1041 CE

Peter, King of Hungary is deposed by a palace coup. The Hungarian magnates elect Samuel Aba as their king. Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian dies after a 6-year reign. His wife, Empress Zoë, elevates (on the advice of her lover John the Orphanotrophos) her adoptive son to the throne of the Byzantine Empire, as Michael V Kalaphates. Shortly after, Michael comes into conflict with his uncle John, and banishes him to a monastery. Winter – Battle of Ostrovo: The Byzantines, with the help of the Varangian Guard, led by Harald Hardrada (future king of Norway), defeat the Bulgarian troops, near Lake Ostrovo in Greece.

In the 1040s, the 11th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Harthacnut invites his half-brother Edward the Confessor to return to England from exile in Normandy as his heir as king of England, with the support of Godwin, Earl of Wessex.source

Conflict & Security

  • March 17 – Battle of Olivento: Norman troops and their Lombard allies, led by William Iron Arm, are victorious against the Byzantines at the feet of the Monte Vulture, near the River Olivento in Apulia.source
  • May 4 – Battle of Montemaggiore: Lombard-Norman rebel forces, led by William, are again victorious, and defeat a Byzantine army (18,000 men) on the hill of Montemaggiore, near the River Ofanto.source
  • September 3 – Battle of Montepeloso: Lombard-Norman rebel forces, led by William, defeat the Byzantines at Montepeloso. During the battle, Boioannes, governor of the Catepanate of Italy, is captured.source
  • September – Peter, King of Hungary is deposed by a palace coup. The Hungarian magnates elect Samuel Aba as their king.source
  • The Zirid dynasty rejects Shi'ite obedience and Fatimid domination, and recognizes the Abbasids as their overlords.source
  • Winter – Battle of Ostrovo: The Byzantines, with the help of the Varangian Guard, led by Harald Hardrada (future king of Norway), defeat the Bulgarian troops, near Lake Ostrovo in Greece.source
  • The city of Worcester rebels against the naval taxes of Harthacnut. He reduces the navy from 60 to 32 ships.source
  • At about this time, the number of enlisted soldiers in the Song dynasty Chinese military reaches well over 1,250,000 troops, an increase since 1022, when there were a million soldiers.source

Births

  • Ōe no Masafusa, Japanese poet (died 1111)source
  • Raymond IV of Toulouse (Raymond of Saint-Gilles), French nobleman (died 1105) (approximate date)source

Deaths

  • February 4 – Fujiwara no Kintō, Japanese poet (born 966)source
  • September – Budo, Hungarian courtiersource
  • December 10 – Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian dies after a 6-year reign. His wife, Empress Zoë, elevates (on the advice of her lover John the Orphanotrophos) her adoptive son to the throne of the Byzantine Empire, as Michael V Kalaphates. Shortly after, Michael comes into conflict with his uncle John, and banishes him to a monastery.source
  • December 10 – Michael IV the Paphlagonian, Byzantine emperor (born 1010)source
  • Tancred of Hauteville, Norman nobleman (born 980)source
  • Akazome Emon, Japanese waka poet (approximate date)source
  • Peter Delyan, Bulgarian rebel leader and ruler (tsar)source
  • Muhammad ibn Rustam Dushmanziyar, Buyid emirsource
  • Vikramabahu, Prince of Ruhuna (or Kassapa), ruler of Sri Lanka (born 1017)source
  • Mac Beathaidh mac Ainmire, Irish poet and Chief Ollamsource
  • Adolf II of Lotharingia, German nobleman (born 1002)source
  • Muhammad of Ghazni, sultan of the Ghaznavids (born 998)source
  • Gangeyadeva, Indian ruler of the Kalachuris of Tripurisource
  • Sampiro, Spanish bishop, politician and intellectualsource