Events By Place Europe December 25 - Charles the Great (Charlemagne) is crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome, marking the start of the Holy Roman Empire. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. The town of Shrewsbury, England is founded. Africa Bantu-speaking people settle in present-day Zambia (approximate date). In Tunisia, Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab is appointed as hereditary Emir by Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid. The west African Kingdom of Takrur is fou… (More on 800)