date: June 17

text: June 17 – 18: The royal council of Saint-Basle de Verzy is marked by opposition between the bishops and the monks. Gerbert d'Aurillac is elected as the deposed Arnulf's successor as the Archbishop of Reims, to the anger of Pope John XV, who had no involvement in the decision.


date: November 22

section: Religion & Belief

text: November 22: The beginning of the reign of al-Qadir, Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, under the tutelage of the Buyids and following the deposition of al-Ta'i.

source_section: Events


text: The Dagome iudex, a document which enumerates the possessions of Mieszko I, is written and entrusted to Pope John XV, who places the Polish territories under papal protection.

source_section: Events › Unknown dates


section: Births

text: Edmund Ironside King of England in 1016 (approximate date) (d. 1016)

source_section: Births


text: Guido Monaco, Italian monk and music theorist (or 992)


text: Yan Shu, Chinese statesman and poet (d. 1055)


text: Pons II (or Pons William), count of Toulouse (d. 1060)


date: March 1

section: Deaths

text: March 1 – En'yū, emperor of Japan (b. 959)

source_section: Deaths


date: April 2

text: April 2 – Bardas Skleros, Byzantine general


date: April 4

text: April 4 – Reginold, bishop of Eichstätt


date: April 5

text: April 5: 991 Damascus earthquake in Syria: According to historian George Elmacin (13th century), the earthquake caused the fall of 1,000 houses in Damascus itself, and many people were trapped in their ruins and died. The village of Beglabec was reportedly engulfed, due to the earthquake.


date: May 11

text: May 11 – Heriward, Frankish abbot


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Piligrim, bishop of Passau


date: June 15

text: June 15: Theophanu dies in Nijmegen, and Adelaide of Italy assumes full regency over her grandson, Otto III.


date: August 11

text: August 11 – Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex


text: Al-Muqaddasi, Arab Muslim geographer


text: Ashot-Sahak, king of Vaspurakan (Armenia)


text: Ibn Babawayh, Persian Shi'ite scholar


text: Ya'qub ibn Killis, Fatimid vizier (b. 930)


text: Sa'd al-Dawla, Hamdanid emir (b. 952)


text: Qian Weijun, king of Wuyue (Ten Kingdoms) (b. 955)


date: June 27

section: Conflict & Security

text: June 27 – Battle of Conquereuil: The Angevins under Fulk III "the Black", Count of Anjou, defeat the forces of Conan I, duke of Brittany, who is killed in the battle at Conquereuil (France).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Approximate date – Norse Viking settlers establish a mint in Dublin (Ireland), to produce silver pennies.


text: Spring – Pietro II Orseolo, doge of Venice, concludes a treaty with Emperor Basil II to transport Byzantine troops, in exchange for commercial privileges in Constantinople. Venetian ships are exempted from customs duties at Abydos (mostly foreign goods are carried on Venetian ships). Venetian merchants in Constantinople are placed directly under the Grand Logothetes (Minister of Finance).


section: Climate & Environment

text: Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea.

source_section: Events › By place › Worldwide


date: August 1

text: August 1 – Hyeonjong, king of Goryeo (Korea) (d. 1031)


text: Otto Orseolo, doge of Venice (approximate date)


text: Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1071)


text: Ulric Manfred II, count of Turin (approximate date)


text: Guido Monaco, Italian monk and music theorist (or 991)


text: Fujiwara no Michimasa, Japanese nobleman (d. 1054)


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Jawhar al-Siqilli, Fatimid general


date: February 29

text: February 29 – Oswald, archbishop of Worcester


date: May 25

text: May 25 – Mieszko I, prince (duke) of Poland


text: May 25 – Mieszko I, prince (duke) of the Polans, dies after a reign of more than 30 years at Poznań. He is succeeded by his son Bolesław I the Brave who becomes ruler of Poland. Having inherited the principality (located between the Oder and the Warta rivers), Bolesław forms an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire.


