Other Considerations

710 to 719
The Arabs invade Spain in 711

730 to 730
Charles Martel's defeat of the Islamic armies at Poilters in 732 stops the westward expansion of Islam that began with the death of Mohammed in 632

Venerable Bede, English scholar, d Jarrow, Durham (England)

740 to 749
Charlemagne, Frankish emperor, b Aachen (Germany)

760 to 769
Charlemagne succeeds Pepin III, king of the Franks, in 768

780 to 789
In 782 Charlemagne calls on Alcuin of York (b England, about 732) organize education in his kingdom of the Franks and Lombards; Alcuin establishes schools associated with important cathedrals and also teaches Charlemagne to read

In 789 Charlemagne introduces the royal foot as the unit of length and the "Karlspfund" (about 365 g, or 13 oz) as a unit of weight

790 to 809
On Christmas day 800, the pope crowns Charlemagne, king of the Franks, Roman emperor, reviving a form of the Roman empire for a time almost 200 years later, the same idea is revived in the Holy Roman empire (962 AD)

Blast furnaces for making cast iron are built in Scandinavia