Few people would list 751 CE as a defining year in world history—but they should. In just twelve months, a ruthless siege shattered Byzantine control in Italy, a cunning power grab ended a dynasty in France, and a brutal battle reshaped Central Asia. These weren’t just local conflicts; they set the stage for new empires, shifted religious power, and even introduced an invention that would revolutionize the world. Here’s why 751 was a year of war, betrayal, and innovation—and why it deserves to be as well-known as 1066 or 1492.
The idea that the year 751 is one of the most important years in human history is discussed by Richard Hatch in his article “751 C.E.: Watershed Events in the Carolingian, Byzantine, Abbasid, and Tang Empires.” He details three important events that took place that year.
From Byzantium to the Barbarians: The Sack of Ravenna
Imagine if the capital of a modern superpower was left undefended, allowing a rival force to march in uncontested. That’s what happened when the Lombards sacked Ravenna, the political and military center of Byzantine rule in Italy.
The Lombards, a Germanic tribe originally from Scandinavia, had spent the past two centuries carving out territory on the Italian peninsula. In 751, their king Aistulf launched a decisive attack on Ravenna, capital of the Byzantine Exarchate of Italy. At the time, the Byzantine Empire—stretched thin by wars elsewhere—failed to respond, leaving the city to its fate.
Ravenna was captured, sacked, and its local ruler killed. More than just a conquest, this event signaled the end of Byzantine control in central Italy. It also weakened the Empire’s influence over the Papacy, forcing the Pope to seek new allies. Ryan Hatch explains:
It is at this moment that, while the divide between the Latin West and the Greek East had been slowly developing, Rome itself ceased to exist within the sphere of ‘Eastern Roman’ or Greek influence and became a permanent fixture of the Germanic West. With the loss of Rome, and with Zacharias being the last elected Greek pope, one could argue that, at this point, the Eastern Roman Empire finally ceased to be ‘Roman,’ becoming exclusively ‘Byzantine’ or ‘Greek.’
This shift would redraw the religious and political map of Europe—laying the groundwork for the future Papal States and the eventual rise of the Holy Roman Empire.
A King Falls, A Dynasty Rises: How Pepin Seized the Frankish Throne
A palace coup in 751 toppled one of the major ruling houses in Western Europe—the Merovingians—and replaced them with a dynasty that would reshape medieval history.
As the Papacy saw Byzantine power dwindling in Italy, they looked westward to the Kingdom of the Franks for protection. However, for decades the real power in this state was not the Merovingians kings but rather with an official known as the major domus (mayor of the palace), first held by Charles Martel (715–741) and then his son Pepin (741–768).
Pepin wanted to replace the Merovingian king Childeric III with himself, so he wrote to the Pope Zachary (741-752) asking whether the title of king belong to the one who wielded power or the one with royal lineage? The pope answered that true authority should also carry the royal title. With endorsement, Pepin made his move. Hatch writes:
In March of that year, as Aistulf’s army was sacking Ravenna, Pepin had the long locks that had characterized Merovingian authority shaven away from Childeric’s head, forcing him into a monastery with a tonsure, where he would die four years later. With the throne vacant, the Clausula de unctione Pippini (767) states that Pepin, backed by a sizable army, met with the Frankish nobility at Soissons, where he was crowned rex Francorum in November of 751.
It would take a few more years for Pepin to secure his position, but his actions marked the beginning of the Carolingian dynasty. He and his son Charlemagne would later become key protectors of the Papacy, shaping a new political and ecclesiastical order in Western Europe.
The Battle That Brought Paper to the West: Talas and Its Consequences
Map by Ian Kiu / Wikimedia Commons
The third major event of 751 was the Battle of Talas, in which the armies of the Abbasid and Tang empires clashed in Central Asia. The Tang Empire had ruled China since 618, overseeing a prosperous and expansive era. By the 740s, their influence was pushing westward, bringing several states under their control. However, when a Tang general broke a treaty with the small kingdom of Shigou, it sparked a rebellion against Chinese domination, which soon gained the support of the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Abbasid Revolution had only culminated a year earlier with the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty, ushering in a new multi-ethnic state that unified most of the Islamic world. The Abbasid governor of Samarkand was dispatched to lead an army in support of Shigou, and in July of 751, they clashed with the Tang forces. Tens of thousands of soldiers fought on each side, and the battle lasted five days. However, the Abbasids emerged victorious after the Karluk Turks switched sides, leading to the collapse of the Tang army.