text: June 15 – Michael I, Kievan metropolitan bishop


text: June 27 – Conan I, duke of Brittany


date: July 1

text: July 1 – Heonjeong, queen of Goryeo (Korea) (b. 961)


date: August 23

text: August 23 – Volkold, bishop of Meissen


date: December 3

text: December 3 – Lothar II, German nobleman


text: Æthelwine, ealdorman of East Anglia


text: Fujiwara no Tamemitsu, Japanese statesman (b. 942)


text: Marino Cassianico, bishop of Venice


text: Adso of Montier-en-Der, Frankish abbot (b. 920)


text: Abu al-Hassan al-Amiri, Persian philosopher


text: Egyptian military commander Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


date: July 4

text: July 4 – Pope John XV issues a decree canonizing the late Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg, the first recorded canonization of a saint.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian (also known as the Sword of Essen) as a gift to the convent in Essen. It symbolises the martyrdom of Cosmas and Damian, the patron saints of the city.


text: An increase in concentration, recorded in tree rings, as well as and isotopes, recorded in ice cores, suggests that a strong solar storm may have hit the Earth in either 993 or 994.

source_section: Events › By topic › Astronomy


text: Samuel ibn Naghrillah, Spanish Talmudic scholar


text: Majd al-Dawla, Buyid emir of Rayy (d. 1029)


text: Sultan al-Dawla, Buyid emir of Fars (d. 1024)


date: March 13

text: March 13 – Odo I, German nobleman


date: October 19

text: October 19 – Conrad I, king of Burgundy


date: December 9

text: December 9 – Egbert, archbishop of Trier


text: Minamoto no Masanobu, Japanese nobleman (b. 920)


text: Maelcairearda, king of Uí Briúin (Ireland)


text: Arnulf (or Aernout), count of Friesland


text: Borrell II, count of Barcelona and Urgell


text: Landenulf II, Lombard prince of Capua


text: William I, French nobleman (b. 950)


text: Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine (b. 953)


text: David II, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)


text: Charles, duke of Lower Lorraine, dies in prison in Orléans (see 991). He is succeeded by his son Otto II, who inherits the full dukedom and pledges his allegiance to Otto III.


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Egyptian politician Isa ibn Nasturus ibn Surus appointed Vizier of Egypt.

source_section: Events › By place › Egypt


date: June 23

text: June 23 – Viking Age: Danish Viking raiders, (probably) under King Sweyn Forkbeard, plunder the city of Stade (Lower Saxony). Count Lothair Udo I is captured and killed, during the battle with the pirates.


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor of Damascus), besiege Apamea (modern Syria). Emperor Basil II sends a Byzantine expeditionary army, led by Dux Michael Bourtzes, to relieve the city in alliance with the Hamdanid Dynasty. Manjutakin defeats the Hamdanids with his forces and attacks the Byzantine force in the rear. The Byzantine army panics and flees, losing some 5,000 men in the process.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: A Danish Viking fleet, under Olaf Tryggvason, sails up the Thames Estuary, and besieges London. King Æthelred II (the Unready) pays Olaf 16,000 lbs of silver (Danegeld).

source_section: Events › By place › England


text: An increase in carbon-14 concentration, recorded in tree rings, suggests that a strong solar storm may have hit the Earth in either 993 or 994.


date: September

section: Culture & Society

text: September – King Otto III, now 14 years old, receives the regalia to rule the Kingdom of Germany at an assembly of the Imperial Diet in Solingen. Otto appoints Heribert of Cologne as chancellor of Italy.


text: Olaf Tryggvason, already a baptised Christian, is confirmed as Christian in a ceremony at Andover. After receiving gifts from Æthelred II, Olaf leaves for Norway.


date: November 7

text: November 7 – Ibn Hazm, Andalusian historian and poet (d. 1064)


text: Simeon, Norman abbot of Ely Abbey (approximate date)


text: Sancho III (the Great), king of Pamplona (approximate date)


text: Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Andalusian female poet (d. 1091)


text: Lothair Udo I, margrave of the Nordmark (d. 1057)


text: Alfonso V (the Noble), king of León (Spain) (d. 1028)


text: Ahmad al-Bayhaqi, Persian Sunni hadith scholar (d. 1066)


date: February 3

text: February 3 – William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)


date: April 4

text: April 4 – Egbert (the One-Eyed), German nobleman


date: April 23

text: April 23 – Gerard of Toul, German priest and bishop


date: May 11

text: May 11 – Majolus of Cluny, Frankish priest and abbot


text: June 23 – Lothair Udo I, German nobleman (b. 950)


