Geopolitics & Diplomacy in the 11th century

92 sourced entries, 1000 CE to 1098 CE, oldest first. Also see Geopolitics & Diplomacy across every century or everything else in the 11th century.

• 1000In Great Britain, a unified Kingdom of England had developed out of the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.source
• 1000Sancho III of Pamplona became King of Aragon and Navarre. The Reconquista was gaining some ground, but the southern Iberian peninsula would still be dominated by Islam for centuries to come; Córdoba was the world's largest city at this time, with 450,000 inhabitants.source
• 1001February 6 – After leading the revolt against Emperor Otto III and expelling the Crescentii, Gregory I, Count of Tusculum is named "Head of the Republic".source
• 1001July 31 – Emperor Otto III confirms the possessions of Ulric Manfred II of Turin, and grants him privileges.source
• 1001Khmer King Jayavarman V is succeeded by Udayadityavarman I, and/or Suryavarman I.source
• 1001Bryachislav of Polotsk begins ruling Polotsk.source
• 1001Bolesław I the Brave begins ruling parts of Slovakia.source
• 1001The Tao/Tayk region is annexed by the Byzantines, as the Theme of Iberia.source
• 1001Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi ends being a lawspeaker in Iceland's Althing.source
• 1003King Rudolph III of Burgundy invests Humbert I (the White-Handed) with the domains of the Duchy of Aosta. He becomes the first count of the House of Savoy.source
• 1004Sancho III becomes king of Pamplona, Aragon and Castille (until 1035).source
• 1005January 13–18 – The Shanyuan Treaty is negotiated between the Liao dynasty and the Song dynasty. The Song government agrees to pay an annual tribute of 200,000 bolts of raw silk and 100,000 taels of silver, ending the northern border clashes against Liao.source
• 1005May 13 – The Japanese court permits Fujiwara no Korechika to enter the palace.source
• 1008Unification of the Georgian realm.source
• 1008In England, King Æthelred the Unready orders a new fleet of warships built, organised on a national scale. It is a huge undertaking, but is completed the following year.source
• 1009Law on planning and building passed in Serbia during the reign of Prince Jovan Vladimir.source
• 1010Emperor Ichijō wants to retire – the influential statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga supports Crown Prince Okisada (now his son-in-law), who will be the successor, but the emperor prefers his eldest son by the late Empress Teishi, Prince Atsuyasu, who has been raised by Empress Shōshi, who also supports her stepson, leading to conflict at court.source
• 1010The Russian city of Yaroslavl is founded, as an outpost of the principality of Rostov Veliky.source
• 1013King Henry II of Germany signs a peace treaty at Merseburg with Duke Bolesław I the Brave) of Poland. As part of the treaty, Bolesław pays homage and recognizes Henry as his overlord in exchange for receiving the March of Lusatia (including the town of Bautzen) and the March of Meissen as fiefs. To seal their peace, Bolesław's son Mieszko II marries Richeza of Lotharingia (granddaughter of the late Emperor Otto II).source
• 1014March – King Æthelred the Unready sends ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward to negotiate to reclaim of the throne at the invitation of the English nobles.source
• 1015Olaf Haraldsson declares himself King of Norway.source
• 1016March 10 – Emperor Sanjō of Japan abdicates the throne after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old cousin Go-Ichijō as the 68th emperor of Japan. Fujiwara no Michinaga is appointed regent.source
• 1017March – Fujiwara no Michinaga passes the title of regent of Japan (Sesshō) to his eldest son Fujiwara no Yorimichi.source
• 1017Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola dynasty (in modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.source
• 1018January 30 – The Peace of Bautzen: Emperor Henry II signs a peace treaty with Bolesław I the Brave, Duke of Poland, ending the German–Polish War. Poland keeps Lusatia – the Holy Roman Empire keeps Bohemia. With this peace agreement, Bolesław redirects his forces on an offensive against the Kievan Rus'.source
• 1019Japanese statesman and regent Fujiwara no Michinaga retires from public life, installing his son Yorimichi as regent. Michinaga, however, continues to direct affairs of state from his retirement, and remains the de facto ruler of Japan, until his death in 1028.source
• 1020King Canute the Great codifies the laws of England (approximate date).source
• 1021Abd al-Aziz al-Mansur, a grandson of the prominent Andalusian figure Almanzor begins his rule in Taifa of Valencia, a Moorish kingdom in Al-Andalus (modern Spain), ushering in a period of relative stability and prosperity that will last until 1061. Taifa of Valencia gained its independence from the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1010.source
• 1022The 14-year-old Al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, with support of the Zirid nobles, takes over the government and (as a minor) ascends to the throne in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia).source
• 1028Cnut the Great sails from England to Norway with a fleet of 50 ships. He defeats Olaf Haraldsson and is crowned king of Norway. Cnut becomes the sole ruler of England, Denmark and part of Sweden (known as the Danish North Sea Empire).source
