the Al'Garb Al'Andalus, "The West", the name given by the Moors of Iberia to the modern region of Algarve and, by extension, to most of Portugal, during their rule of the territory.

Ibn Marwan and the Founding of Marvão (876–877 CE)

Between 876 and 877 CE, the rebel leader Ibn Marwan constructs a fortified stronghold in present-day Portugal, which later becomes known as the Castle of Marvão.

By the 10th century, the site is referred to as Amaia de Ibn Maruán or Fortaleza de Amaia, reflecting both its strategic importance and its connection to Ibn Marwan, a leader known for defying the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba and establishing semi-independent territories in western Iberia.

 

The Lindau Gospels and the Decline of the West Frankish Monarchy (877)

The Lindau Gospels: A Masterpiece of Carolingian Art

The Lindau Gospels, one of the finest examples of Carolingian manuscript illumination, features sumptuous gold and jewel-encrusted covers that highlight the high level of artistic achievement in the 9th-century Carolingian court.

• The covers are richly decorated with gold, pearls, and precious stones, displaying the influence of Late Antique and Byzantine metalwork.
• The manuscript showcases both ivory carving and repoussé metalwork, reflecting the sophisticated craftsmanship of the Carolingian Renaissance.
• It represents the imperial grandeur that Carolingian rulers used to express their political and religious authority.

The Lindau Gospels, now housed at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, exemplifies the luxury book production commissioned for Carolingian emperors and monasteries, reinforcing the connection between religious devotion and imperial power.

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The Death of Charles the Bald and the Decline of the West Frankish Monarchy (877)

On October 6, 877, Charles the Bald, King of West Francia and Holy Roman Emperor, dies while returning from Italy, where he had attempted to secure his imperial authority.

• By the time of his death, the West Frankish monarchy is in serious decline, due to:
  • Continuous Viking raids, which had devastated Paris, Rouen, and other key cities.
  • Weakening royal authority, as regional nobles and military leaders gain more autonomy, diminishing the king’s power.
  • The growing feudal system, where local lords build their own castles and command private armies, reducing royal influence.

After Charles’ death, the Carolingian dynasty in West Francia enters a period of fragmentation, leading to:

• The further rise of feudal principalities, particularly in Neustria and Aquitaine.
• A monarchy that becomes increasingly dependent on the loyalty of powerful nobles, such as the Robertians, who will eventually replace the Carolingians in 987 when Hugh Capet becomes King of France.

Thus, while Carolingian art and culture—as seen in the Lindau Gospels—reaches its peak in the 9th century, the political decline of the West Frankish kingdom is already accelerating, foreshadowing the end of Carolingian rule in France.

Rhodri the Great, the son of Merfyn Frych, King of Gwynedd, and Nest ferch Cadell of the Royal line of Powys, had inherited the Kingdom of Gwynedd in 844 on his father's death.

When his maternal uncle Cyngen ap Cadell, ruler of Powys, died on a pilgrimage to Rome in 855, Rhodri had inherited Powys.

Gwgon, ruler of Seisyllwg in southern Wales, had drowned accidentally in 872, and Rhodri had added his Kingdom to his domains by virtue of his marriage to Angharad of Seisyllwg, Gwgon's sister and heiress.

These peaceful inheritances have made him the ruler of the larger part of Wales.

Rhodri faced pressure both from the Anglo-Saxons and increasingly from the Danes, who are recorded in 854 as ravaging Anglesey.

Rhodri in 856 had won a notable victory over the Danes, killing their leader Gorm (sometimes given as Horm).

Rhodri had fought another battle against the Danish invaders in 876 on Anglesey, after which he had to flee to Ireland.

On his return the following year, he and his son Gwriad were said to have been killed by the English, most likely under Ceolwulf II of Mercia, given that West Saxon forces under Alfred the Great were occupied fighting the Vikings in East Anglia.

The precise manner of his death is unknown and some versions of the Annales Cambriae claim his brother rather than his son was killed, although it is likely he was killed in battle given that when his son, Anarawd ap Rhodri won a victory over the Mercians a few years later, it was hailed in the annals as "God's vengeance for Rhodri".

Rhodri’s heir, Anarawd, becomes the king of Gwynedd; his son Cadell ap Rhodri will conquer Dyfed, which will later be joined with Seisyllwg by Rhodri's grandson Hywel Dda to become Deheubarth.

Hywel, like his grandfather, will come to rule most of Wales.

Rhodri’s son Merfyn ap Rhodri becomes the king of Powys.