549

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The Circus Maximus in Rome (1911)

Year 549 (DXLIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 549 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

• Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under Totila besiege Rome for the third time after Belisarius has returned to Constantinople. He offers a peace agreement, but this is rejected by emperor Justinian I.
• Totila conquers the city of Perugia (Central Italy) and stations an Gothic garrison. He takes bishop Herculanus prisoner and orders him to be completely flayed. The Ostrogoth soldier ask to perform this gruesome execution shows pity and decapitates Herculanus before the skin on every part of his body is removed.^[1]
• In the Circus Maximus, first and largest circus in Rome, are the last chariot races held.^[2]

Europe

• Agila I succeeds Theudigisel as king of the Visigoths after he is murdered by a group of conspirators during a banquet in Seville.^[3]

Persia

• Spring – Lazic War: The Byzantine army under Bessas combine forces with king Gubazes II and defeat the Persians in Lazica (modern Georgia) in a surprise attack. The survivors retreat into Caucasian Iberia.^[4]

Asia

• Jianwen Di succeeds his father Wu Di as emperor of the Liang Dynasty (China).

By topic

Religion

• c. 549–564 – Transfiguration of Christ, mosaic in the apse, Church of the Virgin, Saint Catherine's Monastery in Egypt, is made.
• Fifth Council of Orléans: Nine archbishops and forty-one bishops pronounce an anathema against the errors of Nestorius and Eutyches.^[5]
• Bishop Maximianus of Ravenna consecrates the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe.
• The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory (which still exists) is founded in Ireland.

Births

• Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, uncle of Muhammad (d. 619)
• Jizang, Chinese Buddhist monk (d. 623)

Deaths

• Chen Daoten, father of Xuan Di (or 548)
• Finnian of Clonard, Irish monastic saint (b. 470)
• Gao Cheng, official and regent of Eastern Wei (b. 521)
• Herculanus, bishop of Perugia
• Talorc II, king of the Picts
• Theudigisel, king of the Visigoths
• Túathal Máelgarb, king of Tara (Ireland)
• Wu Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 464)
• Xiao Zhengde, prince of the Liang Dynasty
• Xu Zhaopei, princess of the Liang Dynasty
• February 16 – Zhu Yi, official of Liang Dynasty (b. 483)

References