761

By place

Britain

• August 6 - Battle of Eildon: King Æthelwald Moll of Northumbria faces a rebellion, under a rival claimant to the throne named Oswine, brother of the murdered King Oswulf of Northumbria. Oswine is killed after a three-day battle against the forces of Æthelwald in Scotland.
• Bridei V succeeds his brother Óengus I as king of the Picts.

Europe

• The city of Oviedo is founded by the monks Nolan and John.
• Construction is completed on the 108-room Castello di Lunghezza outside of Rome, Italy.

Abbasid Caliphate

• An Abbasid Caliphate army reconquers the city of Kairouan, from 'Abd al-Rahmān ibn Rustam of the Rustamid dynasty. The latter is forced to flee west, where he creates an autonomous state around Tihert.
• Khurshid II, the last ruler of Tabaristan, poisons himself when he learns that his family has been captured by the Abbasids.

Asia

• The Japanese priest Dōkyō cures Empress Kōken by using prayers and potions. He may have become her lover and certainly becomes her court favorite, arousing the jealousy of Emperor Junnin.
• A great Chinese famine in the Huai-Yangtze area, late in the year, drives many people to cannibalism.