609
Year 609 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 609 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
- Nicetas, cousin of future emperor Heraclius, launches an overland invasion in Egypt. He defeats a Byzantine army under Bonus outside Alexandria, sent from Constantinople.
Persia
- Battle of Dhi Qar: Arab tribesmen of Bakr ibn Wa'il defeat a Persian force, at a watering place near Kufa.
Asia
- Emperor Yángdi completes the Grand Canal; it provides an unbroken inland ship transport between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The canal network is 1,776 km long—linking five river systems—and extends from Beijing to the city of Hangzhou.
- The Sui dynasty government records a tax census of roughly 9 million registered households in the Chinese Empire, a population size of roughly 50 million people.
- Shibi Khan becomes the ninth ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
By topic
Religion
- May 13 - The Pantheon in Rome is consecrated as "St. Mary and the Martyrs" by Pope Boniface IV.
- December 22 - Muhammad claims to have received what was to become the first wahy of Islam.