601

Events 
 Peter (Byzantine General) wins the battle against the Eurasian Avars
 Liuva II replaces his brother Reccared as King of the Visigoths.
 The Qieyun, a Chinese character rhyme dictionary, is published
 The future Archbishops of Canterbury, Mellitus, Justus, and Honorius, and the future Archbishop of York Paulinus, are sent to England by Pope Gregory I to help Augustine in his missionary work.

 Births 
 Sigebert II of Austrasia and Burgundy
 Hongren, a Zen Buddhist patriarch of the Chinese Tang Dynasty (d. 674)
 Ma Zhou, Chinese chancellor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 648)
 Empress Zhangsun

 Deaths 
 Saint David, Patron Saint of Wales
 Reccared, King of the Visigoths