874
Year 874 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.Events
By place
Europe
- Salomon, duke of Brittany, is murdered by a faction which includes his son-in-law Pascweten and Gurvand, son-in-law of late ruler Erispoe. After Salomon's death they divide the country, and Pascweten and Gurvand co-rule Brittany.
- Svatopluk I, ruler of Great Moravia, concludes a peace treaty at Forchheim. He is able to expand his territories outside the Frankish sphere, and subjugates the Vistulans.
- Ingólfr Arnarson arrives from Norway, as the first permanent Viking settler in Iceland. He builds his homestead and founds Reykjavík. The settlement of Iceland begins.
Britain
- The Danish Vikings drive King Burgred of Mercia into exile, and sack Tamworth. They conquer his kingdom and install his political opponent, Ceolwulf II, as sub-king.
- Autumn – The Great Heathen Army splits into two bands; Halfdan returns with his forces to Northumbria, along with his brother Ubba, where he establishes a new base on the River Tyne.
- Amlaíb Conung, the first Norse 'king' of Dublin, is killed in Scotland, during a campaign against his rival Constantin I.
- November – Frost begins in Scotland, and lasts until April 875.
China
- Huang Chao, a salt privateer, joins forces with Wang Xianzhi to raise a rebel army at Changyuan. The uprising further weakens the Tang dynasty, which is already weakened by natural disasters such as severe droughts and floods.
By topic
Religion
Births
- May 10 - Meng Zhixiang, general of Later Tang
- Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, Muslim scholar
- Edward the Elder, king of Wessex
- Constantine II, king of Scotland
- Liu Yin, governor of Southern Han
- Lothar II, Frankish nobleman
- Ota, Frankish queen and Holy Roman Empress
- Wang Shifan, Chinese warlord
Deaths
- January 4 - Hasan al-Askari, 11th Shia Imam
- August 15 - Altfrid, bishop of Hildesheim
- December 16 - Ado, archbishop of Vienne
- Amlaíb Conung, Viking leader
- Bayazid Bastami, Persian Sufi
- Han Yunzhong, general of the Tang dynasty
- Liu Zhan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- Lu Yan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- Pei Tan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- Salomon, duke of Brittany
- Unruoch III, margrave of Friuli
- Yahya II, Muslim sultan