Religion & Belief in the 10th century

174 sourced entries, 900 CE to 999 CE, oldest first. Also see Religion & Belief across every century or everything else in the 10th century.

• 900February 4 – The 7-year-old Louis IV ("the Child") is proclaimed king of the East Frankish Kingdom at an assembly at Forchheim (Bavaria). Because of his young age, the reins of government are entirely in the hands of others – the Frankish nobles and bishops. The most influential of Louis' councillors are Hatto I, archbishop of Mainz, and Solomon III, bishop of Constance.source
• 900June 17 – Baldwin II, Count of Flanders has Fulk the Venerable, bishop of Reims, assassinated.source
• 900Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghanistan) over Amr ibn al-Layth; the latter is captured and sent to Caliph Al-Mu'tadid in Baghdad. The Samanid Dynasty rules over Khorasan, as well as Transoxiana. A few months later, the Samanids conquer the Zaydid emirate of Tabaristan. This victory marks the beginning of the dispersion of the local Shi'ites by the new Sunni power.source
• 900The future founder of the Fatimid Caliphate, Abdallah al-Mahdi and his family migrate to North Africa. They claim to be descendants of Fatimah, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.source
• 900King Donald II is killed after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousin Constantine II as king of Scotland; he will reign for more than 40 years.source
• 901January – Arethas of Caesarea speaks on the occasion of the Epiphany. He becomes the official rhetor at the Byzantine court of Emperor Leo VI (the Wise) at Constantinople, and is nominated as Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.source
• 901February – King Louis III (the Blind) is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict IV at Rome. His rival Berengar I seeks refuge in Bavaria at the court of King Louis IV (the Child).source
• 901March 1 – Nicholas Mystikos, a layman close to Photios, becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.source
• 903King Berengar I of Italy proceeds to issue concessions and privileges to the Lombard nobility and monasteries. He grants concessions to Bobbio Abbey in Emilia-Romagna (Northeast Italy).source
• 904January 29 – Pope Sergius III succeeds Leo V and the deposed Antipope Christopher (both of whom are murdered or exiled) as the 119th pope of the Catholic Church. The ascension of Sergius marks the beginning of the Pornocracy ('rule of the whores'), which will last for 150 years. During this time, the clergy will be sidelined and rule over Rome is dominated by the Roman nobility.source
• 904Sergius III allies himself with Theophylact I, count of Tusculum, who becomes ruler of Rome and the papal administration. Sergius rewards him (for his support and rise of power) with the position of sacri palatii vestararius and essentially becomes his puppet.source
• 904Beginning of the Saeculum obscurum ('Dark Age'), a period of 60 years in which the papacy was heavily influenced by the powerful Theophylacti family, the counts of Tusculum.source
• 905Summer – Caliph Al-Muktafi sends an Abbasid army (10,000 men) led by Muhammad ibn Sulayman to re-establish control over Syria and Egypt. The campaign is supported from the sea by a fleet from the frontier districts of Cilicia under Damian of Tarsus. He leads his ships up the Nile River, raids the coast, and intercepts the supplies for the Tulunids.source
• 905Naum of Preslav, a Bulgarian missionary, founds a monastery on the shores of Lake Ohrid (modern-day North Macedonia), which later receives his name.source
• 905Emperor Daigo of Japan orders the selection of four court poets, led by Ki no Tsurayuki, to compile the Kokin Wakashū, an early anthology of Waka poetry.source
• 906King Constantine II of Scotland calls for an assembly to meet at Scone. Scottish Christian clergy under Bishop Cellach pledges that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the laws of churches and gospels, should be kept pariter cum Scottis.source
• 907February 1 – Nicholas I Mystikos is deposed as Patriarch of Constanstinople, (having fallen out with the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI), and is replaced by Euthymius I Syncellus.source
• 907Lady Æthelflæd of Mercia refortifies Chester against Viking attacks. King Edward the Elder founds Romsey Abbey (Hampshire).source
• 908March 26 – Emperor Taizu (Zhu Wen) of Later Liang has the 15-year-old Li Zhu, the last Tang Dynasty emperor, poisoned. Li Zhu receives the posthumous name of Ai ("lamentable").source
