Wu Zetian

Emperor of China

Born 17 February AD 624 · died 16 December AD 705, aged 81
Also known as Wu Zhao, Empress Consort Wu, Wu mei

Who was alive at the same time as Wu Zetian?

Drag across the timeline, or use the arrow keys, to see who was alive in any year and the age each person reached that year. Dashed lines mark world events. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.

When Wu Zetian was born, Muhammad was 52, Ali was 24, Aisha was 9 or 10, Mu'awiya I was 20 or 21 and Pope Martin I was 25.

When Wu Zetian died, Li Bai was 4, Abu Hanifa was 6, Pope Gregory II was 35 or 36, Charles Martel was 17 and Pope Adrian I was 4 or 5.

Born during Wu Zetian’s lifetime: Li Bai, Husayn ibn Ali, Abu Hanifa, Bede, Pope Gregory II, Charles Martel, Pope Adrian I and Pope Benedict II.

Not quite contemporaries: Du Fu was born about 7 years after Wu Zetian died, Pepin the Short was born about 8 years after Wu Zetian died, Pope Stephen III was born about 13 years after Wu Zetian died and Pope Adeodatus I died about 6 years before Wu Zetian was born.

What happened in Wu Zetian’s lifetime

Battle of Badr AD 624Wu Zetian was under a year old

Where Wu Zetian’s contemporaries were born

Wu Zetian is labelled; the others are the best-known people we track who lived at the same time. Each dot is a birthplace from Wikidata (75 of 81 placed); tap one to open that person.

Birthplaces as a list

Wu Zetian: Guangyuan
Isidore of Seville: Cartagena
Muhammad: Mecca
Abu Bakr: Mecca
Heraclius: Cappadocia
Uthman: Mecca
Pope Honorius I: Campania
Umar: Mecca
Brahmagupta: Bhinmal
Ali: Mecca
Mu'awiya I: Mecca
Fatima: Mecca
Aisha: Mecca
Hasan ibn Ali: Medina
Husayn ibn Ali: Medina
Pope Benedict II: Rome
Pope Gregory II: Rome
Bede: Jarrow
John of Damascus: Damascus
Charles Martel: Herstal
Abu Hanifa: Kufa
Pope Adrian I: Rome
Pope Paul I: Rome
Li Bai: Suyab
Pope Martin I: Pian di San Martino
Pope Leo II: Sicily
Khalid ibn al-Walid: Mecca
Pope John IV: Dalmatia
Xuanzang: Yanshi District
Pope John VII: Rossano
Pope Sergius I: Palermo
Pope Agatho: Palermo
Pope John VI: Ephesus
Pope Zachary: Santa Severina
Pope Vitalian: Segni
Pope John V: Antioch
Ja'far al-Sadiq: Medina
Pope Conon: Sicily
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan: Medina
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz: Medina
Leo III the Isaurian: Kahramanmaraş
Yazid I: Damascus
Bilal ibn Rabah: Kingdom of Aksum
Justinian II: Constantinople
Tariq ibn Ziyad: Khenchela
Khosrow II: Ctesiphon
Constans II: Constantinople
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib: Mecca
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr: Medina
Maximus the Confessor: Palestine
Hafsa bint Umar: Mecca
Ibn Abbas: Mecca
Constantine IV: Constantinople
Amr ibn al-As: Mecca
Emperor Taizong of Tang: Wugong County
Marwan I: Mecca
Ali al-Sajjad: Medina
Salman the Persian: Kazerun
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam: Mecca
Wang Wei: Yongji
Emperor Gaozu of Tang: Chang'an
Abu Sufyan: Mecca
Yazdegerd III: Istakhr
Mu'awiya II: Damascus
Harsha: Thanesar
Abu Hurayra: Tihamah
Leontius: Isauria
Al-Walid I: Medina
Saint Boniface: Crediton
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik: Medina
Heraclonas: Lazica
Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah: Mecca
Zaynab bint Jahsh: Mecca
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: Mecca
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib: Mecca

Compare Wu Zetian

The 140 best-known contemporaries

140 of the people we track were surely alive at the same time as Wu Zetian. All of them are listed here. See also everyone alive in AD 665.