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Abu Isa al-Warraq, Arab scholar (b. 889)


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Richardis, margravine consort of Austria


date: July 10

text: July 10 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria (b. 940)


date: October 28

text: October 28 – Sigeric, archbishop of Canterbury


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Wolfgang, bishop of Regensburg


text: Fujiwara no Takamitsu, Japanese waka poet


text: Ibn Juljul, Andalusian physician (approximate date)


text: Sancho Garcés II, king of Navarre (Spain)


text: Bagrat II, king of Iberia-Kartli (Georgia) (b. 937)


date: June 3

text: 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Regent.

source_section: Events › Asia › Japan


date: August 30

text: 30 August - Retainers of Takaie clash with retainers of Michinaga, on the main street of Kyoto.


date: September 28

text: September 28 – Boleslaus II (the Pious), duke of Bohemia, storms Libice Castle and massacres the members of the Slavník Dynasty.

source_section: Events › Europe


text: Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Basil II launches a counter-campaign against the Fatimid Caliphate. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary army (13,000 men) to aid the Hamdanid emir Sa'id al-Dawla, and crosses Asia Minor in only sixteen days. Basil lifts the siege of Aleppo, and takes over the Orontes Valley. He incorporates Syria into the Byzantine Empire (including the larger city of Antioch) which is the seat of its eponymous Patriarch.

source_section: Events › Asia › Byzantine Empire


text: In the spring, as the commissioner of Như Hồng province of Qinzhou refused to extradite Bốc Văn Dũng, a Đại Cồ Việt political criminal, more than 100 Đại Cồ Việt battleships raided Như Hồng province, plundered the residents and their food supplies before withdrawing. Until the summer, 5000 Đại Cồ Việt infantry troops attacked Namzningz but were defeated.

source_section: Events › Vietnam


text: Malachy captures Dublin for the third time.


text: Goryeo-Khitan War: Negotiations led by the Korean diplomat Sŏ Hŭi prevents a fullscale invasion of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty. King Seongjong accepts Liao's demands – and agrees to end the alliance with the Chinese Song Dynasty. Goryeo becomes a Liao tributary state, the Khitan army (60,000 men) withdraws while Seongjong orders the Korean border defenses strengthened.

source_section: Events › Asia


text: Olaf Tryggvason is crowned king of Norway (and ruled until 1000) and builds the country's first Christian church.


text: Uhtred (the Bold), a son of Ealdorman Waltheof I of Northumbria, establishes an episcopal see at Durham and moves the monastic community of Chester-le-Street there.

source_section: Events › Europe › England


date: September 4

section: Crime & Justice

text: 4 September - Michinaga’s escort, Hata no Hisatada, is killed by Takaie’s followers.


date: October 15

text: 15 October - Michinaga becomes Chief of the Fujiwara Clan.


text: King Kenneth II is murdered at a banquet by Lady Finella in Fettercairn. He is succeeded by his nephew Constantine III (a son of the late King Cuilén) as ruler of Alba (Scotland).

source_section: Events › Europe › Scotland


text: 995 Balu earthquake. It reportedly affected the Armenian areas of Balu, Cop'k (or Covk'), Palnatun (or Palin), and the districts of Hasteank and Xorjean. The areas affected were districts in what is currently the border area between Armenia and Turkey.

source_section: Events › Asia › Armenia


text: Reginar V, French nobleman (approximate date)

source_section: Births


text: Shaykh Tusi, Persian Shia scholar (d. 1067)


text: Olaf II Haraldsson (St. Olaf), king of Norway (d. 1030)


text: Herman II, archbishop of Cologne (approximate date)


text: William I, Norman nobleman (approximate date)


text: Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi, Persian historian and writer (d. 1077)


text: Frederick II, duke of Upper Lorraine (approximate date)


text: Hemma of Gurk, German noblewoman (d. 1045)


text: Dominic Loricatus, Italian priest and hermit (d. 1060)


text: Cnut (the Great), king of Denmark, Norway and England (d. 1035)


date: March 30

text: March 30 – Sahib ibn Abbad, Persian statesman

source_section: Deaths


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Baldwin I (or Boudewijn), bishop of Utrecht


