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Births
Deaths
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Europe
Otto II renounces his claim to Lorraine.
The Viking ring castle of Trelleborg is constructed in Denmark.
Notger founds the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, which will remain an independent state inside the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years, and where the Walloon language will develop.
Vladimir I of Kiev starts to rule in Russia.
Asia
The Dari dialect (which will become the major language of Persia) is developed in the royal courts of the Samanids in Central Asia.
Kamboja rule in Bengal is deposed by resurgent Palas.
The Zanj Empire is founded by Ali ibn Hasan, succeeding the Kilwa Empire.
Americas
Topiltzin starts to rule (approximate date).
Tula becomes the Toltec capital.
Europe
The Viking explorer Eric the Red-haired leaves Norway, to survey west of Iceland. He finds land and calls it Greenland. Hundreds of land-starved Vikings board longships, and head west for this so-called "Greenland".
The de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, al-Mansur, conquers and razes to the ground the city of Zamora, as part of his effort to seize the Christian-dominated north of the Iberian Peninsula.
Asia
The first ever Mahamasthakabhisheka ceremony, of the sacred 57 feet (17 m) high monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali, is performed.
The Gommateshwara statue is built by Chavundaraya, of the Western Ganga Dynasty in India.
The Bulgarians invade the Byzantine Empire.
The first commercially made shaving soap sells for 3 dirhams (0.3 dinars).
Americas
Greenland is discovered by Erik the Red (the first known European contact with North America).
Asia
Yelu Longxu becomes the sixth emperor of the Liao Dynasty.
The Buyid ruler, 'Adud al-Dawla, establishes what will soon become the most important hospital of Baghdad.
Europe
July 13 – The Kalbids troops, of the emir of Sicily, defeat the imperial German army of Otto II, near Crotone.
Harald Bluetooth king of Denmark invades Norway, pillaging south-west Norway all the way to Stadt, where he encounters Haakon Sigurdsson and his army, and flees back to Denmark, ending the invasion.
Religion
Adalbert becomes Bishop of Prague.
Asia
Wood carvers, commissioned by China's Song Dynasty, complete a carving of the entire Buddhist canon for printing (130,000 total blocks are produced).
The Khazar Empire ends.
Emperor Shengzong leads a Liao Dynasty expeditionary force against the Zubu.
One 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.
Fatimid troops, under the defecting Hamdanid governor of Homs, Bakjur, attack Aleppo, but are repulsed through the intervention of Byzantine troops.
Europe
Otto III becomes King of Germany, following the death of Otto II.
The Veronese donation is made during the diet of Verona. Otto gifts the Rheingau to the archbishopric of Mainz.
Religion
December – Pope John XIV succeeds Pope Benedict VII, as the 136th pope.
Asia
Emperor Kazan succeeds Emperor En'yū on the throne of Japan.
The Song Dynasty Chinese engineer Qiao Wei innovates the first known use of the double-gated canal pound lock, for adjusting different water levels in segments of the Grand Canal of China. This dramatically helps the passage of ships, in segments with rougher waters leading slightly downhill. Qiao also has roof hangers built over the segments where double gates are installed, increasing the amount of safety for passing ships.
Europe
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria abducts the child king Otto III.
The settlement of Greenland is established by the Norse.
Religion
August 20 – Antipope Boniface VII murders Pope John XIV.
Asia
Rajaraja Chola I (considered by many as the greatest Emperor of the Chola Empire) becomes the Chola Emperor, and brings in another golden era of Tamils and of the Chola dynasty.
Europe
July 6 – Barcelona is sacked by troops of Almanzor.
Greenland is colonized by Icelandic Viking Erik the Red (the date is according to legend, but has been established as at least approximately correct – see History of Greenland).
Lady Wulfruna founds the town that later becomes the city of Wolverhampton.
Henry the Wrangler is restored as Duke of Bavaria.
Religion
August – Pope John XV succeeds Pope John XIV, as the 137th pope.
America
Explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to sight North America.
Asia
Emperor Ichijō succeeds Emperor Kazan on the throne of Japan.
March–July – Chi go Pass Campaign: The Song dynasty sends armies on three fronts against the Liao dynasty in the Sixteen Prefectures, but they are defeated on all fronts.
One of the Four Great Books of Song, the Chinese encyclopedia Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature is finished in this year, with a total of 1,000 volumes, representing the work of some 2,200 authors.
Europe
March 2 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
August 17 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of the Gates of Trajan – The Bulgarians defeat the Byzantine Empire forces at the Gate of Trajan, near modern-day Ihtiman, with Byzantine Emperor Basil II barely escaping.
The de facto ruler of al-Andalus, al-Mansur, continues his effort in the north of the Iberian peninsula; he takes and sacks Coimbra (following which the city is said to have remained deserted for six years).
Sweyn Forkbeard becomes King of Denmark.
Battle of Hjörungavágr: Håkon Sigurdsson of Norway defeats the Danish invasion force.
Africa
The Zirids fail to reconquer the western part of the Maghrib, which they have recently lost to the Umayyads.
Americas
Kukulkan conquers Chichen Itza.
Europe
July 3 - Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, is elected and crowned King of France at Noyon in Picardy, by Adalbero (archbishop of Reims), becoming first monarch of the Capetian dynasty, which rules the country continuously until 1792.
In Portugal, al-Mansur takes Coimbra, lost to the Christians in 904. The renewed domination of the central andalusian authorities on the north of the Gharb al-Andalus, leads to the submission of the Christian counts of Portugal to Cordoba. But it also illustrates the limited ability of the Muslims to repopulate, or at least govern directly, these remote areas.
The population of Bari revolts against the Byzantines.
Art
An extension of the Prayer Hall, Great Mosque of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain, is made.
Asia
The Liao Dynasty adopts civil service examinations in the Southern Chancellery, based on Tang Dynasty models.
Europe
The offensive of al-Mansur against the Christian kingdoms continues. He attacks the heart of the kingdom of León. King Bermudo II has to escape to Zamora; the city of León resists four days but is taken, sacked and burned; Zamora is forced to surrender, and the king flees to Galicia.
Dublin, Ireland is founded.
The city of Odense, Denmark is founded.
Kievan Rus' accepts Christianity.
The Rus'–Byzantine War continues.
Borrell II, Count of Barcelona does not renew allegiance to the French king Hugh Capet; he becomes a de facto independent count, and starts minting its own currency; this will be confirmed legally by the treaty of Corbeil (1258). This event is considered the symbolic birth of Catalonia.
Religion
Baptism of Kievan Rus': Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev marries Anna, sister of Byzantine emperor Basil II and converts to Christianity.
Abbo becomes abbot at Fleury.
The Mezhyhirskyi Monastery is founded by Michael of Kiev.
Art
Repairs are made on the Hagia Sophia.
Education
Sankore University is founded in Timbuktu.
Astronomy
September – Halley's Comet is at perihelion.
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