655

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Battle of the Masts: Emperor Constans II personally commands the Byzantine fleet, and sets off to challenge the Arab navy. He sails to the province of Lycia in the southern region of Asia Minor. The two forces meet off the coast of Mount Phoenix, near the harbour of Phoenix. The Arabs under Abdullah ibn Sa'ad are victorious in battle, although losses are heavy for both sides. Constans barely escapes to Constantinople.

  Britain

• November 15 - Battle of the Winwaed: King Oswiu of Bernicia defeats his rival, King Penda of Mercia at Cock Beck, near what later will be Leeds. Kings Cadafael Cadomedd of Gwynedd and Œthelwald of Deira, allies of Mercia, withdraw their forces before the battle begins. It marks the defeat of the last credible pagan force in England. It also sows the seeds which will lead to Anglo-Saxon acceptance of the Catholic Church.
• Oswiu becomes overlord over much of Great Britain. He establishes himself as king of Mercia, setting up his son-in-law, Penda's son Peada, as a subject king over Middle Anglia.

  Asia

• Empress Kōgyoku re-ascends to the throne of Japan, beginning a new reign as Saimei-tennō.
• Arab armies conquer Khurasan, and the Silk Road along Transoxiana.
• King Vikramaditya I of Chalukya re-unites the kingdom, after defeating his brothers.

  By topic

Religion

• May 15 - Pope Martin I is banished to Chersonesos Taurica. He dies later in the Crimean Peninsula after a 6-year reign, leaving Eugene I as the uncontested pope.
• Peada founds Peterborough Cathedral. It becomes one of the first centres of Christianity in England. Deusdedit is consecrated to archbishop of Canterbury.