Hatch explains:
While the victory at Talas made Islam and the Abbasids a powerful presence in the region, the Tang Dynasty did not immediately lose its dominance on the frontier. The immediate threat of the Anshi Rebellion, launched by the jiedushi An Lushan in 755, would both close the Chinese western frontier and end the Tang golden age, although the dynasty would limp on until 907.
Hatch also notes that while the immediate impact of Talas was a shift in regional power, its long-term consequence was even more significant—it introduced paper-making to the Islamic world.
According to some sources, among the prisoners captured by the Abbasids were Chinese papermakers, who were sent to Samarkand. Other sources suggest paper had already begun spreading westward before the battle. Either way, by the late eighth century, paper production was flourishing in Baghdad, eventually reaching Europe. The adoption of paper would revolutionize learning, trade, and administration, enabling the Abbasid Caliphate to become a center of science, literature, and philosophy.
Why 751 CE Deserves a Place in History Books
In just one year:
✅ The Byzantine Empire lost its grip on Italy, pushing the Papacy towards the Franks.
✅ The Merovingians were overthrown, leading to the rise of Charlemagne’s dynasty.
✅ The Abbasids defeated the Tang Dynasty, marking the beginning of Islamic expansion in Central Asia.
✅ Paper-making spread to the Islamic world, setting the stage for intellectual revolutions.
For Hatch these three events had profound consequences in both Europe and Asia. The Carolingian and Abbasid dynasties emerged as dominant powers, while the Byzantine and Tang dynasties faced periods of decline. He concludes:
The events of 751 made that year one of the most important dates in history … at the very least, the year 751 should become as familiar to both academics and students as 1066, 1492, 1776, or 1945.
Few people would list 751 CE as a defining year in world history—but they should. In just twelve months, a ruthless siege shattered Byzantine control in Italy, a cunning power grab ended a dynasty in France, and a brutal battle reshaped Central Asia. These weren’t just local conflicts; they set the stage for new empires, shifted religious power, and even introduced an invention that would revolutionize the world. Here’s why 751 was a year of war, betrayal, and innovation—and why it deserves to be as well-known as 1066 or 1492.
The idea that the year 751 is one of the most important years in human history is discussed by Richard Hatch in his article “751 C.E.: Watershed Events in the Carolingian, Byzantine, Abbasid, and Tang Empires.” He details three important events that took place that year.
From Byzantium to the Barbarians: The Sack of Ravenna
Imagine if the capital of a modern superpower was left undefended, allowing a rival force to march in uncontested. That’s what happened when the Lombards sacked Ravenna, the political and military center of Byzantine rule in Italy.
The Lombards, a Germanic tribe originally from Scandinavia, had spent the past two centuries carving out territory on the Italian peninsula. In 751, their king Aistulf launched a decisive attack on Ravenna, capital of the Byzantine Exarchate of Italy. At the time, the Byzantine Empire—stretched thin by wars elsewhere—failed to respond, leaving the city to its fate.
Ravenna was captured, sacked, and its local ruler killed. More than just a conquest, this event signaled the end of Byzantine control in central Italy. It also weakened the Empire’s influence over the Papacy, forcing the Pope to seek new allies. Ryan Hatch explains:
It is at this moment that, while the divide between the Latin West and the Greek East had been slowly developing, Rome itself ceased to exist within the sphere of ‘Eastern Roman’ or Greek influence and became a permanent fixture of the Germanic West. With the loss of Rome, and with Zacharias being the last elected Greek pope, one could argue that, at this point, the Eastern Roman Empire finally ceased to be ‘Roman,’ becoming exclusively ‘Byzantine’ or ‘Greek.’