• 908May 15 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI (the Wise), is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople. The ceremony is held in the Hagia Sophia. After the rituals, Constantine is crowned (symbolically) and becomes Leo's successor.source
• 908December 17 – Husayn ibn Hamdan leads a revolt to depose the newly-appointed Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir in Baghdad. He installs his uncle Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz and kills vizier Al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, but fails to murder Al-Muqtadir. This leads, finally, to the coup's collapse.source
• 909Winter – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah takes up the leadership of the Fatimid state and proclaims himself Caliph Abdullah (al-Mahdi).source
• 910William I (the Pious) of Aquitaine, donates land in Burgundy for the building of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to the saints Peter and Paul. Hence the Abbey of Cluny, becomes the largest in the West. In the foundation charter, William renounces all rights to the monastery and nominates Berno as the first abbot of Cluny (Eastern France). He places the monastery directly under the control of the Papal See.source
• 910Gabriel I becomes Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria (Egypt).source
• 912October 16 – Abd al-Rahman III succeeds his grandfather Abdullah ibn Muhammad (after his execution) and becomes emir of Córdoba (Al-Andalus).source
• 912Euthymius I is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople, and Nicholas Mystikos is restored.source
• 913Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah of the Fatimid Caliphate replaces the unpopular governor Ibn Abi Khinzir with Ali ibn Umar al-Balawi. But the Sicilian lords find this unacceptable and decide to declare independence of Sicily. They acknowledge allegiance to the Abbasid caliph Al-Muqtadir and acclaim an Aghlabid prince, Ahmed ibn Khorob, as emir of Sicily. The Sicilians re-launch their conquest of Byzantine Calabria, while Ahmed ibn Khorob in Sicily leads a successful assault against the North African cities of Sfax and Tripoli.source
• 914February 4 – The Belanjong pillar is established on Bali.source
• 914July 11 – Al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, son of the Fatimid caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, leaves Raqqada at the head of an army, which is composed of Kutama warriors and the Arab jund (personal guard) in an attempt to conquer Egypt. He sends orders to Hubāsa to wait for him, but driven by ambition Hubāsa is already on his way to Alexandria.source
• 914Spring – Empress Zoe Karbonopsina leads a palace coup at Constantinople and, with the support of the magistros John Eladas, overthrows Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos as regent over her son, Emperor Constantine VII. She allows Nicholas to remain as patriarch, repudiates the title granted to Simeon I of Bulgaria (see 913) and nullifies the marriage plans (with a Bulgarian princess) made for her son by Nicholas.source
• 914Vikings devastate the Welsh coast and move up the Severn River. They capture Bishop Cyfeilliog of Ergyng, and he is ransomed by King Edward the Elder. The Vikings are defeated by levies from Hereford and Gloucester.source
• 914Summer – Saracens from Garigliano establish advanced strongholds in Lazio at Trevi (in the Sabine Hills, near Palestrina) and Sutri. From here, they encroach on the papal cities of Orte, Narni and Nepi with impunity.source
• 915December 3 – John X crowns the Italian sovereign Berengar I as the Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. Berengar returns to northern Italy, where Friuli is threatened by the Hungarians.source
• 916Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khorob. They offer Sicily to the Fatimid Caliphate in Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). Caliph Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah welcomes this turn of events, but refuses to grant the Berber rulers their autonomy. He sends a Fatimid expeditionary force under Abu Said Musa which lands in Sicily and, with some difficulty, takes control of the island. Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah appoints Salam ibn Rashid as the emir of Sicily. Ahmed ibn Khorob is dispatched to Raqqada and executed.source
• 919The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is declared as autocephalous and elevated to the rank of patriarchate at an ecclesiastical council.source
