896

Updated on Sep 25, 2024

Edit

Comment

Year 896 (DCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Map of PA-896, Pennsylvania, USA

Europe

February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of a East Frankish expeditionary army. He storms Rome (the Leonine part), and has himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by pope Formosus at St. Peter's. Arnulf sets out to establish his authority in Spoleto, but suffers a stroke; he is forced to call off the campaign, and returns to Bavaria.

March – King Lambert II proceeds to re-conquer Italy. Heading north, he captures western Lombardy, and decapitates count Maginulf of Milan. In the meantime, the deposed king Berengar I recovers Verona (March of Friuli) from Arnulf's candidate, count Walfred of Verona, who dies in office with "great fidelity to the emperor".

Battle of Southern Buh: Bulgarian forces under Simeon I (the Great) defeat the Magyars, near the banks of the Southern Buh river (modern Ukraine). They withdraw from Bulgaria, and are forced to migrate to new pastures. The Magyars, led by Árpád, settle in the Carpathian Basin (modern Hungary).

Summer – Battle of Boulgarophygon: Simeon I invades the Theme of Thrace (in the south-eastern Balkans). The Byzantines transfer a new army to Europe, to deal with the Bulgarian threat. The armies clash at Boulgarophygon (modern Turkey); the Byzantines are completely destroyed in battle.

November – Lambert II and Berengar I agree to sign a treaty at Pavia. Berengar receives the realm between the Adda and the Po, while the rest stays under control of Lambert (including the March of Tuscany). They share Bergamo, and Lambert pledges to marry Gisela, Berengar's daughter.

Prince Klonimir, pretender to the throne of the Serbian Principality, is defeated by his ruling cousin, Petar. He is recognized as sole ruler of Serbia by Simeon I, resulting in a 20-year peace and alliance (approximate date).

Britain

Summer – King Alfred the Great orders the building of English warships (almost twice as long as the longships) on the Itchen at Southampton, against the Danish Viking raiders in Wessex.

A Viking pirate army under Hastein (a son of Ragnar Lodbrok) ravages the Welsh kingdoms of Brycheiniog and Gwent (approximate date).

Arabian Empire

Kharijite Rebellion: The Kharijite uprising against the Abbasid Caliphate in Jazira is ended. Caliph Al-Mu'tadid reunifies the entire province under central government, and installs his son and heir, Al-Muktafi, as governor.

China

Emperor Zhao Zong appoints Li Keyong, a Shatuo military governor (jiedushi), as Prince of Jin. He becomes the first ruler of Jin (see 907) following the collapse of the Tang Dynasty.