Many anatomical and medical writings are credited…
857 CE
Many anatomical and medical writings are credited to Yuhanna ibn Masawaiyh, notably the "Disorder of the Eye" (Daghal al-'ain), which is the earliest systematic treatise on ophthalmology extant in Arabic and the Aphorisms, the Latin translation of which was very popular in the Middle Ages.
Yuhanna, born in 777 CE as the son of a pharmacist and physician from Gundishapur, had came to Baghdad and studied under Jabril ibn Bukhtishu, becoming director of a hospital there.
He has served as a personal physician to four caliphs.
Writing mainly in Syriac and Arabic, he has composed a considerable number of Arabic medical monographs, on topics including fevers, leprosy, melancholy, dietetics, eye diseases, and medical aphorisms.
It is reported that Ibn Masawayh regularly held an assembly of some sort, where he consulted with patients and discussed subjects with pupils.
Ibn Masawayh apparently attracted considerable audiences, having acquired a reputation for repartee.
He was also the teacher of Hunain ibn Ishaq.
He has translated various Greek medical works into Syriac.
Apes had been supplied to him by the caliph al-Mu'tasim for dissection.
He dies in Samarra in 857 CE.
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Theodora's attempt to resume power in 857 is unsuccessful, and she and her daughters are relegated to a convent.
Patriarch Ignatios, a fervent critic of the Caesar Bardas, loses the emperor’s support after Michael and Bardas remove Theodora from her position of influence.
Bardas becomes the most powerful person in the empire.
The Precarious Reign of Charles the Bald and the Viking Threat (843–857)
Since the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Charles the Bald, the youngest son of Louis the Pious and Judith of Bavaria, has ruled West Francia. However, his reign is fraught with instability, as he faces:
- Disloyal vassals, many of whom are more concerned with regional power than with supporting the Carolingian king.
- Hostile relatives, including his brothers and nephews, who continuously contest his authority.
- Rebellious Bretons, led by Nominoe and later Erispoe, who successfully win independence from Carolingian control.
- Devastating Viking raids, which threaten the entire northern region of his kingdom, including the Seine and Loire Valleys.
The Viking Devastation of West Francia
The Viking threat is among the most severe challenges Charles faces. Norse raiders target coastal towns, monasteries, and inland cities, using rivers like the Seine and Loire to penetrate deep into Frankish lands.
- In 845, Charles the Bald is forced to pay Viking leader Reginherus (Ragnar) 7,000 pounds of silver to withdraw from Paris, a humiliating concession that sets a precedent for future Danegeld payments.
- Despite this payment, the Vikings continue to raid at will, realizing that West Francia is a rich and poorly defended target.
- In 857, Reginherus’s son leads a new Viking attack on Paris, successfully plundering and burning most of the city, leaving only four churches standing.
Consequences of the Viking Raids
- Severe Economic Damage → The constant Viking incursions cripple trade and agriculture, as towns and monasteries are repeatedly looted and burned.
- Weakening of Royal Authority → With few loyal vassals, Charles struggles to raise an effective army, forcing him to pay off the Vikings instead of defeating them.
- Increasing Feudal Fragmentation → Regional lords, frustrated by Charles' inability to protect the kingdom, begin taking matters into their own hands, leading to further decentralization of power.
- Continued Viking Invasions → The success of the 845 and 857 raids on Paris emboldens other Viking leaders, ensuring that West Francia will remain a primary target for decades.
The Struggle for Control
With West Francia in crisis, Charles faces the impossible task of defending his realm against both external and internal threats. His reliance on buying off the Vikings rather than defeating them will have long-term consequences, further eroding Carolingian power and accelerating the rise of local feudal rulers who take over military defense responsibilities.
As the Viking raids intensify, Charles the Bald must navigate a collapsing royal authority, balancing his struggles against rebellious nobles, invading Norsemen, and political rivals in an effort to maintain control over his fractured kingdom.
An enormous flood along the Grand Canal of China inundates large tracts of the North China Plain, killing tens of thousands of people and adding to the further decline of the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Kammu, the fiftieth emperor of Japan, had abolished universal conscription in 792, just before the move to the Heiankyō, and local, private militias had soon come into being.
The Fujiwara, Taira, and Minamoto are among the most prominent families supported by the new military class.
As the Soga had taken control of the Japanese throne in the sixth century, the Fujiwara by the ninth century had intermarried with the imperial family, and one of their members had been the first head of the Emperor's Private Office.
By 858, when Fujiwara Yoshifusa has his infant grandson Korehito placed on the throne as Emperor Seiwa and makes himself regent, the Fujiwara family’s monopolization of the Imperial court and administrative offices has made them the virtual masters of Japan.
A skillful politician, Yoshifusa is the first regent in Japanese history who is not himself of imperial rank.
Bardas has quickly become the moving spirit in the new regime.
A university is organized in Constantinople.
Ignatios, who had supported Theodora, is arrested and imprisoned in 858, and upon refusing to resign his office is deposed.
On December 25, Michael elevates to the patriarchate a layman, Photius, after the latter’s receipt of the lesser orders in six days.
Photius, a relative of the Patriarchs Tarasios and John VII Grammatikos, had after completing his own education begun to teach grammar, rhetoric, divinity and philosophy.
Following the marriage of his brother Sergios to Irene, a sister of Theodora, and Theodora’s assumption of the regency, Photius had become a captain of the guard and subsequently chief imperial secretary.
At an uncertain date, Photius had participated in an embassy to the Arabs.
Tabriz suffers a severe earthquake in 858.
