872

By place

Europe

• Sancho III Mitarra becomes the founder and first 'king' of the independent Duchy of Gascony, with loose ties to the Frankish Kingdom.
• May 18 - After his successful campaign against the Saracens, Louis II is crowned as Roman Emperor for the second time and converts the Muwalladun, and the Arab elite.
• 18 July – Battle of Hafrsfjord: Norse chieftain Harald Fairhair wins a great naval victory at Hafrsfjord, outside Stavanger. He becomes the first king of Norway. Harald's conquests and taxation system lead many Viking chiefs and their followers to emigrate to the British Isles, and to Iceland.

  Britain

• Autumn - The Great Heathen Army returns to Northumbria, to put down a rebellion at York. King Ecgberht I and his archbishop, Wulfhere, are expelled by the Northumbrians and flee to Mercia.
• The Danes, led by Halfdan and Guthrum, establish a winter quarter at Torksey in the Kingdom of Lindsey. King Burgred pays tribute in return for 'peace'.
• King Artgal of Strathclyde is slain, through the connivance of King Constantine I of Alba and his Viking allies. Artgal's son, Run, succeeds to the Strathclyde throne.

  Arabian Empire

• The Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj defeat the Abbasid forces, led by caliphal regent Al-Muwaffaq. Hostilities in Mesopotamia will preoccupy Al-Muwaffaq, and the Zanj will remain on the offensive over the next several years.
• In Egypt, the first hospital is built in Cairo by the Abbasid governor, Ahmad ibn Tulun. Physician licensure becomes mandatory in the Abbasid Caliphate.

  Japan

• Fujiwara no Yoshifusa, Japanese regent, dies at his native Kyoto, having ruled since 858. He is succeeded as head of the Fujiwara clan by his son Fujiwara no Mototsune.

  By topic

Religion

• December 14 - Pope Adrian II dies, after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by John VIII, as the 107th pope of Rome.