8th Century

Events in the 8th Century 8

• 300 BC – 1279 Chola dynasty (South India) A great maritime and temple-building power The Cholas of the Tamil south were one of the longest-ruling dynasties in history, rising from the Sangam age to a medieval maritime empire that projected naval power across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia. They built magnificent temples such as the Brihadeeswarar at Thanjavur and patronised bronze sculpture and Tamil literature.
• 538 – 710 Asuka period Buddhism, writing and the first Japanese state The Asuka period saw Buddhism introduced from Korea, along with Chinese writing, architecture and statecraft. Prince Shotoku promoted the new faith and a Chinese-style bureaucracy, and the Taika Reforms of 645 strengthened imperial power — transforming Japan into a centralised state.
• 618 – 907 Tang Dynasty — China's cosmopolitan golden age Poetry, silk, Buddhism and the world's largest empire The Tang dynasty is widely considered China's cultural peak. Its capital Chang'an (modern Xi'an) was the world's largest city with over a million inhabitants, cosmopolitan with merchants, monks and diplomats from across Asia. The Tang produced China's greatest poets — Li Bai and Du Fu — and saw Buddhism flourish. Woodblock printing was invented. China's civil service examination system was refined into the model used for 1,300 years.
• 651 – 1501 Islamic Persia — caliphates, Seljuks and Mongols Centuries of Islamic rule and a Persian cultural flowering After the conquest, Persia was ruled successively by the Arab caliphates, Persian and Turkic dynasties, the Seljuk Turks, and — devastatingly — the Mongols under Genghis Khan and Hulagu in the 13th century. Yet this era produced a brilliant Persian cultural renaissance: the poetry of Ferdowsi, Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam, and advances in science and mathematics.
• 690 – 705 Wu Zetian — China's only female emperor 690–705 AD — sole empress regnant in Chinese history Wu Zetian rose from concubine to become the only woman in Chinese history to assume the title of Empress Regnant, ruling in her own name from 690 to 705 AD. She expanded the civil service examination, promoted officials based on merit rather than birth, extended the empire, and commissioned major Buddhist works. She ruled effectively for 15 years before being forced to abdicate aged 80.
• 710 – 794 Nara period First permanent capital; Kojiki and Nihon Shoki written Empress Genmei established Japan's first permanent capital at Heijo-kyo (Nara), modelled on the Tang Chinese capital. The great chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) were compiled, codifying Japan's founding myths, and Buddhism flourished under imperial patronage — including the great Todai-ji temple and its colossal bronze Buddha.
• 742 – 814 Charlemagne Father of Europe King of the Franks and first Holy Roman Emperor. He united much of Western Europe and sparked the Carolingian Renaissance.
• 794 – 1185 Heian period The golden age of classical Japanese culture When Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo (Kyoto), he began nearly four centuries of peace and refinement remembered as the classical age of Japanese civilisation. The Fujiwara regents dominated the court, and aristocratic culture flowered — producing Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, often called the world's first novel.