This shift would redraw the religious and political map of Europe—laying the groundwork for the future Papal States and the eventual rise of the Holy Roman Empire.
A King Falls, A Dynasty Rises: How Pepin Seized the Frankish Throne
A palace coup in 751 toppled one of the major ruling houses in Western Europe—the Merovingians—and replaced them with a dynasty that would reshape medieval history.
As the Papacy saw Byzantine power dwindling in Italy, they looked westward to the Kingdom of the Franks for protection. However, for decades the real power in this state was not the Merovingians kings but rather with an official known as the major domus (mayor of the palace), first held by Charles Martel (715–741) and then his son Pepin (741–768).
Pepin wanted to replace the Merovingian king Childeric III with himself, so he wrote to the Pope Zachary (741-752) asking whether the title of king belong to the one who wielded power or the one with royal lineage? The pope answered that true authority should also carry the royal title. With endorsement, Pepin made his move. Hatch writes:
In March of that year, as Aistulf’s army was sacking Ravenna, Pepin had the long locks that had characterized Merovingian authority shaven away from Childeric’s head, forcing him into a monastery with a tonsure, where he would die four years later. With the throne vacant, the Clausula de unctione Pippini (767) states that Pepin, backed by a sizable army, met with the Frankish nobility at Soissons, where he was crowned rex Francorum in November of 751.
It would take a few more years for Pepin to secure his position, but his actions marked the beginning of the Carolingian dynasty. He and his son Charlemagne would later become key protectors of the Papacy, shaping a new political and ecclesiastical order in Western Europe.
The Battle That Brought Paper to the West: Talas and Its Consequences
The third major event of 751 was the Battle of Talas, in which the armies of the Abbasid and Tang empires clashed in Central Asia. The Tang Empire had ruled China since 618, overseeing a prosperous and expansive era. By the 740s, their influence was pushing westward, bringing several states under their control. However, when a Tang general broke a treaty with the small kingdom of Shigou, it sparked a rebellion against Chinese domination, which soon gained the support of the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Abbasid Revolution had only culminated a year earlier with the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty, ushering in a new multi-ethnic state that unified most of the Islamic world. The Abbasid governor of Samarkand was dispatched to lead an army in support of Shigou, and in July of 751, they clashed with the Tang forces. Tens of thousands of soldiers fought on each side, and the battle lasted five days. However, the Abbasids emerged victorious after the Karluk Turks switched sides, leading to the collapse of the Tang army.
Hatch explains:
While the victory at Talas made Islam and the Abbasids a powerful presence in the region, the Tang Dynasty did not immediately lose its dominance on the frontier. The immediate threat of the Anshi Rebellion, launched by the jiedushi An Lushan in 755, would both close the Chinese western frontier and end the Tang golden age, although the dynasty would limp on until 907.
Hatch also notes that while the immediate impact of Talas was a shift in regional power, its long-term consequence was even more significant—it introduced paper-making to the Islamic world.
According to some sources, among the prisoners captured by the Abbasids were Chinese papermakers, who were sent to Samarkand. Other sources suggest paper had already begun spreading westward before the battle. Either way, by the late eighth century, paper production was flourishing in Baghdad, eventually reaching Europe. The adoption of paper would revolutionize learning, trade, and administration, enabling the Abbasid Caliphate to become a center of science, literature, and philosophy.
Why 751 CE Deserves a Place in History Books
In just one year:
✅ The Byzantine Empire lost its grip on Italy, pushing the Papacy towards the Franks.
✅ The Merovingians were overthrown, leading to the rise of Charlemagne’s dynasty.
✅ The Abbasids defeated the Tang Dynasty, marking the beginning of Islamic expansion in Central Asia.
✅ Paper-making spread to the Islamic world, setting the stage for intellectual revolutions.
For Hatch these three events had profound consequences in both Europe and Asia. The Carolingian and Abbasid dynasties emerged as dominant powers, while the Byzantine and Tang dynasties faced periods of decline. He concludes:
The events of 751 made that year one of the most important dates in history … at the very least, the year 751 should become as familiar to both academics and students as 1066, 1492, 1776, or 1945.
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