Pope Gregory I negotiates with the Lombards who are threatening Rome

The Scots, a tribal group of northern Ireland, extend their kingdom across the sea into Scotland

Within two years of the death of Muhammad, the Arabs surge north into the Syrian desert

Retreating from the Arab onslaught, the Visigoths establish a kingdom of last resort in the extreme north of Spain, in Asturias

The Anglo-Saxons have a name for the Celts west of Offa's dyke - wealas or Welsh, meaning foreigners

Viking tribes known as the Rus are established as traders in the region of Novgorod

The Magyars, under the leadership of Arpad, establish themselves in Hungary

The Vikings settle in France, as Normans, when Rollo the Ganger is granted feudal rights over the region round Rouen

Toltecs move into the valley of Mexico from the north and establish a capital city at Tula

The Poles are first recorded as a tribal group when a German knight comes into contact with them in the region round Gniezno

Man-eating Caribs move into the islands around the sea named after them - the Caribbean

The Inca ethnic group migrates into the region of the Cuzco valley in Peru

Warlike tribal groups, calling themselves Rajput and claiming descent from the Aryan warrior caste, are now in Rajasthan

The Aztecs begin to move south from their original home, which they call Aztlan, somewhere in northern Mexico

German pressure eastwards (the Drang nach Osten) steadily brings colonists into regions previously occupied by Slavs

Batu Khan and his Mongols sweep into Russia, where they and their descendants become known as the Golden Horde

Mongols of the Golden Horde defeat the Poles at Legnica and ravage the city of Cracow

Mongols of the Golden Horde reach Hungary, where they graze their horses for the summer before withdrawing to the Volga

Hulagu and his horde of Mongols cross the Amu Darya river and move against Muslim Persia

The Marinids, a Berber tribe, take Marrakech and bring to an end Almohad rule in Morocco

The Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274 seems to confirm the doom and disaster foretold by the Buddhist prophet Nichiren

The Aztecs settle on an uninhabited island in a lake, which they name Tenochtitlan — the site of the modern Mexico City

Gallipoli is taken by the Ottoman Turks, giving them their first foothold in Europe

The first Europeans reach Japan by accident, blown ashore in a storm

Iroquois raids drive the Huron west to the Great Lakes