Year 684 ( DCLXXXIV ) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar . The denomination 684 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Events [ edit ]

By place [ edit ]

Europe [ edit ]

• Ghislemar , mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy , dies after a 2-year reign, and is succeeded by his father Waratton . He makes peace between the three Frankish kingdoms .

Britain [ edit ]

• King Ecgfrith of Northumbria sends a punitive expedition to Ireland under his ealdorman Berht, laying waste to the territory of Meath , ruled by High King Finsnechta Fledach . ^[1]

Arabian Empire [ edit ]

• Caliph Muawiya II dies at Damascus , after a brief reign that ends Sufyanid rule . A new caliph is proclaimed in Syria amidst tribal wars , but Marwan I will reign until next year.
• August 18 – Battle of Marj Rahit : Muslim partisans under Marwan I defeat the supporters of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr near Damascus, and cement Umayyad control of Syria.

Asia [ edit ]

• January 3 – Zhong Zong succeeds his father Gao Zong , and becomes emperor of the Tang dynasty . His mother Wu Zetian remains the power behind the throne in China .
• February 27 – Wu Zetian replaces Zhong Zong in favor of his younger brother Rui Zong . He becomes a puppet ruler , and Zhong Zong is placed under house arrest .
• Summer – The Pallava Empire (modern India ) invades the kingdom of Ceylon . A Pallavan naval expedition employing Tamil mercenaries ends the Moriya dynasty .

Japan [ edit ]

• September 7 – A large comet is observed in Japan (it's Japan's oldest observation record of Halley's Comet ).
• November 13 – Emperor Tenmu institutes eight titles of eight classes ( Yakusa-no-kabane ) in Japan.
• November 26 – 684 Hakuho earthquake . A great earthquake strikes Japan. The people, houses, temples , shrines and domestic animals are greatly damaged.

Mesoamerica [ edit ]

• February 10 – K'inich Kan B'alam II accedes to the rulership of the Maya polity of Palenque (modern Mexico ).

By topic [ edit ]

Religion [ edit ]

• Cuthbert is elected Bishop of Hexham , and receives a visit from a large group under Ecgfrith. He agrees to return to Lindisfarne ( Northumbria ) to take up duties.
• June 26 – Pope Benedict II succeeds Leo II as the 81st pope of Rome , after a period of sede vacante ("vacant seat") of 1 year.

Births [ edit ]

• Gao Lishi , official and eunuch of the Tang dynasty (d. 762 )
• Li Guo'er , princess of the Tang dynasty (approximate date)
• Nagaya , Japanese prince and politician (d. 729 )
• Tachibana no Moroe , Japanese prince and minister (d. 757 )

Deaths [ edit ]

• Adarnase II , king of Iberia (approximate date)
• Aldegonde , Frankish Benedictine abbess
• Constantine of Mananali , founder of the Paulicians
• Ghislemar , mayor of the palace in Neustria and Burgundy
• Li Xian , prince of the Tang dynasty (b. 653 )
• Luo Binwang , Chinese poet and official
• Muawiya II , Muslim caliph (b. 661 )
• Pei Yan , chancellor of the Tang dynasty
• Philibert of Jumieges , Frankish abbot
• Severus II bar Masqeh , Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. ^[2]

References [ edit ]