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953)


date: May 17

text: 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.


date: June 10

text: 10 June: Fujiwara no Michikane dies.


date: June 13

text: June 13 – Fujiwara no Michikane, Japanese nobleman (b. 961)


text: Michitsuna no Haha, Japanese female poet


text: Al-Mansur ibn Buluggin, Zirid ruler of Ifriqiyah


text: García Fernández, count of Castile and Álava


text: Egill Skallagrímsson, Viking poet (approximate date)


text: Haakon Sigurdsson, Viking ruler (jarl) of Norway


text: King Eric VI (the Victorious) dies at Uppsala, after a 25-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Olof Skötkonung, as the first baptized Christian ruler of Sweden.


text: Eric VI (the Victorious), Viking king of Sweden


text: Song, empress of the Song Dynasty (b. 952)


text: Emperor Lê Đại Hành personally led a campaign to conquer four tribes Đại, Phát, Đan and Ba in Ma Hoàng. The tribes were defeated and their lands then belonged to the Early Lê dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: February

text: February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan.


date: May 21

text: May 21 – Otto III, 16, is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at St. Peter's Basilica, and claims also the title of King of Italy. His grandmother, Adelaide, retires to a convent she has founded at Seltz (Alsace). Otto puts down a Roman rebellion; a number of nobles (including Crescentius II) are banished for their crimes.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: In July, a rebellion broke out in Đỗ Động Giang and was quickly quelled by the emperor.


text: Revolt of Tyre: The citizens of Tyre (modern Lebanon) revolt against the Fatimid Caliphate. Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah sends an expeditionary army and navy to blockade the city by land and sea.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


date: November 1

text: November 1 – Otto III grants the Bavarian bishopric of Freising 30 "royal hides" of land (about 800 hectares, or 2,000 acres - 800 hectares is 2,000 acres) in Neuhofen an der Ybbs (Lower Austria). A document (the oldest known) marks the first use of the name Ostarrîchi, meaning "Eastern Realm" (Austria in Old High German).


text: Spring – King Otto III starts his first expedition to Italy from Regensburg, and proceeds over the Brenner Pass. News of Otto's arrival prompts Crescentius II (the Younger), patrician (the de facto ruler) of Rome, to invite Pope John XV (exiled in Tuscany) back to Rome. Otto arrives in Verona, and receives ambassadors of Doge Pietro II Orseolo of Venice.


date: March 5

text: March 5: Korechika returns with his head shaven and attired as a monk.


text: The Niujie Mosque is constructed in Beijing during the Liao Dynasty. The first mosque is built under supervision of the Muslim architect Nazaruddin.


date: March 2

text: March 2: Emperor Ichijo orders the imperial police to raid Korechika's residence; Empress Teishi (sister of Korechika) cuts her hair because of the humiliation; Takaie is arrested, Korechika is absent.


text: Following the border conflict with the Song in 995, Guangxi authorities arrested Bốc Văn Dũng, a political criminal to the Early Lê dynasty, along with his followers for extradition to Đại Cồ Việt. In return, emperor Lê Đại Hành extradited the captured pirates to the Guangxi authorities and agreed to make peace with the Song dynasty.


date: May 15

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: May 15 – The new Fatimid navy is destroyed by fire, resulting in anti-Christian pogroms in Cairo.


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)


text: Oda of Meissen, queen consort of Poland (approximate date)


text: Elvira Menéndez, queen consort of León (approximate date)


text: Drogo of Mantes, count of Valois and the Vexin (d. 1035)


date: March 12

text: March 12 – Odo I of Blois (Eudes), French nobleman


date: April 1

text: April 1 – Pope John XV dies of fever after an 11-year reign. Meeting a Roman embassy at Ravenna, Otto appoints his cousin Bruno of Carinthia (a grandson of the late Emperor Otto I), who duly ascends as Gregory V. He becomes the 138th pope – and the first German pope of the Catholic Church.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: April 1 – John XV, pope of the Catholic Church


date: October 14

text: October 14 – Caliph Al-Aziz Billah dies at Bilbeis in Egypt after a 21-year reign in which he has expanded his Shiite caliphate at the expense of the Byzantines, using Turkish mercenaries (Mamelukes). He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate (until 1021).


