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The 7th and 8th Century

Can you guess these notable people, places, and things from the years 601–800?
Quiz by Gassu
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Last updated: July 5, 2020
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First submittedJuly 19, 2018
Times taken21,001
Average score73.7%
Rating4.32
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Year
Description
Answer
800
This Frankish ruler is crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day
Charlemagne
793
These northern sea people raid the British Isles for the first time
Vikings
c. 770
This disease leaves Europe. It will reappear with a vengeance around 1350.
Black Death
762
The Abbasid Caliphate founds this capital on the Tigris River
Baghdad
732
Charles Martel's victory at this battle ends Arab encroachment into France
Battle of Tours
722
The Reconquista begins in this country. It would end 727 years later with the fall of the Emirate of Granada.
Spain
717–718
The Umayyad Caliphate besieges this largest and most important of Christian cities - but fails to capture it
Constantinople
708
This small island, today one of France's biggest tourist attractions, is fortified
Mont-Saint-Michel
c. 700
This Chinese city, then known as Chang'an, is the largest city in the world with a population of about 1 million (HINT: starts with X)
Xi'an
697
The first doge is elected in this Adriatic republic
Venice
691
This Islamic shrine is completed on Jerusalem's Temple Mount
Dome of the Rock
691
Wu Zetian becomes the first and only Empress of this country
China
663
According to legend, this Japanese volcano's summit is reached for the first time
Mount Fuji
639
Arabs conquer this country, the "bread basket" of the Byzantine Empire
Egypt
632
Muhammad dies in this city
Medina
629
This Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca is held for the first time
Hajj
609
This Roman building, originally a temple to all gods, is transformed into a church
Pantheon
601
St. Augustine becomes the first archbishop of this English city
Canterbury
600s
This footrest for horse riders spreads to Europe, making mounted knights more effective, and potentially bringing about feudalism
Stirrups
JackBeNimble
+3
Level 80
Jan 15, 2019
My recollection of my GCSE French was not quite sufficient. Does anyone else remember those text books?
WolfCam
+14
Level 66
Jan 15, 2019
100% (somehow). I’m glad this quiz was so spread out and wasn’t just Europe!
JackintheBox
+1
Level 79
Jan 16, 2021
Me too!
brandybuck96
+4
Level 83
Jan 16, 2019
So much for the "Dark" Ages! These were interesting times...
mrnafe
+6
Level 82
Jan 16, 2019
They really were, I think the name refers to the reduction of written records following the collapse of Roman empire.
brandybuck96
+7
Level 83
Jan 16, 2019
Though there were certainly far fewer texts following the fall of Rome, there was a surprising amount of material produced in the following centuries, more than the term "Dark Ages" gives credit for. And the situation was entirely different in places that weren't Western Europe.
Quizmaster
+15
Level ∞
Jan 18, 2019
The Dark Ages weren't 100% dark, but they were very real, at least in Europe. Seriously, if you're into history read the link. The idea that the Dark Ages weren't real is a modern myth that has little basis in reality.

Here's a crazy stat. Based on the number of discovered shipwrecks, we can infer that European shipping was 98% lower in the 8th century than in the 1st century.

jellyperson
+7
Level 56
Jan 18, 2019
The Dark Ages existed, but they aren't necessarily when people think they are. (Did anyone else grow up thinking the term was synonymous with feudalism and the Middle Ages? It isn't!)

And as with the Renaissance, you have to specify "where" as well as "when". For example, Scott Alexander specifies "The period from about 500 to about 1000 in Christian Western Europe was marked by profound economic and intellectual decline and stagnation relative to the periods that came before and after it." And commenters pushed back on that ranges for specific times and places within that window. The past is complicated, and Western Europe is a big place. That DOESN'T disprove the decline, just means you needs more nuance to talk about it.

@Quizmaster -- can you link the source on the shipping claim? I believe you, just curious what area they were looking at.

roleybob
+7
Level 75
Jan 18, 2019
QM - without more information that just suggests to me that ships were built better and sailors were more proficient

It's like crime statistics - often when levels of crime supposedly increase, it is actually that victims are more likely to report crimes / definitions of what constitute a crime change / police forces have become more efficient / etc

IsleAuHaulte
+5
Level 89
Jan 18, 2019
Seriously, sailing and navigation weren't 50 times safer in the Dark Ages than in the Roman Empire. Name these revolutionary advances that support such a theory.
Dollyfroggy
+2
Level 60
Jul 16, 2023
It could certainly be a factor, though.
MayaB
+2
Level 73
Jan 28, 2019
@QM: Thanks for the link! It was very interesting for me to read more about the Dark Ages.
joeythelemur
+1
Level 84
Jul 8, 2020
Just FYI QM, the link you posted no longer works. It appears that the guy deleted his blog because the NYT decided (without his approval) they could print his real name in a story they were doing. There's only a single post describing his rationale. Might have to look in the wayback...
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
Thanks @joeythelemur. The NYT caused my favorite blog to go away. What a bunch of jerks. Please do the world a favor and cancel your subscription if you have one.

