The village of Pagan, on the Irrawaddy…

News of a massing of Saracen ships off Sardinia reaches Rome early in 849.

When the Muslims approach Portus, Pope Leo summons the Repubbliche Marinare (or mariner cities of Italy)—Naples, Gaeta and Amalfi—to form a league.

The command of the unified fleet is given to Cesarius, son of Duke Sergius I of Naples.

The Christian armada assembles off recently refortified Ostia, and Pope Leo IV comes out to bless it and offer a mass to the troops.

The subsequent Battle of Ostia is one of the most famous in history of the papacy of the Middle Ages and is celebrated in a famous fresco by Raphael and his pupils in his Rooms of the Vatican Palace in the Vatican City.

After the pirate ships appear, battle is joined with the Neapolitan galleys in the lead.

Midway through the engagement, a storm divides the Muslims and the Christian ships manage to return to port.

The Saracens, however, are scattered far and wide, with many ships lost and others sent ashore.

When the storm dies down, the remnants of the Arab fleet are easily picked off, with many prisoners taken.

In the aftermath of the battle, much booty washes ashore and is pillaged by the locals, per ius naufragii.

The prisoners taken in battle are sent to work in chain gangs building the Leonine Wall which is to encompass the Vatican Hill.

Rome will never again be threatened by a Muslim army.

Gaeta is the ancient Caieta, situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the Samians according to Strabo, who believed the name stemmed from the Greek kaiétas, which means "cave", probably referring to the several harbors.

According to Virgil's Aeneid (vii.1–9), Caieta was Aeneas’ (another legend says Ascanius') wet-nurse, whom he buried here.

In classical times, Caieta, famous for its lovely and temperate climate, like the neighboring Formia and Sperlonga, was a tourist resort and site of the seaside villas of many important and rich characters of Rome.

Like the other Roman resorts, Caieta was linked to the capital of the Empire by Via Appia and its end trunk Via Flacca (or Valeria), through an opposite diverticulum or byroad.

Its port was of great importance in trade and in war, and was restored under Emperor Antoninus Pius.

Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus.

After the Lombard invasion of the eighth century, Gaeta had remained under suzerainty of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In the following years, like Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples, it seems to have established itself as a practically independent port and to have carried on a thriving trade with the Levant.

As imperial influence declined in Southern Italy the town had begun to grow.

The inhabitants of the neighboring Formiæ had fled to Gaeta in 840 for fear of the Saracens.

Although under the suzerainty of Constantinople, Gaeta has, like nearby ports Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government with a dux ("duke", or commanding lord under the command of the imperial Exarch of Ravenna), as a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion.

Around 830, it had become a lordship ruled by hereditary hypati, or consuls: the first of these is Constantine (839–866), who in 847 had aided Pope Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia.

At this same time (846) the episcopal see of Gaeta had been founded when Constantine, Bishop of Formiae, fled thither and established his residence.

He is associated with his son Marinus I.

The Saracens have been besieging Gaeta, which had led to Leo's order that the walls of the city be restored and strengthened between 848 and 849.

Internal Conflicts During the Reign of Ramiro I of Asturias

Although Ramiro I’s reign is relatively free of foreign invasions, the latter part of his rule is marked by internal conflict and noble revolts.

His ascent to the throne in 842 CE had been contested, and he continues to face resistance from discontented Asturian nobles. The Chronica Albeldensis records two major rebellions during his reign:

• Piniolo, a high-ranking prócer (grandee), leads a rebellion against Ramiro but is defeated. As punishment, Ramiro executes Piniolo and his seven sons.
• Aldroito, the comes palatii (palace count), leads another uprising and is blinded by order of the king.

Ramiro’s Harsh Rule and the "Rod of Justice"

Ramiro also takes severe measures against lawlessness in his kingdom. He persecutes thieves (latrones), whose increasing numbers contribute to civil unrest, and targets magicians (magos), likely referring to pagan practitioners who remain in isolated regions.

His crackdown extends to suspected witches, sorcerers, and even Jews, many of whom he reportedly executes. Due to his strict and often ruthless justice, the Chronica Albeldensis refers to Ramiro as Uirga iustitiae, meaning "the Rod of Justice."

Ordoño I: Early Life and Rise to Power

Little is known about Ramiro’s first marriage, but it must have taken place early enough for his son, Ordoño I, to be an adult by the time of Ramiro’s death.

• Ordoño I was born in Oviedo and spent his early life at the court of Alfonso II.
• He was likely associated with the crown from an early age.
• He was probably raised in Lugo, the capital of Galicia, where his father had been appointed governor.
• There, he received an education, including military training.

Ordoño’s Role in Ramiro’s Succession

When Ramiro traveled to Vardulia to marry his second wife, Paterna, he left Ordoño as governor of Galicia. During his absence, Alfonso II died, and the Asturian nobles elected Count Nepocian as king, leading to a succession crisis.

Ordoño immediately raised an army to support his father’s claim to the throne, but he was unable to leave Galicia to assist. His forces ultimately went unused, as Ramiro eventually prevailed over Nepocian and secured the Asturian throne.

Once in power, Ramiro confirmed Ordoño as governor of Galicia, transforming what had been a provisional role into a permanent position, preparing Ordoño for his future reign as king.

Nominoe’s Continued Raids in Neustria and Charles the Bald’s Response (849)

Despite the orders from the Council of Meerssen (847) demanding that Nominoe of Brittany and Pepin II of Aquitaine cease their attacks on Charles the Bald, both rulers persist in their campaigns, likely with support from Emperor Lothair I.

Nominoe’s Opportunistic Raids in 849

• Nominoe, likely funded by Lothair, refuses to desist and continues his raids into Neustria.
• In the spring of 849, while Charles is occupied in Aquitaine, Nominoe takes advantage of his absence to raid Neustria once again.
• When Charles returns to the region in the fall, Nominoe launches a second campaign, further demonstrating his independent power.

The Breton Invasion of Anjou and the Restoration of Lambert in Nantes

• Nominoe invades Anjou, expanding Breton control deeper into Frankish territory.
• In response, Charles reestablishes Lambert II of Nantes in his former position, reinforcing Frankish presence on the Breton border.
• This move signals Charles’ renewed attempt to curb Breton expansion, using loyal Frankish nobles to counter Nominoe’s influence.

The Ongoing Carolingian-Breton Conflict

• Nominoe’s continued defiance shows that he is no longer acting as a mere Carolingian vassal but is instead building an autonomous Breton state.
• The failure of Charles to permanently subdue Brittany foreshadows further conflicts, culminating in Nominoe’s victories over Frankish forces in the early 850s.
• Lothair’s possible financial support for Nominoe and Pepin II suggests that he still seeks to weaken Charles, using these regional rulers as proxy forces.

By 849, Brittany is no longer just a rebellious province, but a rising power actively expanding into Carolingian lands, setting the stage for further Breton-Franconian warfare.

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.

Four Saracen columns depart in 850 from Taranto and …