The Heian period begins in modern-day Japan
The Heian period is considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and noted for its art, especially poetry and literature.
8th Century C.E.
Oghuz Turks found the Oguz Yabgu State in modern-day Kazakhstan
The Oguz Yabgu State was a Turkic state, founded by Oghuz Turks in 766, located geographically in an area between the coasts of the Caspian and Aral Seas. Oguz tribes occupied a vast territory in Kazakhstan along the Irgiz, Yaik, Emba, and Uil rivers, the Aral Sea area, the Syr Darya valley, the foothills of the Karatau Mountains in Tien-Shan, and the Chui River valley.
Caliph Al-Mansur commissions the construction of Baghdad
After the fall of the Umayyads, the first Muslim dynasty, the victorious Abbasid rulers wanted their own capital from which they could rule. They chose a site north of the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon and also just north of where ancient Babylon had once stood.
Ibadi Muslims establish an imamate in modern-day Oman
The Imamate is a 1,200 year old system of government pioneered by the Ibadi religious leaders of Oman, and was based upon the Islamic sharia.
The Abbasid Caliphate begins in the Islamic world
The Abbasid Caliphate, which ruled most of the Muslim world from Baghdad in what is now Iraq, lasted from 750 to 1258 C.E.
Kaiyuan Za Bao, perhaps the world's first magazine is published for the first time in China
Kaiyuan Za Bao, or Kaiyuan Chao Bao, Bulletin of the Court, was an official publication which first appeared in the 8th century, during the Kaiyuan era. It has been described as the first Chinese newspaper or official gazette, and also as the world’s first magazine.
Construction of Somapura Mahavihara in modern-day Bangaldesh is completed
Somapura Mahavihara in Bangladesh is among the best known Buddhist viharas in the Indian Subcontinent and is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
The Dunhuang Star map – the world's oldest complete preserved star map – is created
The map provides a graphical verification of the star observations, and are part of a series of pictures on one of the Dunhuang manuscripts.
The Azores are discovered, possibly by Vikings
Although it was traditionally believed that Portuguese explorers were the first humans to arrive on the Azores – an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlantic Ocean – there is evidence to suggest otherwise. Researchers have discovered that 5-beta-stigmasterol is present in sediment samples from between 700 and 850 C.E. This compound is found in the feces of livestock, such as sheep and cattle, neither of which are native to the islands. Additionally, mice on the Azores were discovered to have mitochondrial DNA suggesting they first arrived from Northern Europe, suggesting that they were brought to the islands by Norwegian Vikings.