• 920December 17 – Romanos I has himself crowned co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He shares the throne with the 15-year-old Constantine VII (his son-in-law), and constructs an alternative palace at Constantinople with an adjoining monastery near the Great Palace. Though Constantine retains his formal position as first on the protocol list, Romanos becomes sole ruler.source
• 920Emperor Taizu of the Khitan Empire orders the adoption of a written script by the Khitan, resulting in the creation of Khitan "Large Script."source
• 920Henry I conquers Utrecht (modern-day Netherlands), which has been in possession of the Vikings for 70 years. Balderic, bishop of Utrecht, moves his seat back from Deventer to Utrecht (approximate date).source
• 921June 21 – A diplomatic delegation is sent from Baghdad to establish trade routes between the Abbasid Caliphate towards Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan). Ahmad ibn Fadlan, an Arab diplomat and traveller, makes contact with Almış, the İltäbär (vassal-king under the Khazars) of Volga Bulgaria, on behalf of Caliph al-Muqtadir.source
• 922Summer – The West Frankish nobles revolt and depose King Charles III (the Simple) after a 24-year reign. He seeks refuge in Lotharingia and is replaced by Robert I, a brother of the late King Odo, who is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom in the cathedral at Rheims.source
• 924January 5 – The monastery of San Martín de Albelda is founded in the Kingdom of Navarre in what is now the city of Albelda de Iregua in Spain, by orders of King Sancho Garcés I and Toda Aznárez, monarchs of Navarre, to celebrate the previous year's recapture of the cities of Nájera and Viguera.source
• 924February 12 – (1 Dhu al-Qi'dah 311 A.H.) Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh is removed from office as the Abbasid Governor of Egypt by the Caliph al-Muqtadir after less than six months in office and is replaced by Takin al-Khazari. who, following his death, sack and burn the city of Pavia. They Hungarian forces penetrate as far as the Pyrenees.source
• 924June 15 – Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, the Grand Vizier of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir since returning to power in August 923, is removed from office by the Caliph, and is replaced by Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Khaqani. On July 24, he is executed along with his son, al-Muhassin, for his brutality during his rule and for failing to prevent the March attack by the Qarmatians on Iraqi Muslim pilgrims.source
• 925January 5 – Gabellus becomes the first abbot of the monsastery of San Martín de Albelda in the Spanish kingdom of Navarre.source
• 925June 29 — Stephen II becomes the new Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, succeeding Nicholas I.source
• 925October — In Byzantium, John Mystikos, chief minister (paradynasteuon), is deposed by the Emperor Romanos I, flogged, and sent into exile in a monastery. He is replaced by the chamberlain (protovestiarios) Theophanes, who becomes the closest adviser of Emperor Romanos I. At this time the Byzantine Empire has been embroiled in a protracted and disastrous war with Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria.source
• 925Ha-Mim proclaims himself a prophet and a messenger of Islam, among the Ghomara Berbers near the city of Tétouan (modern Morocco).source
• 925A visiting Uyghur delegation spurs the development of Khitan small script, based on alphabetic principles (approximate date).source
• 926Spring – The Italian nobles turn against King Rudolph II of Burgundy and request that Hugh of Provence, the effective ruler of Lower Burgundy, be elected as king of Italy. Rudolph's father-in-law Duke Burchard II of Swabia is ambushed and killed near Novara, by the henchmen of Archbishop Lambert of Milan. Rudolph, disillusioned by the news, returns to Burgundy to protect himself. Hugh has himself crowned King of Italy. and appoints Giselbert I as count palatine of Bergamo (Northern Italy).source
• 926The Hungarians besiege Augsburg in Bavaria, then conquer the monastery of St. Gallen (modern Switzerland). After an unsuccessful battle with the locals, they burn the suburbs of Konstanz, then they cross westwards and defeat a Frankish army led by Duke Liutfred of Alsace.source
• 926Pope John X allies himself with Hugh of Provence provoking the ire of Marozia, daughter of the Roman consul Theophylact I, who is married to Hugh's rival Guy of Tuscany.source
• 927The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is recognised as autocephalous, by the Patriarchate of Constantinople.source
