View source for 656

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Year dab|656}}
{{Year nav|656}}
{{M1 year in topic}}
[[File:Sculpture façade Notre-Dame-de-L'Annonciation de Nancy.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|King [[Sigebert III]] of [[Austrasia]] (c. 630–656)]]
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Year '''656''' ('''[[Roman numerals|DCLVI]]''') was a [[leap year starting on Friday]] (link will display the full calendar) of the [[Julian calendar]]. The denomination 656 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 ==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===

==== Europe ====
* [[February 1]] &ndash; King [[Sigebert III]] of [[Austrasia]], age 25, dies after a 22-year reign. His 5-year-old son [[Dagobert II]] is [[Kidnapping|kidnapped]] by the court chancellor, [[Grimoald the Elder]], who makes his own son king, and [[exile]]s him to an Irish [[monastery]]. Dagobert is placed with Bishop [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers#Bishops|Dido]] of [[Poitiers]], while Grimoald's son [[Childebert the Adopted]] assumes the Austrasian [[throne]].

==== Britain ====
* King [[Oswiu of Northumbria]] invades [[Pengwern]] (modern [[Wales]]) and kills King [[Cynddylan]] in battle, near the [[River Trent]]. Cynddylan's brother Morfael and the rest of the royal family flee to [[Glastening]] ([[Wessex]]).
* King [[Œthelwald of Deira]] is removed from office by his uncle Oswiu, because of his [[desertion]] at the [[Battle of the Winwaed]], and replaced by the latter's son [[Alhfrith of Deira|Alhfrith]], as subject king in a united [[Northumbria]].

==== Arabian Empire ====
* [[First Fitna|First Islamic Civil War]]: An armed revolt erupts in [[Diocese of Egypt (Late Antiquity)|Egypt]]; several [[Muslim]] sympathisers travel to [[Medina]] to rally support, beginning the ''[[fitna (word)|fitna]]'' (literally meaning the 'trail of faith'). The [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim expansion]] comes to a halt as the martial energies of the [[Islam]]ic forces are directed inwards.{{sfn|Nicolle|2009|p=62}}
* [[June 17]] &ndash; [[Uthman ibn Affan]] is murdered at Medina after an 11-year reign.{{sfn|Madelung|1998|p=135 n.}} He is succeeded by [[Muhammad]]'s cousin and son-in-law [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi-Talib]], who becomes the fourth [[caliph]] of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]]. He makes [[Kufa]]h ([[Iraq]]) his capital, but the succession is disputed.
* [[December 8]] &ndash; [[Battle of the Camel]]: Rebel [[Arab Muslims|Arabs]] under [[Aisha]] (widow of Muhammad) begin a revolt against Ali. They are defeated at [[Basra]], and Aisha is exiled to Medina. During the battle 10,000 people lose their lives, with each party bearing equal loss.{{sfn|Muir|1898|loc=Chapter&nbsp;Chapter&nbsp;XXXV, "Battle of the Camel"|p=250}}
* [[Abdullah ibn Saad|Abdullah ibn Sa'ad]], governor of [[Upper Egypt]], dies after a 12-year regime in which he has defeated neighboring [[Nubia]].

==== Asia ====
* Empress [[Empress Kōgyoku|Saimei]] of [[Japan]] builds a new palace at [[Asuka, Yamato|Asuka]] ([[Nara Prefecture]]), because her former [[House|residence]] caught fire. This construction is called the "Mad Canal" by the people of that day, wasting the labor of tens of thousand workers and a large amount of money.

==== Polynesia ====
* [[September 24]] &ndash; A total [[solar eclipse]] is observable from [[Easter Island]]. The [[Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010|next at this location]] would not occur until [[July 11]], [[2010]].

=== By topic ===

==== Religion ====
* [[Emperor Zhongzong of Tang|Li Xiăn]], seventh son of the Chinese emperor [[Emperor Gaozong of Tang|Gao Zong]], is made [[crown prince]]. His lavish palatial [[mansion]] in [[Chang'an]] is converted into a [[Taoism|Daoist]] [[abbey]] during the [[Tang dynasty]] (approximate date).
* The [[Yasaka Shrine]] is constructed in the [[Gion]] district of [[Kyoto]] (Japan).
</onlyinclude>

== Births ==
* [[Saint Hubertus (first Bishop of Liège)|Hubertus]], [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège|bishop of Liège]] (approximate date)
* [[Emperor Zhongzong of Tang|Zhong Zong]], emperor of the [[Tang dynasty]] (d. [[710]])

== Deaths ==
* [[June 20]] &ndash; [[Uthman ibn Affan]], Muslim [[Caliph]] (b. [[577]]) (martyred)
* [[Abdullah ibn Saad|Abdullah ibn Sa'ad]], Arab governor
* [[Crundmáel Erbuilc]], king of the [[Uí Ceinnselaig]] ([[Ireland]])
* [[Cui Dunli]], general of the Tang dynasty (b. [[596]])
* [[Cynddylan]], king of [[Pengwern]] ([[Wales]])
* [[Li Daozong]], prince of the Tang dynasty
* [[Peada of Mercia|Peada]], king of [[Mercia]] ([[Midlands]])
* [[Sigebert III]], king of [[Austrasia]] (or [[660]])
* [[Zubayr ibn al-Awwam]], Arab general (b. [[594]]) (martyred)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Muir |first=William |author-link=William Muir |date=1898 |page=250 |title=The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline, and Fall, from Original Sources |edition=3rd |location=London |publisher=Smith, Elder}}
* {{cite book |last=Nicolle |first=David |author-link=David Nicolle |year=2009 |page=62 |title=The Great Islamic Conquests AD 632–750 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-84603-273-8}}
* {{cite book| last = Madelung| first = Wilferd| title = The Succession to Muhammad A Study of the Early Caliphate| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2QKBUwBUWWkC&pg=PA80| year = 1998| publisher = Cambridge University Press| isbn = 978-0-521-64696-3 }}
{{refend}}

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[[Category:656| ]]