text: October 14 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 955)


date: October 24

text: October 24 – Hugh I Capet, king of France (b. 941)


text: October 24 – King Hugh I Capet dies in Paris after a 9-year reign and is interred in the Basilica of St. Denis. He is succeeded by his 24-year-old son Robert II (the Pious) as king of France. Robert tries (during his reign) to increase his power, by pressing his claim of feudal lands that become vacant. This results in many territorial disputes.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Richard I, duke of Normandy (b. 932)


text: November 20 – Richard I (the Fearless), duke of Normandy, dies after a 55-year reign. He is succeeded by his young son Richard II. During his minority, Rodulf of Ivry (his uncle), who wields the power as regent puts down a peasants revolt at the beginning of Richard's reign.


text: Ibn Abi Zayd, Muslim imam and scholar (b. 922)


text: Herman I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (the Slender), German nobleman (b. 945)


text: Gilla Pátraic mac Donnchada, king of Osraige (Ireland)


text: Abu Talib al-Makki, Shafi'i jurist and hadith scholar


text: Takashina no Takako, Japanese female poet


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Battle of Spercheios: Byzantine forces, under General Nikephoros Ouranos, defeat the Bulgarians at the Spercheios River in Greece. During a night battle, the Bulgarian co-ruler Samuel is wounded; he and his son Gavril Radomir evade capture, by feigning death among the bodies of their slain soldiers. Samuel sets off to Bulgaria, and retreats with the remnants of his army, into the Pindus Mountains. Ouranos returns to Constantinople, with 1,000 heads of Bulgarian soldiers and 12,000 captives.


text: Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, assaults and partially destroys the city of Santiago de Compostela. He is accompanied in his raid by Christian Portuguese lords, who all receive a share of the booty. On their way, they sack the cities of Zamora and León.


text: The first documented reference of Gdańsk is made by Adalbert. During his mission he baptises the inhabitants of the city called Gyddannyzc.


text: Spring – Pope Gregory V is exiled during a rebellion led by Crescentius II (the Younger), patrician (the de facto ruler) of Rome. The Crescentii family appoints Giovanni Filagato (former tutor of Otto III) as an antipope under the name John XVI (or XVII), until 998.


text: Winter – Emperor Otto III travels to Italy, leaving the government of the Holy Roman Empire in the hands of his aunt, Matilda of Quedlinburg. He is accompanied by Bishop Gilbert of Aurillac, his teacher and advisor.


date: February 1

section: Health & Medicine

text: 1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power struggle between Michinaga and Korechika, the empress is not allowed to go to the palace.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


date: May 18

text: 18 May: The imperial court decides to pardon Korechika and Takaie, under the illness of Teishi.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – Adalbert, exiled bishop of Prague, organises a mission to convert the Old Prussians in north-east Poland. On his way, Adalbert is murdered by pagans on the Baltic coast. His body is bought back for its weight in gold by Duke Bolesław I (the Brave).


text: Trondheim is founded by King Olav Tryggvason. This will function as the main city and capital of Norway, until Bergen is founded in 1070.


text: Godfrey III, duke of Lower Lorraine (approximate date)


text: Ibn al-Wafid, Andalusian pharmacologist (d. 1074)


text: Alan III (de Bretagne), duke of Brittany (d. 1040)


text: Bertha of Milan, Lombard duchess and regent (approximate date)


text: Rhys ap Tewdwr, king of Deheubarth (d. 1093)


text: Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, Danish noblewoman (approximate date)


text: Gusiluo, Tibetan religious leader of Buddhism (d. 1065)


text: April 23 – Adalbert of Prague, Bohemian bishop


date: May 8

text: May 8 – Emperor Tai Zong (Zhao Jiong) dies at Kaifeng after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Zhen Zong as the third ruler of the Song dynasty.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: May 8 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 939)


date: July 23

text: July 23 – Nuh II, Samanid emir (b. 963)


date: August 20

text: August 20 – Conrad I, duke of Swabia


date: October 6

text: October 6 – Minamoto no Mitsunaka, Japanese samurai (b. 912)