• 927Summer – The Hungarians fight in Rome, helping Margrave Peter against Pope John X. They then go to southern Italy, and conquer the cities of Taranto and Oria.source
• 928July 18 – Tryphon succeeds Stephen II as patriarch of Constantinople (until 931).source
• 928Summer – Pope John X is deposed and imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo at Rome by order of the Roman senatrix Marozia after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by Leo VI as the 123rd pope of the Catholic Church.source
• 929January 16 – Emir Abd al-Rahman III of Córdoba, Spain, proclaims himself caliph and creates the Caliphate of Córdoba. He breaks his allegiance to, and ties with, the Fatimid and Abbasid caliphs.source
• 930Bishopwearmouth is formed and settled in the north-east of England, after Æthelstan grants the lands to the Bishop of Durham.source
• 932October 31 – Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir is killed while fighting against the forces of general Mu'nis al-Muzaffar. Al-Muqtadir's brother al-Qahir is chosen to succeed him.source
• 932Summer – Pope John XI is forced to grant power over Rome to his half-brother Alberic II, who is invested as "Prince and Senator of all Romans". John is to resign himself to spiritual leadership of the Catholic Church.source
• 932Doge Orso II Participazio retires voluntarily to a monastery, marking the end of the Participazio dominance of the Venetian dogeship. He is succeeded by Pietro II Candiano, the son and namesake of the earlier doge Pietro I.source
• 934April 24 – Abbasid caliph al-Qahir is deposed and blinded; he is succeeded by his nephew ar-Radi.source
• 934Summer – Ali ibn Buya, a Samanid governor, takes advantage of the anarchy in Persia and conquers Fars (modern Iran). He founds the Buyid Dynasty, and makes Shiraz his capital. Ali seeks the recognition of the Abbasid caliph Ar-Radi, who confirms him later as his viceroy.source
• 934Einsiedeln Abbey, a Benedictine monastery, is founded (modern Switzerland).source
• 940Narita-san ("New victory temple"), a Shingon Buddhist temple, is founded in Chiba (Japan).source
• 940Saadia Gaon, a Jewish rabbi and philosopher, compiles his Siddur (Jewish prayer book) in Arabic and synagogal poetry in modern-day Iraq (approximate date).source
• 944August 15 – The "Holy Mandylion" (a cloth with the face of Jesus) is conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrives on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. A triumphal entry is staged for the relic in the capital.source
• 944The Al-Askari Mosque is built in Samarra (modern Iraq).source
• 945Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III occupies the palace of Medina Azahara (called "the shining city") as the new capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba (modern Spain).source
• 945Dunstan becomes abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in England. He re-creates monastic life by establishing Benedictine monasticism in the monastery.source
• 945Winter – Muslim forces under Nasir al-Dawla capture Baghdad and restore Caliph Al-Muttaqi to power again. Al-Dawla establishes himself as amir al-umara, or de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate.source
• 946January 28 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti and becomes only a figurehead (with the Buyid Dynasty as dominate rule) of the once-powerful Abbasid Caliphate while he tries to restore peace.source
• 948Spring – Fatimid forces under al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Kalbi suppress the rebellion in Palermo and swiftly seize the island. Caliph al-Mansur bi-Nasr Allah appoints Ali al-Kalbi as emir of Sicily, beginning the rule of the Kalbid dynasty.source
• 948The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, one of the most significant Hindu temples in the Jaffna District (modern Sri Lanka), is built.source
• 948Otto I establishes the missionary dioceses of Brandenburg and Havelberg in the territory of the Marca Geronis (Saxon Eastern March).source
• 948St Albans School in Hertfordshire is founded by Wulsin, an abbot of St Alban's Abbey, England.source
• 948The Kingdom of Nri (modern Nigeria) is founded by the priest-king Eri (until 1041).source
• 949Abd al-Rahman III the Caliph of Córdoba declares Jihad, preparing a large army & conquers the city of Lugo in the extreme North of Iberia. This raid shows to be one of the furthest raids Muslims in Spain ever conducted, done as a show of strength of the Muslim State in Al-Andalus.source
