June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis IV (the Child), using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.[1] Count Gausbert, the actual commander of the East Frankish army (because Louis IV is only 16 years old at this time), is killed in the battle.
William 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.
The Fatimids begin the conquest of Sicily, over their Aghlabid archrivals. Fatimid Sicilian governor Ibn al-Khinzir raids the south Italian coast (approximate date).
A rebellion of the Kutama Berbers against the Fatimid Caliphate occurs. The Kutama tribesmen were previously the main supporters of the Shia regime.[3]
July 18 – Emperor Taizu (Zhu Wen) is murdered in the imperial palace at Kaifeng by his eldest living son Zhu Yougui after a 5-year reign. He succeeds his father as the ruler of Later Liang.
Summer – Constantine Doukas, a Byzantine general (magister militum), tries, unsuccessfully, with the support of several aristocrats to usurp the throne from the young Constantine VII. He is killed in a clash by the soldiers of the Hetaireia guard, assembled by John Eladas. His head is cut off and presented to Constantine.[11][12][13]
Caliph 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.[15]
Viking raiders establish a settlement near Waterford (Ireland) led by Ottir (the Black). The Dublin Vikings are forced to pay tribute to the Irish kings of Meath and Leinster as the price to keeping their independence.[19]
February 6 – Hubasa takes Barqah (modern-day Benghazi), the ancient capital of Cyrenaica. The Abbasid governor withdraws to Egypt, before the superior strength of the Fatimids. With this rich, fertile province fallen into his hands, it provides Hubāsa with 24,000 gold dinars in annual revenues from taxes, as well as 15,000 dinars paid by Christians.[24]
July 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.[24]
August 27 – Hubasa captures Alexandria, after a victorious encounter with Egyptian troops near al-Hanniyya (modern-day El Alamein). The Abbasid governor Takin al-Khazari refuses to surrender and asks for reinforcements, which reach him in September. Shortly after al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah enters Alexandria, with the rest of his army.[24]
December – The Fatimid army under Hubasa leaves Alexandria, followed by al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah. The Abbasid troops hold Fustat and begin a counter-offensive against the invaders. The Kutama cavalry suffers heavy losses to the Turkish archers.[24]
Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays siege to Garigliano (a fortified Arab camp in the area of Minturno), which is blockaded from the sea by the Byzantine navy. After three months of siege, plagued by hunger, the Saracens decide to break out of Garigliano and find their way back to Sicily by any means possible. Christian hunting parties fall on the fleeing Arabs, and all are captured and executed.[28]
Sicilian 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.[29]
Britain
Lady Æthelflæd, daughter of the late King Alfred the Great and the widow of Earl Æthelred of Mercia, sends an army into Brycheiniog to avenge the murder of the Mercian abbot Ecbryht and his companions. They seize and burn the royal fort of King Tewdr of Brycheiniog at Llangorse Lake (Wales), and take the queen and thirty-three others captive.[30]
Asia
Abaoji, Khitan ruler and founder of the Liao Dynasty, adopts Chinese court formalities in which he declares himself emperor in the Chinese style and adopts an era name, Taizu of Liao. He names his eldest son Yelü Bei as heir apparent, a first in the history of the Khitan. Abaoji leads a campaign in the west, conquering much of the Mongolian Plains.[31]
Fall – Battle of Katasyrtai: The Bulgarian army under Simeon I marches southwards to Constantinople. Leo Phokas, who survived at Anchelous, gathers the last Byzantine troops to intercept the Bulgarians before they reach the capital. The two armies meet near the village of Katasyrtai, just outside Constantinople. After a surprise night attack, the Byzantines are completely routed from the battlefield.[33]
Europe
Bulgarian–Serbian War: Simeon I sends a Bulgarian expeditionary force under Theodore Sigritsa and Marmais to Serbia. The two persuade Petar Gojniković, a Serbian prince who formed an anti-Bulgarian coalition, to meet for a peace agreement. They seize him and send the rebellious prince to the Bulgarian capital of Preslav, where he dies in prison. Simeon replaces Petar with Pavle Branović, a grandson of prince Mutimir, who lives in Preslav. Serbia becomes a puppet state until 921.[34]
Summer – Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria ("the Bad"), is elected as anti-king by the East-Frankish nobles in opposition to Henry I. Burchard II, duke of Swabia, submits to Henry's rule — allowing him to retain administrative control over his duchy. After an absence of nearly 15 years, the Magyars raid Bavaria and Northern Italy again, sacking the Po Valley (see Hungarian invasions of Europe).
Lady Ælfwynn of the Mercians is brought to the court of her uncle, King Edward the Elder, and deprived of her authority in Mercia. Edward formally annexes the kingdom, ending independent Mercian rule.
Battle of Langshan Jiang: The Wuyue navy (500 dragon ships) under Prince Qian Yuanguan who is preparing an invasion to attack the Wu Kingdom, defeats the naval forces of General Peng Yanzhang on the Yangtze River. Due to the use of flamethrower ships (using gunpowder to ignite petrol, like Greek fire) Qian Yuanguan manages to destroy 400 enemy ships and captures 7,000 prisoners.
^Picard, Christophe (2000). Le Portugal musulman (VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. L'Occident d'al-Andalus sous domination islamique. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. p. 109. ISBN2-7068-1398-9.
^Yorke. Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England, p. 123.
^Rucquoi, Adeline (1993). Histoire médiévale de la Péninsule ibérique. Paris: Seuil. p. 87. ISBN2-02-012935-3.
^Gilbert Meynier (2010) L'Algérie cœur du Maghreb classique. De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (658-1518). Paris: La Découverte; p. 39.
^Angelov, Dimitar; Bozhilov, Ivan; Vaklinov, Stancho; Gyuzelev, Vasil; Kuev, Kuyu; Petrov, Petar; Primov, Borislav; Tapkova, Vasilka; Tsankova, Genoveva (1981). История на България. Том II. Първа българска държава [History of Bulgaria. Volume II. First Bulgarian State] (in Bulgarian). et al. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Press. p. 285.
^Bóna, István (2000). The Hungarians and Europa in the 9th-10th centuries. Budapest: Historia - MTA Történettudományi Intézete, pp. 13–14. ISBN963-8312-67-X.
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