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Seongjong, Korean king (b. 961)


text: Géza (or Gejza), Grand Prince of Hungary


text: Summer – Roman of Bulgaria dies in captivity in Constantinople. He is succeeded by his brother Samuel (a member of the Cometopuli dynasty) who takes the Bulgarian title of tsar. He possibly receives his 'imperial crown' from Gregory V (approximate date).


text: Sabuktigin, founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty


text: Máel Coluim, king of Strathclyde (Scotland)


text: Sabuktigin, founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, dies after a 20-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Ismail as emir of Ghazna. But many in the court favor his elder brother Mahmud.

source_section: Events › By place › Central Asia


text: Constantine III, king of Alba (Scotland)


text: King Constantine III dies after a 2-year reign, possibly murdered by a dynastic conflict between two rival lines of royalty. He is succeeded by Kenneth III as sole ruler of Alba (Scotland).

source_section: Events › By place › Scotland


text: Fall – Otto III makes Rome the administrative capital of the Holy Roman Empire and begins the construction of his imperial palace on the Palatine Hill. He restores the ancient Roman Senate to its position of prominence and adopts the title of "Emperor of the Romans". To this Otto adds the apostolic devotion formula servus Jesu Christi ('Servant of Jesus Christ').


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Battle of Apamea: Byzantine forces under governor (doux) Damian Dalassenos besiege the fortress city of Apamea for control over northern Syria. The Fatimids send a relief army from Damascus – and defeat the Byzantines, Dalassenos is killed by a Kurdish officer in battle.

source_section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire


text: Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescentius II (the Younger) and his followers barricade themselves in Castel Sant'Angelo. Otto's former tutor John Philagathos (Antipope John XVI), who tries to escape into Campania, is pursued by German troops and captured. He is horribly mutilated – his ears, nose and tongue cut off and his eyes are gouged out. Crescentius surrenders at his stronghold and is beheaded. Otto reinstates his cousin, Gregory V, as pope of the Catholic Church.


text: Croatian–Bulgarian War: Emperor Samuel launches a military campaign against the Kingdom of Croatia to prevent an alliance between the Serbian principality and the Byzantines. He seizes Dyrrachium (modern-day Durrës in Albania) and advances along the Dalmatian coast. The Bulgarian army is forced to withdraw into Croatian hinterlands (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), after the Siege of Zadar.


text: Summer – Revolt of Tyre: The city of Tyre (modern Lebanon) is stormed by forces of the Fatimid Caliphate. A Byzantine squadron attempts to reinforce but is repulsed by the Fatimid navy. The defenders are massacred or taken captive to Egypt. The Byzantine captives are executed.


text: Battle of Ghazni: The Afghan prince Mahmud defeats his younger brother Ismail (the ruling emir of the Ghaznavid Dynasty) in battle. He places Ismail in comfortable captivity for the rest of his life and expands the realm of his late father, Sebuktigin, into the Punjab in northwestern India.

source_section: Events › By place › Persia


text: Winter – Otto III makes a pilgrimage through middle Italy from Gargano to Benevento. Stopping by Monte Cassino, where he meets the hermit monk Romuald.


text: Byōdō-in Temple (located in Yamashiro Province) is built during the Heian Period on orders of Fujiwara no Michinaga, who uses the Buddhist temple as a countryside retreat villa (modern-day Kyoto Prefecture).


text: Bishop Wulfsige III establishes a Benedictine abbey at Sherborne (Dorsetshire).


text: Winter – King Robert II (the Pious) is excommunicated by Gregory V. For reasons of consanguinity, his second marriage to Bertha of Burgundy is not accepted by the Catholic Church.


text: Muhammad, sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (d. 1041)


text: Song Qi, Chinese statesman and historian (d. 1061)


text: Masʽud I, sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (d. 1040)


text: Zeng Gongliang, Chinese scholar and writer (d. 1078)


text: Ibn Abi Hasina, Arab poet and panegyrist (d. 1065)


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani, Persian mathematician (b. 940)


text: July 19 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine governor (doux)