Muhammad AD 571 – AD 632
Li Bai AD 701 – AD 762
Umar c. AD 586 – AD 644
Ali AD 599 – AD 661
Abu Bakr c. AD 573 – AD 634
Brahmagupta c. AD 598 – c. AD 670
Uthman c. AD 575 – AD 656
Aisha AD 614 – c. AD 678
Husayn ibn Ali AD 626 – AD 680
Fatima c. AD 610 – AD 632
Abu Hanifa AD 699 – c. AD 768
Mu'awiya I AD 603 – AD 680
Heraclius c. AD 575 – AD 641
Bede c. AD 672 – AD 735
Pope Gregory II AD 669 – AD 731
Charles Martel AD 688 – AD 741
Isidore of Seville c. AD 560 – AD 636
Pope Honorius I c. AD 585 – AD 638
Pope Adrian I AD 700 – AD 795
Pope Benedict II AD 635 – AD 685
Pope Paul I AD 700 – AD 767
Hasan ibn Ali AD 625 – AD 669
John of Damascus c. AD 675 – AD 749
Pope Martin I AD 598 – AD 655
Pope Leo II AD 611 – AD 683
Khalid ibn al-Walid AD 586 – AD 642
Pope John IV c. AD 600 – AD 642
Xuanzang AD 602 – AD 664
Pope John VII AD 650 – AD 707
Pope Sergius I AD 650 – AD 701
Pope Agatho AD 574 – AD 681
Pope John VI AD 655 – AD 705
Pope Zachary AD 679 – AD 752
Pope Vitalian c. AD 600 – AD 672
Pope John V AD 635 – AD 686
Ja'far al-Sadiq c. AD 701 – c. AD 765
Pope Sisinnius c. AD 650 – AD 708
Pope Conon AD 630 – AD 687
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan c. AD 646 – AD 705
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz AD 681 – c. AD 720
Leo III the Isaurian AD 675 – AD 741
Yazid I AD 646 – AD 683
Bilal ibn Rabah AD 581 – c. AD 642
Justinian II AD 669 – AD 711
Tariq ibn Ziyad AD 670 – AD 720
Khosrow II AD 570 – AD 628
Constans II AD 630 – AD 668
Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib c. AD 568 – AD 653
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr AD 624 – AD 692
Maximus the Confessor AD 579 – AD 662
Hafsa bint Umar AD 604 – AD 665
Ibn Abbas c. AD 619 – AD 688
Constantine IV AD 652 – AD 685
Amr ibn al-As AD 570 – AD 664
Emperor Taizong of Tang AD 598 – AD 649
Heraclius Constantine AD 612 – AD 641
Marwan I AD 623 – AD 685
Ali al-Sajjad AD 659 – AD 713
Salman the Persian AD 568 – AD 657
Chlothar II AD 584 – AD 629
Pelagius of Asturias c. AD 685 – AD 737
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam AD 594 – AD 656
Asparuh of Bulgaria c. AD 640 – c. AD 701
Wang Wei AD 699 – c. AD 760
Emperor Gaozu of Tang AD 566 – AD 635
Abu Sufyan c. AD 570 – c. AD 646
Yazdegerd III AD 624 – AD 652
Mu'awiya II AD 661 – AD 684
Harsha AD 590 – AD 647
Abu Hurayra AD 602 – AD 679
Dagobert I c. AD 611 – AD 639
Leontius AD 660 – AD 706
Al-Walid I AD 668 – AD 715
Saint Boniface c. AD 675 – AD 754
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik AD 675 – AD 717
Heraclonas AD 618 – AD 641
Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah AD 583 – AD 639
Zaynab bint Jahsh AD 592 – AD 642
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas AD 595 – c. AD 675
Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib AD 568 – AD 625
Bhartṛhari AD 570 – c. AD 651
Umm Salama AD 596 – AD 681
Zaynab bint Ali c. AD 627 – c. AD 684
Isaac the Syrian c. AD 640 – c. AD 700
Muhammad al-Baqir AD 677 – AD 733
Roderic AD 688 – AD 711
Marwan II AD 688 – AD 750
Dagobert III c. AD 698 – AD 715
Ibn Ishaq AD 704 – AD 768
Childebert III AD 678 – AD 711
Emperor Xuanzong of Tang c. AD 684 – c. AD 765
Sawdah bint Zam'ah AD 589 – AD 674
Zaynab bint Khuzayma AD 595 – AD 625
Talha ibn Ubayd Allah AD 595 – AD 656
Penda of Mercia c. AD 606 – AD 655
Abd Allah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab c. AD 610 – AD 693
Clovis II c. AD 636 – AD 657
Chlothar III c. AD 650 – AD 673
Theuderic III 650s – AD 691
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik AD 691 – AD 743
John Climacus c. AD 579 – c. AD 649
Umm Habiba c. AD 594 – AD 665
Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud AD 594 – AD 653
Childeric II AD 655 – AD 675
Chilperic II c. AD 673 – AD 721
Clovis IV c. AD 677 – AD 695
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf c. AD 577 – c. AD 654
Theophylact Simocatta AD 580 – AD 630
Maymunah bint al-Harith c. AD 592 – AD 672
Boran AD 590 – AD 632
Safiyya bint Huyayy c. AD 610 – AD 670
Juwayriya bint al-Harith AD 608 – AD 676
Hasan al-Basri AD 642 – AD 728
Pepin of Herstal c. AD 645 – AD 714
Empress Jitō AD 645 – AD 703
Empress Suiko AD 554 – AD 628
Ruqayya bint Muhammad c. AD 600 – AD 624
Emperor Tenji AD 626 – AD 672
Dagobert II AD 652 – AD 679
Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf AD 661 – AD 714
Yazid II AD 687 – AD 724
Yazid III AD 701 – AD 744
Empress Kōgyoku AD 594 – AD 661
Sigebert III AD 630 – AD 656
Empress Genmei AD 661 – AD 721
Kahina AD 668 – AD 703
Theodelinda c. AD 570 – c. AD 628
Zayd ibn Haritha al-Kalbi AD 581 – AD 629
Pepin of Landen c. AD 585 – AD 640
Rayhana bint Zayd c. 590s – AD 631
Anas ibn Malik AD 611 – AD 713
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim AD 695 – AD 715
Ammar ibn Yasir AD 570 – AD 657
Zainab bint Muhammad c. AD 599 – c. AD 629
Emperor Tenmu AD 631 – AD 686
Liutprand, King of the Lombards c. 680s – AD 744
Chlothar IV c. AD 685 – AD 719
Shantideva c. AD 685 – c. AD 763
Kubrat c. AD 595 – AD 665
Ardashir III AD 621 – AD 630