main compound of Hōryū-ji temple in Nara is built during the Asuka period. Early 7th century: Croats enter their present territory, settling in six distinct tribal delimitations. 7th and 9th century: Mosaics and side panels above the apse of Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe are made. 600: Smallpox spreads from India into Europe. 602: The Third Chinese domination of Vietnam starts following the collapse of the Early Lý dynasty. 603: Last mention of the Roman Senate in Gregorian Register. It mentions that the senate acclaimed the statues of emperor Phocas and empress Leontia. 606: Pope Boniface III elected to the papacy on the death of Pope Sabinian. He sought and obtained a decree from Byzantine Emperor Phocas which stated that "the See of Blessed Peter the Apostle should be the head of all the Churches". This ensured that the title of "Universal Bishop" belonged exclusively to the Bishop of Rome. 607: Hōryū-ji temple believed to have been completed in Ikaruga, Japan. 610: A great number of Slavs enter the Roman lands of the Balkans. Later forming tribal confederacies. 610: Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Eastern Roman Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor. His first major act is to change the official language of the Eastern Roman Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population). 615: The Sasanian Empire under Shah Khosrow II sacks Jerusalem, taking away the relic of the True Cross. 615: Pacal the Great becomes king of the Mayan city-state of Palenque. 616: Shah Khosrow II invades Egypt. 616: Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeats the Welsh in a battle at Chester in England. 618: Tang dynasty of China do initiated by Li Yuan. 618: The Chenla kingdom completely absorbed Funan. Guangzhou, China, becomes a major international seaport, hosting maritime travelers from Egypt, East Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, Sri Lanka, and South East Asia, including Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Nestorian Christians. 622: Year one of the Islamic calendar begins, during which the Hijrah occurs—Muhammad and his followers emigrate from Mecca to Medina in September. 623: The Frankish merchant Samo, supporting the Slavs fighting their Avar rulers, becomes the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe. 626: The Avars, the Slavs and the Persians jointly besiege but fail to capture Constantinople. 627: Emperor Heraclius defeats the Persians, ending the Roman–Persian Wars. 629: The Arab–Byzantine wars begin. Much of