• 1030The Chola Empire reaches its greatest extent.source
• 1033Treaty of Merseburg: Conrad II attends a Hoftag at Merseburg and signs an agreement with King Mieszko II. He divides Poland in three parts with Mieszko designated as supreme ruler, in exchange for Conrad's support.source
• 1034In Al-Andalus, benefiting from the weakening of the Muslim central authority, the count of Portugal, Gonçalo Maia, conquers Montemor-o-Velho (approximate date).source
• 1034Franche-Comté becomes subject to the Holy Roman Empire.source
• 1034King Sancho III (the Great) of Pamplona captures León, after defeating a string of rivals. His rule now extends from the borders of Galicia in the west to the County of Barcelona in the east.source
• 1035Emperor Conrad II ("the Elder") grants the city of Koper (modern Slovenia) town rights, and some degree of self-government, within the Holy Roman Empire.source
• 1037May 28 – Conrad II decrees the Constitutio de Feudis which protects the rights of the valvassores (knights and burghers of the cities) in Lombardia (modern Italy).source
• 1037The Great Seljuk Empire is established by Tugrul Bey.source
• 1038November 10 – Li Yuanhao proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Xia, declaring independence from the Song dynasty in China.source
• 1039Duke Casimir I the Restorer returns to Poland, and makes great efforts to rebuild the war-ruined country. He establishes his residence at Kraków (which becomes Poland's capital until 1596).source
• 1040June 17 – Harthacnut lands at Sandwich and reclaims the throne of England which had been taken by Harald Harefoot in 1035.source
• 1041King 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
• 1042Zoë recalls Synodianos, governor of the Catepanate of Italy, and replaces him with George Maniakes (the disgraced head of the Sicilian campaign). All of Apulia is in the hands of the Lombard rebels.source
• 1042George Maniakes revolts against Constantine IX and is declared emperor by his troops. He captures Pardos who has landed with an army at Otranto to take over his command.source
• 1042Duklja secures its independence from the Byzantine Empire.source
• 1042Casimir I, duke of Poland, succeeds in reuniting the realm which earns him the name "the Restorer". He signs a treaty with Bretislav I, duke of Bohemia, at Regensburg.source
• 1043The first king of the Kingdom of Nri, Eze Nri Ìfikuánim, is installed in West Africa.source
• 1049The Republic of Pisa successfully completes the conquest of Sardinia, from the Andalusian occupiers. [Dubious claim; since Sardinia was already governed by the Giudici by this time]source
• 1055King Ferdinand I of León ("the Great") begins his campaign against al-Andalus. He conquers Seia from the Christian allies of the Muslim taifas. In a drive to consolidate his southern border in Portugal he re-populates the city of Zamora with some of his Cantabrian (montañeses) subjects.source
• 1056Ottokar I, count of Steyr, becomes margrave of the Karantanian March (later known as Styria).source
• 1057September 1 – A riot in favor of Isaac Komnenos breaks out in Constantinople. Patriarch Michael I convinces Michael VI to abdicate the throne, and Isaac is crowned as emperor of the Byzantine Empire.source
• 1058The Almoravids conquer the Barghawata, a group of Berber tribes, who have established an independent state in modern-day Morocco.source
• 1059August 23 – Robert Guiscard, count of Apulia and Calabria, signs the Treaty of Melfi with Pope Nicholas II. Nicholas recognises the Norman conquest of southern Italy, and accepts the titles of Guiscard as duke of Sicily.source
• 1063Duke William I (the Bastard) claims the province of Maine and betroths his son Robert to Margaret, daughter of late Count Herbert II.source
• 1064January 4 – The Aztecs migrate from Aztlán to the southern lands in central Mexico.source
• 1064April 27 – Alp Arslan succeeds to the throne, as sultan of the Seljuk Empire. He becomes sole ruler of Persia from the river Oxus to the Tigris.source
• 1064Summer – King Ferdinand I (the Great) conquers more territory in modern-day Portugal and captures Coimbra. He appoints Sisnando Davides to reorganise the economy and administer the lands encircling the city.source
• 1064Kings Harald Hardrada of Norway and Sweyn II of Denmark agree to a peace agreement. Harald turns his attentions to England where he believes he has a right to the throne.source
• 1066October 15 – Edgar Ætheling is proclaimed king of England (but is never crowned). He is soon forced to submit to the rule of William the Conqueror.source
• 1067Odo of Bayeux, a half-brother of William I, is appointed Earl of Kent and becomes William's deputy (or de facto regent) in England. His wealth and land become considerable.source
• 1070June – Denmark signs a treaty with England; Sweyn II and his forces leave the country.source
• 1070Chinese Chancellor Wang Anshi starts the Xining Reforms (which last until 1085).source
• 1070Approximate date – Halsten Stenkilsson is deposed as king of Sweden, with Håkan the Red becoming king in Götaland, and Anund Gårdske being chosen as king of Svealand.source
• 1071The English rebels under Hereward the Wake and Morcar, Saxon former earl of Northumbria, are forced to retreat to their stronghold on the Isle of Ely in The Fens. They make a desperate stand against the Norman forces led by King William the Conqueror, but are defeated.source