• 950City of Mogadishu is established.source
• 950Page with Joshua Leading the Israelites, from the Joshua Roll, is made in Constantinople. It is now kept at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome (approximate date).source
• 951Otto I dispatches an embassy to Rome to apply for an imperial coronation with Pope Agapetus II – but Prince Alberic II makes it clear that this is not possible (afraid of Otto's growing power), and opposes the request.source
• 952Summer – At the Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I), joined by German nobles and bishops, Berengar of Ivrea pays homage. He becomes a vassal of the East Frankish Kingdom. Otto leaves a strong garrison at Pavia in the hands of his son-in-law Conrad the Red, duke of Lotharingia.source
• 954November 12 – Lothair III is crowned by Artald, archbishop of Reims, at the Abbey of Saint-Remi as king of the West Frankish Kingdom. His mother, Queen Gerberga of Saxony, appoints Hugh the Great as regent.source
• 954Seborga (modern-day Liguria) comes under the jurisdiction of the Benedictine monks of Santo Onorato of Lérins.source
• 954The Hungarians plunder the regions of Hesbaye and Carbonaria (modern Belgium). They plunder and burn the monastery of Saint Lambert from Hainaut, the monastery of Moorsel, sack the cities of Gembloux and Tournai.source
• 956Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, is sent into exile by King Eadwig. He takes refuge in Flanders (modern Belgium), where Count Arnulf I gives him shelter in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.source
• 957Olga of Kiev, ruler and regent of Kievan Rus', converts to the Eastern Orthodox Church, from paganism (approximate date).source
• 957In China the Longquan Monastery is founded during the Liao Dynasty.source
• 959Pietro IV Candiano divorces his wife Joanna for political reasons and banishes her as a nun to the monastery of San Zaccaria.source
• 959Bruno I, archbishop and duke (archduke) of Lotharingia resigns. His brother, King Otto I divides the duchy in two parts – Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine. He appoints Frederick I and Godfrey I as margraves (vice-duke).source
• 959Dunstan, bishop of Worcester and London, is appointed by Edgar I as archbishop of Canterbury and becomes his chief adviser.source
• 960Dunstan founds the Church of St. Dunstan in East Sussex.source
• 960Dunstan receives the pallium as archbishop of Canterbury from Pope John XII. He reforms monasteries and enforces the rule of Saint Benedict: poverty, chastity and obedience for monks.source
• 961Summer – Otto I leads an expeditionary force into northern Italy through the Brenner Pass at Trento, to assist the beleaguered young Pope John XII. He proceeds towards Pavia – King Berengar II sends his son and co-ruler Adalbert II from Rome at the head of a large army to seize control of the Upper Adige and contest Otto's entry.source
• 961Tavistock Abbey is founded by Ordgar, Ealdorman of Devon, in England.source
• 961The "Shroud of Saint Josse", a rich silk Samite camel cloth from Khurasan, is made. It is preserved in the Abbey of Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, near Caen (Normandy) (approximate date).source
• 962February 2 – King Otto I (the Great) is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII at the Old St. Peter's Basilica, ending Rome's feudal anarchy. Otto's wife Adelaide is anointed as empress; the East Frankish Kingdom and the Kingdom of Italy are unified into a common realm, called the Roman Empire.source
• 962February 13 – Otto I and John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, confirming John XII as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. Otto recognizes John XII's secular control over the Papal States – by expanding the domain over the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Duchy of Spoleto, and the Duchy of Benevento.source
• 962Summer – Otto I makes Oberto I, a margrave of the Obertenghi family, count palatine (a position second only to his own). He is granted the March of Obertenga (Eastern Liguria) and establishes his capital in Genoa. Oberto also receives the possessions of the Abbey of Bobbio (famous for its scriptorium).source
• 962St. Paul's Cathedral in London is destroyed by fire, but rebuilt in the same year.source
• 963August 16 – Nikephoros II makes a triumphal entry in Constantinople and is hailed as 'the conqueror'. He is crowned emperor in Hagia Sophia.source
