title: 859
text: # 859
  
  Year 859 (DCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
  
  ## Events
  
  ### By place
  
  **Europe**
  
  * January 15 – Battle of St. Quentin: Frankish forces, led by Humfrid, defeat King Louis the German at Saint-Quentin (Northern France). Humfrid is enfeoffed with the County of Autun, and appointed Margrave of Burgundy, by King Charles the Bald.
  * Summer – The Viking chieftains Hastein and Björn Ironside (a son of Ragnar Lodbrok) begin an expedition, and sail from the Loire River with a fleet of 62 ships, to raid cities and monasteries in the Mediterranean Sea.
  * Viking raiders invade the Kingdom of Pamplona (Western Pyrenees), and capture King García Íñiguez I, somewhere in the Andalusian heartland. They extort a ransom, rising to around 70,000 gold dinars.
  * The Russian city of Novgorod is first mentioned in the Sofia Chronicles.
  * Winter – The weather is so severe that the Adriatic Sea freezes, and Italy is covered in snow for 100 days.
  
  **Iberian Peninsula**
  
  * Battle of Albelda: King Ordoño I of Asturias, and his ally García Íñiguez I, defeat the Muslims under Musa ibn Musa al-Qasawi at Albelda.
  * Viking raiders burn the mosques of Seville and Algeciras in al-Andalus (modern Spain).
  
  **Africa**
  
  * The University of Al Karaouine is founded in Fes (modern Morocco), by Fatima al-Fihri (recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest university in the world).
  
  **China**
  
  * September 7 – Emperor Xuān Zong (Li Yi) dies after a 13-year reign. He is succeeded by his eldest son Yi Zong, as ruler of the Tang dynasty.
  
  **Syria**
  
  * 859 Syrian coast earthquake. It affected the Mediterranean coast of Syria It caused almost the complete destruction of Latakia and Jableh, major damage at Antioch and led to many deaths.
  
  ## Births
  
  * Al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, first Zaydi Imam of Yemen (d. 911)
  * Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate (d. 946)
  * Odo I, king of the West Frankish Kingdom (or 860)
  * Rudolph I, king of Burgundy (d. 912)
  * Tannet of Pagan, king of Burma (d. 904)
  
  ## Deaths
  
  * September 7 – Xuān Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (b. 810)
  * December 13 – Angilbert II, archbishop of Milan
  * Dhul-Nun al-Misri, Egyptian scholar and Sufi (b. 796)
  * Immo, bishop of Noyon (approximate date)
  * Lu Shang, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 789)
  * Máel Gualae, king of Munster (Ireland)
  