869

Updated on Oct 08, 2024

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Year 869 (DCCCLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

Summer – Emperor Basil I allies with the Frankish emperor Louis II against the Saracens. He sends a Byzantine fleet of 400 ships (according to the Annales Bertiniani), under the command of Admiral Nicetas, to support Louis (who is besieging the city port of Bari), and to clear the Adriatic Sea of Muslim raiders.

The Hagia Sophia in Constantinople suffers great damage during an earthquake, which makes the eastern half-dome collapse. Basil I orders the basilica (church) to be repaired.

Europe

August 8 – King Charles the Bald tries to take Lotharingia, kingdom of Lothair II, after the latter's death, but is resisted by his brother Louis the German.

Britain

The Danes, led by Viking chieftain Ivar the Boneless, 'make peace' with the Mercians (by accepting Danegeld). Ivar leaves Nottingham on horseback, and returns to York.

Autumn –The Great Heathen Army, led by Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, invades East Anglia, and plunders Peterborough. The Vikings take up winter quarters at Thetford.

November 20 – King Edmund the Martyr and his East Anglian army are destroyed by the Vikings. He is captured, tortured, beaten and used as archery practice.

Arabian Empire

The Zanj Rebellion: The Zanj (black slaves from East Africa), provoked by mercilessly harsh labor conditions in salt flats, and on the sugar and cotton plantations of southwestern Persia, revolt.

Summer – Caliph Al-Mu'tazz is murdered by mutinous Muslim troops, after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by Al-Muhtadi (a grandson of former Al-Mu'tasim), as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Japan

May 26 – An earthquake and tsunami devastate a large part of the Sanriku coast, on the northeastern side of the island of Honshu.

Mesoamerica

Stela 11, the last monument ever erected at Tikal, is dedicated by ruler (ajaw) Jasaw Chan K'awiil II.

Religion

The Fourth Council of Constantinople is called by Basil I and Pope Adrian II. The council condemnes Photius I, and deposes him as patriarch. His predecessor Ignatius is reinstated.