• 963November 6 – Synod of Rome: Otto I calls a council at St. Peter's Basilica. John XII is deposed on charges that he has conducted himself dishonorably and instigated an armed rebellion against Otto.source
• 963November – Otto arrives at Rome; Pope John XII and Adalbert II (co-ruler of Italy) flee to Campania, taking with them most of the Papal treasury. The Roman citizens warmly receive Otto as a 'liberator'.source
• 963December 6 – Pope Leo VIII is appointed to the office of Protonotary and begins his papacy as antipope of Rome – a reign with the concurrently deposed John XII.source
• 963The Monastery of Great Lavra at Mount Athos (northeastern Greece) is founded by the Byzantine monk Athanasius the Athonite.source
• 964February – Pope John XII returns with his supporters to Rome. He convenes a synod that deposes Antipope Leo VIII who finds refuge at the court of Otto I. John dispatches a delegation under Otgar, bishop of Speyer, to negotiate an agreement.source
• 964June 23 – Benedict V is deposed and ecclesiastically degraded after Otto I besieges Rome. He starves the Romans into submission and restores Leo VIII to the papal throne.source
• 966John VII, patriarch of Jerusalem, is burned at the stake by a Muslim mob after writing to Emperor Nikephoros II, pleading him to intervene in Palestine and retake it from the Fatimid Caliphate.source
• 966Re-foundation of Peterborough (also called Medeshamstede) Abbey in England as a Benedictine monastery by Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester (approximate date).source
• 967April 22 – The Cambodian temple Banteay Srei is consecrated and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.source
• 967Re-foundation of Romsey Abbey in Hampshire by King Edgar I (the Peaceful). He appoints Merewenna, an English noblewoman, as abbess who becomes a foster mother to Princess Ælfflæd (a step-daughter of Edgar).source
• 967Otto I completes and dedicates a new cathedral at Magdeburg in Saxony. Like other imperial churches of the period, it includes a westwork – a structure attached to the entrance wall and outfitted with galleries. Otto makes Magdeburg a base for missionary efforts to convert the Slavs to the east. The patron saint of the city is Mauritius, who, as a military leader fighting for Christianity against pagan armies, shares affinities with Otto himself.source
• 967Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He asserts his rights in the city, and insists on the occasional presence of an imperial judge, alongside the papal court. The era of Roman independence is over. Grado becomes the patriarchal and metropolitan church of the whole of the Veneto.source
• 967Otto I renews the imperial treaty with Pietro IV Candiano, doge of Venice. He grants him commercial privileges, and protection for Venetian citizens (also the possessions of Venetian bishops).source
• 968Mieszko I, duke and prince of Poland, constructs Poznań Cathedral within the fortified stronghold (gord) of Poznań. The settlement becomes a bishopric, Mieszko appoints Jordan as the first bishop.source
• 968Otto I founds the Archbishopric of Magdeburg at the synod of Ravenna. He appoints Adalbert as the archbishop of Magdeburg. The archbishopric under Adalbert includes the bishoprics of Brandenburg and Havelberg — as well as the newly erected sees of Meissen, Merseburg and Naumburg-Zeitz.source
• 969Summer – Pope John XIII convenes a synod at Rome. He raises the bishopric of Benevento to Archbishopric of Benevento. The city is made a metropolitan see over 10 bishoprics in Byzantine Capitanata (Southern Italy).source
• 970Construction is completed on Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt (the world's oldest Islamic university).source
• 971The grave of Swithun, Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, is moved into an indoor shrine (he was previously buried outside) in the Old Minster. The ceremony is said to have been marred by 40 days of torrential rain.source
• 971Otto I 'the Great', Holy Roman Emperor, appoints his imperial secretary Willigis as chancellor (guardian of the emperor's seal), an office formerly held by Otto's brother, Archbishop Bruno I.source
• 972April 14 – Otto II (the Red), joint-ruler and son of Otto I (the Great), marries the Byzantine princess Theophanu (niece or granddaughter of John I). She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII at Rome. Creating an alliance between the Ottonian Dynasty and the Byzantine Empire (called the Tzimiscian Peace).source
• 972The monastery at the site of Peterborough Cathedral is rebuilt by Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury.source