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Sŏ Hŭi, Korean politician and diplomat (b. 942)


date: August 19

text: August 19 – Fujiwara no Sukemasa, Japanese statesman (b. 944)


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Sisinnius II, patriarch of Constantinople


date: October 28

text: October 28 – Sigfried, count of the Ardennes (Luxembourg)


text: Æthelweard, English ealdorman and historian (approximate date)


text: Landulf of Carcano, Lombard chronicler and archbishop


text: Yelü Xiuge, general and politician of the Liao Dynasty


text: Nikon the Metanoeite, Byzantine monk and preacher


text: Samsam al-Dawla, emir of the Buyid Dynasty (b. 963)


text: Koppány (or Cupan), Hungarian nobleman (approximate date)


date: September 9

text: September 9 (999 or 1000) – Battle of Svolder: A Norwegian fleet, commanded by Olaf Tryggvason in his longship Ormrinn langi, is defeated by the combined fleet of the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard and his Swedish counterpart Olof Skötkonung, resulting in Tryggvason's death, and the splitting up of Norway between Sweden and Denmark.


date: December 30

text: December 30 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under Brian Boru (High King of Ireland) inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill (County Kildare).


text: Egyptian military commander Abu'l-Ala Fahd ibn Ibrahim appointed Vizier of Egypt.


text: The Karakhanids invade from north of the Syr Darya river, ending the Samanid Empire (modern Uzbekistan). The Samanid domains are split between the Ghaznavid Dynasty and the Karakhanids.


text: Emperor Lê Đại Hành personally led a campaign to conquer a total of 49 tribes in Hà Động. The Nhật Tắc tribe and others in Định Biên province were defeated, while the remaining tribes capitulated to the emperor.


text: King Bermudo II abdicates in favor of his 5-year-old son Alfonso V as ruler of León. Moorish invaders have forced Bermudo to recognize the suzerainty of their leader, Umayyad vizier and the de facto ruler Al-Mansur.


text: Sigmundur Brestisson, a Viking chieftain, introduces Christianity in the Faroe Islands.


text: Bishop Aldhun consecrates a cathedral (later Durham Cathedral) at a site in England where the remains of St. Cuthbert had been moved to in AD 995 from Lindisfarne because of the danger of Viking raids.


date: February 9

text: February 9 – The Mogi Ceremony of Fujiwara no Shoshi is held (she later becomes empress).


date: December

text: December – Empress Teishi gives birth to Prince Atsuyasu (who becomes the imperial heir), but on the next day, her rival, Fujiwara no Shoshi, is promoted to Consort.


date: March 5

text: March 5 – Bao Zheng, Chinese politician of the Song dynasty (d. 1062)


text: Berengar of Tours, French theologian (approximate date) (d. 1088)


text: Fujiwara no Ishi, Japanese empress consort (d. 1036)


text: Odo, Count of Penthièvre, duke and regent of Brittany (approximate date) (d. 1079)


date: February 7

text: February 7 – Boleslaus II ("the Pious"), duke of Bohemia (b. c.932)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Pope Gregory V dies after a 3-year pontificate in which the Crescentii family forced him to flee Rome. He is succeeded by Sylvester II as the 139th pope of the Catholic Church.


text: February 18 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972)


date: February

text: February – Matilda, German princess-abbess and daughter of Otto I (b. 955)


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Ebergar (or Everger), archbishop of Cologne (b. c.940)


date: November 4

text: November 4 – Gregor von Burtscheid, German abbot


date: December 16

text: December 16 – Adelaide of Italy, empress regent of the Holy Roman Empire (b. 931)


text: Alfred of Malmesbury (or Aelfric), English abbot and writer


text: Cao Bin, Chinese general and governor (jiedushi) (b. 931)


text: Subh of Córdoba, mother and regent of Hisham II (approximate date)


text: Ceallach ua Maílcorgus, Irish chief poet of Connacht


text: Yelü Xiezhen, Chinese general and politician


text: Muirgheas mac Aedh, king of Uí Díarmata (Ireland) (killed)


text: Maredudd ab Owain, king of Gwynedd (Wales) (approximate date)