841 Dublin is founded by Vikings
Events
- 840: Death of Louis the Pious.
- Vikings from Norway capture Dublin, and establish a Norse kingdom in Ireland.
- 841: Dublin is founded on the east coast of Ireland by the Vikings.
- Vikings sail up the River Seine and devastate the city of Rouen in Normandy.
- 843: The Carolingian Empire is at its height in territory and area.The three sons of Louis the Pious reach an agreement known as the Treaty of Verdun and split the Carolingian empire into three divisions; East Francia was given to Louis the German, West Francia to Charles the Bald and Middle Francia to Lothair I.
- 844: The first Viking raid in Iberia
- Viking raiders ascend the River Garonne as far as the city of Toulouse, and pillage the lands of Septimania. Part of the marauding Vikings invades Galicia (Northern Spain), where some perish in a storm at sea. After being defeated in Corunna, the Scandinavian raiders sack the Umayyad cities of Seville, Niebla, Beja, and Lisbon
- Siege of Paris: Viking forces under the Norse chieftain Ragnar Lodbrok enter the River Seine, with a fleet of 120 longships (5,000 men). They pass through the city of Rouen and plunder the countryside. King Charles the Bald assembles an army and sends it to protect Paris, the capital of the West Frankish Kingdom. Ragnar routs the enemy forces, and hangs 111 of their prisoners in honour of Odin. Charles — to keep them from plundering his kingdom — pays a large tribute of 7,000 livres (pounds) of silver or gold, in exchange for their leaving.The Vikings also sack the cities of Hamburg and Melun.
- 845: Buddhism is persecuted and banned in China.
- 846–859: Emperor Xuānzong of Tang reigned. He was considered the last capable emperor of the Tang dynasty.
- 846: 11,000 Saracen Arab squadrons from Africa, with 500 horses, desecrate Christian shrines in Rome, including the tombs and basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul.
- Bordeaux, capital of Aquitaine, falls into the hands of Viking raiders. King Charles the Bald sends a Frankish fleet to lift the siege. Despite destroying some Viking longships on the Dordogne River, they fail to save the city. The Abbey of Saint-Pierre in Brantôme is sacked.
- 848–852: The west bank of the Tiber is annexed into the city of Rome. A defensive wall, commissioned by Pope Leo IV, is built around what came to be called the Leonine City as a defensive response to the Saracen desecration of Rome in 846.
Religion
- Pope Leo IV builds (on the opposite of the Tiber River) the Leonine City, a fortified three-kilometre wall that encircles the Vatican Hill and Borgo, to defend Rome
