General Hou Junji captures the kingdom of Gaochang, to solidify Tang rule in Central Asia. Nestorian missionaries build the Daqin Pagoda in Chang'an (Shaanxi). Daqin is the name for the Roman Empire or the Near East. By topic Religion Disibod, Irish monk and hermit, arrives as a missionary in Francia. He begins his religious work in the Vosges and Ardennes. May 28 – Pope Severinus succeeds Honorius I as the 71st pope. He dies in Rome only two months after being consecrated. December 24 – Pope John IV succeeds Severinus as the 72nd pope. His election is accepted by the Exarchate of Ravenna. Economy A surge in atmospheric lead in ice core drilled in the Colle Gnifetti Glacier in the Swiss Alps signals an increase in silver mining because of economic recovery, after natural disasters in 530s and 540s. Births Al-Akhtal, Arab poet (approximate date) Arikesari Maravarman, king of the Pandyan Empire (approximate date) Asparukh, ruler of the Bulgarian Empire (approximate date) Godeberta, Frankish abbess (approximate date) Isonokami no Maro, Japanese statesman (d. 717) Kilian, Irish bishop (approximate date) Luo Binwang, Chinese poet (d. 684) Musa ibn Nusayr, Arab general (d. 716) Winnoc, Welsh abbot (approximate date) Wulfhere, king of Mercia (approximate date) Wulfram, archbishop of Sens (approximate date) Deaths February 27 – Pepin the Elder, Mayor of the Palace August 2 – Pope Severinus September 12 – Sak K'uk', queen of Palenque Alena, Frankish martyr (approximate date) Arnulf of Metz, Frankish bishop and saint Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, companion of Muhammed Chintila, king of the Visigoths (approximate date) Dushun, Chinese (Buddhist) patriarch (b. 557) Eadbald, king of Kent (approximate date) Eanswith, Anglo-Saxon princess (approximate date) Li Xiaogong, prince of the Tang Dynasty (b. 591) Romanus, bishop of Rouen (approximate date) Tysilio, Welsh prince and bishop Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, Arab general References