• 972John I grants a charter for the Monastic Republic of Holy Mount Athos, in Greece.source
• 973January 19 – Pope Benedict VI is consecrated as the 134th pope of the Catholic Church. He is installed at Rome with the approval of Otto I and becomes a puppet ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The Roman aristocracy resents Otto's dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.source
• 973In the Council of Winchester, Edgar I accepts a 'Monastic Agreement' (called the Regularis Concordia). The document is compiled by Bishop Æthelwold and serves as a rule for how monastic life should be performed.source
• 973Caliph Al-Mu'izz transfers the royal residence of the Fatimid Caliphate from El-Mansuriya (modern Tunisia) to the newly founded city of Cairo in Egypt. Egypt becomes the autonomous centre of the Fatimid Caliphate. He leaves general Buluggin ibn Ziri to govern the Western North African territories, which will become the province of Al-Maghreb (meaning the West).source
• 973Edgar I (the Peaceful) is crowned king during a royal ceremony at Bath by Archbishop Dunstan. In a council at Chester, Lothian (a region of the Lowlands) is ceded to Scotland, in return for fealty from King Kenneth II.source
• 9745 August – Caliph al-Muti, ill and incapacitated, is deposed and succeeded by his son al-Ta'i, dying shortly after.source
• 974Summer – Pope Benedict VI is imprisoned in the Castel Sant'Angelo at Rome, where he is strangled to death through the influence of the powerful Crescentii family. Crescentius I (the Elder), Italian politician and aristocrat, engineers an election and replaces Benedict with his own candidate Franco, who ascends under the title anti-Pope Boniface VII.source
• 974An abbey is founded at the site of Mönchengladbach (Germany).source
• 974Fall – Boniface VII is expelled by order of Otto II and flees to Constantinople, taking the Church treasury of the Vatican Basilica along with him. He is succeeded by Benedict VII as the 135th pope of the Catholic Church.source
• 974An offensive, by the Spain-based Caliphate of Córdoba brings the Maghrebi Idrisid Dynasty to an end. Caliph Al-Hakam II maintains the supremacy of the caliphate over the kingdoms of Navarra, Castile and León.source
• 975March – Otto II appoints his archchancellor Willigis as archbishop of Mainz. He receives the pallium from Pope Benedict VII.source
• 977The Imam Ali Mosque, located in Najaf (modern Iraq), is completed by 'Adud al-Dawla.source
• 977War of the Three Henries: Henry III (the Younger), duke of Carinthia, gets involved in a conflict over the Patriarchate of Aquileia (March of Verona) in northeastern Italy. Emperor Otto II (the Red) decides in Aquileia's favor, prompting Henry III to go into revolt. He joins forces with Henry II (the Wrangler), duke of Bavaria. They are both joined by Henry I, bishop of Augsburg.source
• 977Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester, rebuilds the western end of the Old Minster, with twin towers and no apses (approximate date).source
• 978The Badia Fiorentina, a Benedictine abbey in Florence, is founded by Willa of Tuscany, the widow of Hubert of Tuscany.source
• 978Fall – Mieszko I, duke and prince (de facto ruler) of Poland, abducts Oda of Haldensleben from the monastery of Kalbe (Saxony-Anhalt) and marries her. She becomes Mieszko's second wife and Duchess of the Polans.source
• 978One of the Four Great Books of Song, the Taiping Guangji, a Chinese collection of deities, fairies, ghost stories and theology, is completed. The collection is divided into 500 volumes and consists of about 3 million Chinese characters.source
• 978Almanzor, a court official and regent of Córdoba, becomes a chamberlain (hajib) and seizes power from the 13-year-old Caliph Hisham II. During his reign, Almanzor will exercise strong influence over Subh (the mother of Hisham) and wages successful campaigns against the Christian kingdoms in Northern Spain.source
• 978Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice, escapes from Venice and travels to the Benedictine abbey of Michel-de-Cuxa (Southern France). He is succeeded by Vitale Candiano (not the bishop of Grado) as doge of Venice.source
• 980Notker (or Notger), Frankish Benedictine monk and bishop, founds the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (modern Belgium) which will remain an independent state inside the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years.source
• 981Spring – Pope Benedict VII dissolves the Slavic bishopric of Merseburg, after conferring with Otto II. He issues an encyclical, forbidding the exaction of money for the conferral of any Holy Order (known as simony).source