The division of the dominions of Emperor Lothair I, by which his eldest son Louis had obtained no territory outside Italy, had aroused his discontent, and in 857 he allies himself with his uncle Louis the German, king of East Francia, against his own brother Lothair II, King of Lotharingia, and his other uncle King Charles the Bald, king of West Francia.
Pope Benedict III, who had intervened in the conflict between the sons of Lothair I (the future Lothair II, Louis II and Charles the Bald) on the latter's death, has been active in other cases and adopted a firm position towards Constantinople.
During his reign, Æthelwulf of Wessex and his youngest son, the future Alfred the Great, have visited Rome.
At Benedict’s death on April 7, 858, Emperor Louis II, who is in the neighborhood of Rome, enters the city to exert his influence upon the election.
On April 24, a deacon named Nicholas, born to a distinguished family as the son of the Defensor Theodore, is elected pope, consecrated, and enthroned in St. Peter's in the presence of the emperor.
Three days later, he holds a farewell banquet for the emperor, and afterward, accompanied by the Roman nobility, visits him in his camp before the city, on which occasion the emperor comes to meet the pope and leads his horse for some distance.
Louis the German's Invasion of West Francia (858): A Carolingian Struggle for Power
By 858, Louis the German, King of East Francia since the Treaty of Verdun (843), makes a serious attempt to claim the throne of West Francia, which is ruled by his younger brother, Charles the Bald.
Context: Discontent in West Francia
- According to the Annals of Fulda, the people of West Francia, frustrated by the misrule and military failures of Charles the Bald, have offered the throne to Louis the German.
- Charles' continuous defeats against Viking invaders, his unpopular policies, and his struggles with Breton and Aquitanian rebels make him an unattractive ruler.
- Encouraged by his nephews, Pepin II of Aquitaine and Charles of Provence, Louis seizes the opportunity to invade West Francia.
The 858 Invasion and Charles the Bald’s Flight
- Louis the German marches into West Francia, meeting little resistance due to Charles' widespread unpopularity.
- Charles the Bald, unable to raise an army, flees to Burgundy, seeking refuge.
- Louis issues a charter dated "the first year of the reign in West Francia," signaling that he considers himself the new ruler of the kingdom.
The Aftermath and Political Maneuvering
- Despite his initial success, Louis’ claim to West Francia is never fully secured.
- Charles, though temporarily displaced, will regain support in 859 and retake his throne, forcing Louis to withdraw.
- The civil war among the Carolingians continues to weaken the dynasty, as local lords gain more autonomy, accelerating the fragmentation of the empire.
Significance of the 858 Invasion
- Confirms the weakening of royal authority in West Francia, as Charles struggles to maintain control over his kingdom.
- Highlights the ambitions of Louis the German, who seeks to reunite the Carolingian realms under his rule.
- The invasion deepens the divisions between the Carolingian rulers, further paving the way for the rise of feudal lords and the eventual independence of regional duchies.
While Louis’ attempt to seize West Francia ultimately fails, it exposes Charles the Bald’s vulnerabilities and marks a significant moment in the continuing dissolution of Carolingian unity.
Lothair II’s Divorce Crisis and Political Struggles (858)
By 858, Lothair II, ruler of Lotharingia, is deeply entangled in a controversial attempt to divorce his wife, Teutberga, in favor of his mistress, Waldrada, with whom he already has a son. His efforts to legitimize this relationship and secure an heir shape his political alliances and conflicts within the Carolingian world.
The Divorce Attempt and Its Political Implications
- Teutberga, Lothair's lawful wife, is the sister of Hucbert, Abbot of St. Maurice, a powerful noble with strong ecclesiastical and military influence.
- Lothair, lacking a legitimate male heir, seeks to marry Waldrada, ensuring that his son with her is recognized as his rightful successor.
- His relations with his uncles, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, become highly influenced by their stance on the divorce.
- Louis the German supports the divorce, seeing it as an opportunity to gain influence in Lotharingia.
- Charles the Bald opposes it, recognizing that if Lothair dies without an heir, his territory could be up for grabs.
The Role of Pope Nicholas I and Lothair’s Reconciliation with Louis the German
- In 858, Lothair’s younger brother, Louis II (King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor), secures the election of Pope Nicholas I.
- With the new pope in place, Louis the German reconciles with Lothair, offering military assistance in return for lands south of the Jura Mountains.
- Feeling emboldened, Lothair puts away Teutberga, dismissing her from the royal court in favor of Waldrada.
Teutberga’s Ordeal and Her Restoration (858)
- Hucbert, her brother, takes up arms in her defense, rallying secular and ecclesiastical support against Lothair.
- Teutberga is forced to undergo the ordeal of water to prove her innocence:
- This was likely the ordeal of hot water, which involved plunging one’s arm into boiling water and later assessing whether the wounds healed miraculously.
- The more dangerous ordeal of cold water, in which the accused was thrown into water to see if they sank (proof of innocence), had been abolished by Louis the Pious in 829.
- Teutberga successfully endures the ordeal, proving her innocence according to medieval custom.
- Lothair is compelled to restore her, as the Church and political rivals refuse to accept his marriage to Waldrada.
Impact of the 858 Crisis
- Lothair's failure to secure his divorce leaves his succession uncertain, fueling further tensions between Charles the Bald and Louis the German, both of whom anticipate his kingdom’s eventual partition.
- His conflict with the Papacy will escalate in the coming years, leading to direct intervention from Pope Nicholas I, reinforcing the Church’s growing role in dynastic disputes.
- The dynastic struggle over Lotharingia continues, setting the stage for future Franco-German conflicts over the region.
Though Lothair temporarily reconciles with Louis the German, his battle to legitimize Waldrada and her children is far from over, shaping the politics of the Carolingian world for the next decade.