Fu (including small towns in the vicinity), the New Book of Tang records that in this year there were 362,921 registered families with 1,960,188 persons. 743: Death of Arab caliph Hisham and succession of his nephew and heir Al-Walid II. 744: Assassination of Al-Walid II, Succession of Yazid III to the Caliphal throne on 17 April 744. 744 Death of Yazid III and his succession by his brother and nominated heir Ibrahim ibn al-Walid. On 4th December Ibrahim was forced to Abdicate in favour Marwan II. 748: The Chinese Buddhist monk Jian Zhen writes in his Yue Jue Shu of the international sea traffic coming to Guangzhou, ships from Borneo, Persia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and others bringing tons of goods. 750: The last Umayyad Caliph Marwan II (744–750) is overthrown and executed by the first Abbasid Caliph, Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah. The Caliphate is moved to Baghdad which would later develop into a centre of trade and culture. The Ghana Empire begins in western Africa. mid-8th century - Great Wild Goose Pagoda at Ci'en Temple, Xi'an, Shanxi, is rebuilt. c. mid-8th century - Camel Carrying a Group of Musicians, from a tomb near Xi'an, Shanxi, is made. Tang dynasty. It is now kept at Museum of Chinese History, Beijing. 751: Arabian armies defeat Chinese Tang dynasty troops in the Battle of Talas, in the high Pamirs near Samarkand, and conquer Central Asia completely. 752: The Hindu Mataram kingdom flourishes and declines. (to 1045) 754: Death of Abbasid caliph al-Saffah and ascension of caliph al-Mansur to Arab Caliphate. 755–763: The An Shi Rebellion devastates China during the mid Tang dynasty. 757: King Offa of Mercia becomes dominant ruler in England. 758: Arab and Persian pirates and travelers burn and loot the Chinese city of Guangzhou, while the Tang Dynasty authorities shut the port down for the next five decades. 760: The construction of the famous Indonesian Buddhist structure Borobudur began, probably as a non-Buddhist shrine. 761: Marriage of Abbasid princess Raytah and Muhammad (future al-Mahdi). 768: Pepin dies; Charles becomes king at Noyan and his brother Carloman becomes king at Soissons. 770's–780's: Java launched series of naval raids on ports of Dai Viet, Champa and Cambodia; Sontay in Tonkin (767); Nha Trang (774); captured Indrapura in Cambodia (770); Phan Rang (787). The naval raids was probably launched by Sailendran-Srivijayan Maharaja Dharmasetu or Dharanindra. 772–804: Charlemagne invades what is now northwestern Germany, battling