I've modified the link above, also pasted here for convenience.

FlickerP
+1
Level 72
Feb 5, 2021
@Quizmaster Is it not possible that shipbuilding quality and improvements in navigation may also have contributed to the decline in the number of shipwrecks
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jan 16, 2023
@FlickerP. No, that is not consistent with what we know about the period. I'd read the article I linked above.
Dimby
+1
Level 77
Jul 16, 2023
Interesting link to read, QM, thanks. I'm mostly glad it wasn't a Rick Roll.
Malbaby
+5
Level 71
Jan 16, 2019
I think I should have been given a point for 'Saint-Michel' for Mont Saint Michel....... even as in the early days this isle was called Mont-Tombe anyway.
IsleAuHaulte
+4
Level 89
Jan 18, 2019
Yeah I just typed stmichel first too.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jul 5, 2020
St Michel will work now
CardinalSin
+1
Level 77
Aug 4, 2020
Mont St Michel isn't an island. At low tide, it is joined to the mainland. It is what the French call a "presqu'ile".
ReyFer
+1
Level 64
Jan 17, 2019
For the Reconquista question, I think anserws like Asturias or Leon should be added, as Spain didn't exist yet
sulfuratus
+1
Level 66
Jan 18, 2019
That doesn't make sense. The Asturian reconquista didn't end with the fall of Granada. Asturias is on the other side of the Iberian peninsula and León is also pretty far away.
cpgatbyu
+1
Level 85
Feb 5, 2021
I at least partially agree. It seems like the reconquista wouldn't have taken place in Spain, since the reason there was a reconquista was because this land was outside of Spain, right? This could be cleared up by specifying "present-day" country.
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 88
Feb 5, 2021
Or by asking for the peninsula instead of the country.
cornflakesfu
+2
Level 86
Jan 18, 2019
Did better than I expected, given that my high school world history course jumped directly from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance.
AVB
+1
Level 70
Jan 18, 2019
Byzantium should be accepted for Constantinople.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Jan 18, 2019
The name was changed a few centuries prior to this.
kalbahamut
+7
Level 82
Jan 18, 2019
Spent 2 minutes trying to think up the French island, but after giving up saw that I'd never heard of it before.
ander217
+1
Level 75
Jan 18, 2019
Same here.
sumokitty
+7
Level 82
Jan 18, 2019
Mont St Michel is fantastic -- definitely worth a trip!
camus
+1
Level 78
Jan 20, 2019
You may have seen pictures of it?
joeythelemur
+1
Level 84
Jul 8, 2020
An incredible place and definitely should be on anyone's list. It's literally breathtaking when you come upon it. Spent a night on the Mont in 1992, will never forget it.
GeoDude
+12
Level 48
Jan 18, 2019
wow. doge. much canali. so wet.
ADX31
+2
Level 57
Jan 19, 2019
As a Frenchman i'm not sure if Mont St Michel is a true island, because on low tides you can reach it by walking on the sand, and there's even a road you could drive before it was closed to public traffic, so it's only an island some part of the day.
PrettyTiedUp
+2
Level 68
Sep 16, 2020
I've been to France many times, I have family living there and I've never even heard of Mont St Michel. It's on my list now
JetPunker180
+1
Level 54
Feb 5, 2021
I don't think that Shrine is on Temple mount
Origin
+1
Level 21
Feb 6, 2021
In France, we never talk about the battle of Tours, but the battle of Poitiers.
daraconn
+1
Level 58
Jul 16, 2023
I typed Poitiers and it was accepted
iLoveHotDads1
+1
Level 43
Feb 6, 2021
Please let Karl count too for „charlemagne“ since he was from nowaday germany;)
Cubersin
+1
Level 44
Jul 17, 2023
7-8
Hedgehog76
+1
Level 64
Jul 19, 2023
Reconquista ended in 1492, I thought. So, it would be 770 and not 727 years after 722,
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