Irish Missionary Monk Columba  Events 561 to 592: Buddhist monk Jnanagupta translates 39 sutras from Sanskrit to Chinese. 563: The monastery on Iona is founded by St. Columba. 564 –  Columba reports seeing the Loch Ness Monster at the River Ness 566: Birth of Lǐ Yuān, founder of the Tang dynasty and Emperor of China under the name of Gaozu (618-626) 568: Lombards invade Italy and establish a federation of dukedoms under a king. Religion 569: Nubian kingdom of Alodia converts to Christianity. 569: Nubian kingdom of Makuria converts to Christianity. Columba, Irish missionary monk, travels to Scotland with twelve companions. He lands on the Kintyre Peninsula, near Southend, and begins his evangelising mission to the Picts. On the island of Iona, he founds a monastery (Iona Abbey) on the west coast in the Inner Hebrides. […]