• 1073May 25 – King Sancho IV of Navarre and Ahmad al-Muqtadir, Muslim ruler of the Taifa of Zaragoza, conclude an alliance by treaty.source
• 1073Egyptian official Abu'l-Ala Abd al-Ghani ibn Nasr ibn Sa'id al-Dayf appointed Vizier in Egypt.source
• 1074February 2 – Treaty of Gerstungen: King Henry IV is forced to restore the peace with Duke Otto of Nordheim (one of the Saxon leaders of the Saxon Rebellion). He signs a treaty in Gerstungen Castle, on the River Werra in Thuringia (modern Germany).source
• 1075Summer – Shen Kuo, Chinese polymath scientist and statesman, solves a border dispute with the Liao dynasty by dredging up old diplomatic records. He refutes Emperor Dao Zong's bluffs point for point during a meeting at Mt. Yongan (near modern-day Pingquan), reestablishing the rightful borders of the Song dynasty.source
• 1075The Kingdom of Mapungubwe is established, in modern-day South Africa.source
• 1075Anund Gårdske is deposed as king of Svealand (also called Sweden proper). King Håkan the Red of Götaland proclaims himself ruler of all Sweden.source
• 1077Suleiman ibn Qutulmish, a cousin of late Sultan Alp Arslan, consolidates his leadership over the Oghuz Turks and founds the Sultanate of Rum (modern Turkey).source
• 1077King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") reaches an agreement with his cousin Sancho Ramírez, who is elected as king of Navarre. Alfonso annexes the territories of Álava, part of Gipuzkoa and La Bureba, he is crowned and adopts the title of Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Emperor of all Spain").source
• 1077King Mihailo I is given the title "King of the Slavs" by Gregory VII. He becomes the first recognized ruler of the kingdom of Duklja (modern Montenegro).source
• 1077The Almoravids complete the conquest of the Ghana Empire, and reach Spain (approximate date).source
• 1079King William the Conqueror establishes the New Forest in Southern England. He proclaims it as a royal forest, using it for hunting, mainly of deer.source
• 1080The Rubenid Principality of Cilicia gains independence after its founder, Ruben I, succeeds in establishing his authority in the mountainous regions of Cilicia.source
• 1081Seljuk emir Tzachas (or Chaka Bey) conquers Smyrna (modern-day İzmir) and founds a short-lived independent state, which emerges as the first sea power in Turkish history.source
• 1082Byzantine–Venetian treaty: Alexios I signs a trade and defence pact with Venice, in the form of an imperial Golden Bull. He grants the Venetians a commercial colony in Constantinople, as well as free trading and exemption from taxes, throughout the Byzantine Empire in return for their defense of the Adriatic Sea against the Normans.source
• 1083October – While Robert Guiscard is in Italy, emperor Alexios I Komnenos retakes territory previously lost to the Normans, including the town of Kastoria. Several Normans, including Peter Aliphas, switch sides to the Byzantines.source
• 1084Robert Guiscard returns with 150 warships in Illyria (modern Albania), and occupies Corfu and Kefalonia with the support of Ragusa and the Dalmatian city-states.source
• 1084Sima Guang, Chinese chancellor and historian, with a group of scholars, completes the Zizhi Tongjian, a chronicle of universal history of China.source
• 1087January 3 – Emperor Shirakawa abdicates in favor of his 7-year-old son Horikawa after a 14-year reign. He exerts his personal power to set the cloistered rule system further in motion.source
• 1087Inge the Elder returns to Svealand and kills his brother-in-law Blot-Sweyn after a 3-year reign. Inge again proclaims himself king of Sweden (approximate date).source
• 1089King George II abdicates the throne in favour of his 16-year-old son David IV ("the Builder") who becomes ruler of Georgia (until 1125).source
• 1089Northumbria is divided by King William II into the counties of Northumberland, County Palatine of Durham, Yorkshire, Westmorland and Lancashire.source
• 1092Summer – King William II annexes Cumbria from the Scottish Celtic kingdom of Strathclyde, and builds Carlisle Castle.source
• 1093The Normans under Lord Robert Fitzhamon continue their occupation of southern Wales with Pembroke Castle being constructed by Arnulf de Montgomery.source
• 1095The Second County of Portugal is established by Count Henry of Burgundy. The Almoravids start pushing back the forces of King Alfonso VI ("the Brave") to the positions they occupied a decade earlier. This offensive begins with the re-conquest of Lisbon, which had been given away to Castile in 1091.source
• 1096Reconquista: King Peter I of Aragon conquers Huesca from the Moors of the Taifa of Zaragoza. He expands his domains to the south, conquering land from Al Andalus (modern Spain). The capital is moved from Jaca to Huesca.source
• 1096Phayao, a modern-day province of Thailand, is founded as a city-state kingdom.source
• 1097King Donald III of Scotland ("the Fair") is deposed by his nephew Edgar (who is supported by King William II of England) after a 4-year reign. Edgar (nicknamed Probus, "the Valliant") becomes ruler of Scotland until 1107.source
• 1098King Edgar of Scotland signs a treaty with Magnus III in which he agrees that the northern territories including the Hebrides belong to Norway. At Dunfermline Abbey, Edgar seeks support from Anselm of Canterbury.source