• 983December 25 – Otto III is crowned at Aachen by Archbishops Willigis of Mainz and John X of Ravenna. The Holy Roman Empire comes under the regency of his mother, Empress consort Theophanu.source
• 983One of the Four Great Books of Song, the encyclopedia Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era is completed in 1,000 volumes, of 4.7 million written Chinese characters.source
• 983The printing of the first Chinese Buddhist canon, the Kaibao Canon, is completed.source
• 984Anti-Pope Boniface VII returns from Constantinople and gains support from the powerful Roman Crescentii family. He takes hold of the papal throne.source
• 985Amalfitan Benedictines found the only Latin Christian monastery on Mount Athos with the support of John the Iberian. The monastery will last until 1287.source
• 988Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine (younger brother of the late King Lothair of France), revolts against Hugh Capet. He conquers the city of Laon in northern France with support of his half-brother Arnulf (archbishop of Reims).source
• 988The Mezhyhirskyi Monastery (located on the Dnieper River) is founded by Michael I, first metropolitan bishop of Kiev. He arrives with Greek monks from Constantinople.source
• 989October 25 – The Hagia Sophia at Constantinople is struck by a great earthquake, causing the collapse of the western dome arch. Basil II asks the Armenian architect Trdat, the creator of the Cathedral of Ani, to direct the repairs.source
• 989Council of Charroux: French bishops under the patronage of William IV, duke of Aquitaine, declare the first Peace of God (or Pax Dei). This agreement grants immunity from violence to noncombatants (peasants and clergy) who can not defend themselves.source
• 989Sankore Madrasah, at this stage a mosque, is founded in Timbuktu (modern-day Mali).source
• 989Summer – Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, captures the city of Reims by treachery of its new archbishop, Arnulf (the illegitimate son of the late King Lothair III). King Hugh I (Capet) demands that Pope John XV discipline Arnulf. But John XV, not wishing to defy Empress Theophanu, refuses.source
• 990June – The Pax Ecclesiae, an edict by the Catholic Church, is promulgated. Held at three synods in different parts of southern and central France (at Charroux, Narbonne and Puy), it attempts to outlaw acts of war against non-combatants and the clergy.source
• 990Construction of the Al-Hakim Mosque by orders of the Fatimid vizier Gawar Al-Siqilli begins in Cairo (modern Egypt).source
• 991March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I of Normandy.source
• 991March 29: Bishop Adalberon imprisons the treasonous Duke Charles of Lorraine and his nephew Arnulf, the Archbishop of Reims. Adalberon delivers the two men to King Hugh Capet, who imprisons them and their family in Orléans. The cities of Reims and Laon are returned to Capet.source
• 991June 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.source
• 991November 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
• 991The 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
• 993July 4 – Pope John XV issues a decree canonizing the late Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg, the first recorded canonization of a saint.source
• 993Spring – 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.source
• 995Olaf Tryggvason is crowned king of Norway (and ruled until 1000) and builds the country's first Christian church.source
• 995Uhtred (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
• 996March 5: Korechika returns with his head shaven and attired as a monk.source
• 996The Niujie Mosque is constructed in Beijing during the Liao Dynasty. The first mosque is built under supervision of the Muslim architect Nazaruddin.source
• 997The first documented reference of Gdańsk is made by Adalbert. During his mission he baptises the inhabitants of the city called Gyddannyzc.source
• 997Spring – 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.source
• 997Winter – 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.source
• 998Byōdō-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).source
• 998Bishop Wulfsige III establishes a Benedictine abbey at Sherborne (Dorsetshire).source
• 998Winter – 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.source
• 999Sigmundur Brestisson, a Viking chieftain, introduces Christianity in the Faroe Islands.source
• 999Bishop 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.source