Constantine, as he approaches maturity, has grown increasingly resentful of his mother's controlling influence in the empire.

The Empress crushes his attempt to seize power, demanding in 788 that the military oath of fidelity should recognize her as senior ruler.

The raids launched in the two years since Harun al-Rashid's accession in 786 have been relatively minor affairs; the first great invasion of the new reign occurs in 788, when a large expeditionary force crosses the Cilician Gates into the Anatolic Theme.

The raid is not mentioned in Arabic sources, but its description by the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor points to a major invasion, as it is confronted by the forces of the two most powerful imperial thematic armies, those of the Anatolic Theme itself and of the Opsician Theme.

The site of the battle is called "Kopidnadon" in Theophanes, a name otherwise unattested.

Modern scholars, beginning with Henri Grégoire in 1932, have identified it with the town of Podandos, on the western exit of the Cilician Gates.

According to the brief account of Theophanes, the battle ended in a bloody defeat for the Byzantines, who lost many men and officers, including members of the tagma of the Scholai who had been banished to the provinces by Irene in 786 for their continued support of Iconoclasm.

Theophanes also singles out the loss of the capable officer Diogenes, a tourmarches (division commander) of the Anatolics.

The immediate impact of the imperial defeat seems to have been negligible; losses were heavy but not unbearable, and the level of devastation of the region seems to have been minimal.

In material terms, there is therefore little to distinguish the defeat at Kopidnadon from the "typical" Arab raid.

It marks, however, a recommencement of large-scale border warfare after the relative lull since 782, which will continue unabated until Harun's death in 809 and the subsequent Abbasid civil war.

The Short Reign of King Bermudo I of Asturias (788–791 CE)

After the death of Mauregatus in 788 CE, the palatine nobility—the aristocracy of the royal court—elects Bermudo Ias his successor.

Since Mauregatus had seized power in a coup d'état in 783 with regional support, and Bermudo’s succession occurs without opposition, it is likely that Mauregatus had reshaped the court nobility to favor a candidate who, like himself, would block the rightful succession of Alfonso II, the son and heir of Fruela I.

Bermudo’s Possible Clerical Background

The Chronicle of Alfonso III, in both its extant versions, describes Bermudo as a deacon at the time of his succession. If true, this detail further suggests that his election was a deliberate political move to prevent Alfonso II from ascending the throne.

Regardless of the circumstances of his rise to power, Bermudo’s reign is short-lived, lasting only a few years before he is forced to abdicate in 791 CE.

Kanmu's armies are meanwhile pushing back the boundaries of his empire.

This leads to an uprising, and in 789 a substantial defeat for Kanmu's troops.

Also in 789 there is a severe drought and famine—the streets of the capital are clogged with the sick, and with people avoiding conscription into the military or as forced labor.

Many disguise themselves as Buddhist priests for the same reason.

Charles organizes campaigns against the Veleti, and their fellow Slavic tribe of the Linonen, because of their constant hatred and hostility toward the Franks.

With the aid of Frisian, Obodrite, Saxon and Sorbian, reinforcements, Charles manages to cross the Elbe River, advancing toward the Havel River into Veleti territory.

Outnumbered, Dragovit, in 789, is forced to pledge loyalty to the Franks and surrender hostages.

Among others, Dragovit is also forced to pay a tribute and accept the influence of Christian missionaries among his people.

His capital is a fortification known as civitas Dragowiti (City of Dragovit).

Its location is hypothesized to be either at Brandenburg an der Havel or …

…Demmin.

Bulgaria had overcome the internal political crisis after the end of the rule of the Dulo.

The khans Telerig and Kardam have managed to consolidate the central authority and put an end of the quarrels among the nobility.

The Bulgarians finally have the opportunity to intensify their campaigns in Macedonia and annex the region and its Slavic population to their state.

In 789, they penetrate deep into the valley of the Struma river and heavily defeat the imperial forces, killing the strategos of Thrace, Filites.

The Church's declaration in 789 of Sunday as a day of rest as well as a holy day thus further separates Christianity from any contact with Judaism.

Idris, founder of the Zaydi Shi'ite Idrisid dynasty, traces his ancestry back to Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.

In 789, on a bank of the Jawhar rive, he founds the city of Fés.

Fés is today the second largest city of Morocco.