960s

Events

Contents: 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969

960

By place

Africa

• The Kingdom of Aksum is destroyed by Beta Israel invaders under the leadership of Queen Gudit.

Asia

• February 4 – The Song dynasty begins its 300-year ascendancy in China when Zhao Kuangyin usurps the Later Zhou throne, becoming Emperor Taizu of Song. The number of registered soldiers in the Song Chinese army is some 378,000.
• November 8 – Battle of Andrassos: Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger score a crushing victory over the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla.

Europe

• September 21 – Dunstan receives the pallium as Archbishop of Canterbury from Pope John XII and becomes chief adviser to the new king of England, Edgar the Peaceful. He reforms monasteries and enforces the rule of Saint Benedict: poverty, chastity and obedience for monks. He attempts to impose celibacy on the secular clergy without noticeable success. Dunstan actively encourages the Danes to integrate with the English. This year he also founds the Church of St. Dunstan, Mayfield in East Sussex.
• Richard I, Duke of Normandy marries Emma of Paris.
• Sviatoslav I of Kiev campaigns against the Khazars.
• Approximate date – Mieszko I becomes ruler in Poland on the death of his father.

961

By place

Asia

• Ani (present-day Turkey) becomes the capital of Armenia under the Bagratuni dynasty.
• The Huqiu Tower is built in China (often called the Chinese Leaning Tower of Pisa).

Europe

• March 6 – Byzantine reconquest of Chandax by Nikephoros Phokas, end of the Emirate of Crete
• Battle of Fitjar: Haakon the Good squashes the rebelling forces of Eric Bloodaxe's sons, but is killed.
• Harald Greycloak becomes ruler of the western part of Norway.
• St Paul's Cathedral in London is destroyed by fire.
• Al-Hakam II starts to rule.

By topic

Art

• Before this year – Textile with elephants and camels, known today as the Suaire de Saint-Josse, from Khurasan or Central Asia, is made. It was preserved in the Church of Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, near Caen in Normandy. It is now kept at the Louvre, Paris.

962

By place

Europe

• February 2 – Pope John XII crowns Otto I the Great as Holy Roman Emperor.
• February 13 – Pope John XII and Otto co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum.
• December 23 – A Byzantine army under Nikephoros Phokas captures Aleppo from the Arabs and plunders it.
• Indulf, King of the Scots and Picts, dies and is succeeded by Dub.

963

By place

Asia

• Turkish Khan Sebük Tigin establishes his empire in modern day Afghanistan.
• The Nanping State is forced to surrender when invaded by Song Dynasty armies.
• The Song Dynasty Chinese government attempts to ban the practice of cremation; despite this decree, the lower and middle classes continue to cremate their dead, until the government resolves the problem in the 12th century by establishing public graveyards for paupers.

Byzantine Empire

• Nikephoros II Phokas is proclaimed emperor by his troops in Caesarea on 2 July. After street fighting in Constantinople between his supporters and the men of the chief minister Joseph Bringas, he enters the city and is crowned emperor on 16 August. In September, he marries the empress Theophano, widow of Romanos II.
• The Monastery of Great Lavra at Mount Athos is founded by Athanasius the Athonite.

Europe

• Holy Roman Emperor Otto I defeats Mieszko I of Poland, compelling him to pay tribute.
• Luxembourg is founded.

By topic

Religion

• December 6 – Pope Leo VIII begins papacy as the 131st pope, a reign which initially runs concurrently with Pope John XII.

964

By place

Asia

• Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas begins a campaign to recapture Cilicia.

By topic

Religion

• May 22 – Pope Benedict V begins his pontificate as the 132nd pope, chosen by the people of Rome over Pope Leo VIII.
• June 23 – Pope Benedict V is deposed and ecclesiastically degraded after Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, besieges Rome to enforce his choice of Leo VIII as Pope.

Science

• Al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars is published.

965

By place

Asia

• Byzantine-Arab Wars: Nikephoros II Phokas sacks Tarsus and completes the conquest of Cilicia. Arab raids into Anatolia permanently cease. That same year, Byzantine troops under Niketas Chalkoutzes occupy Cyprus, liberating the Greek population from Arab control.
• Northern Song armies invade the Later Shu Kingdom and force it to surrender.

Europe

• The Khazar fortress of Sarkel falls to the Kievan Rus.
• Byzantine-Arab Wars: The Byzantine attempt to recover Sicily definitely fails when the Byzantine fleet is annihilated by the Fatimids at the Battle of the Straits. Soon after, the last Byzantine stronghold on the island, Rometta, falls.

By topic

Art

• Dome in front of the mihrab, Great Mosque of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain, is built.

Religion

• March 1 – Pope Leo VIII is restored in place of Pope Benedict V.
• October 1 – Pope John XIII succeeds Pope Leo VIII as the 133rd pope.

966

By place

Europe

• April 14 – Mieszko I of Poland, the first duke of Poland, is baptized a Christian, which is usually considered the beginning of the Polish state.

967

By place

Africa

• The Fatimid general Gawhar al-Siqilli launches a new victorious campaign in the West of the Magrib.

Asia

• Emperor Reizei ascends to the throne of Japan.
• The Cambodian temple of Banteay Srei is consecrated.
• Li Yixing becomes jiedushi of Dingnan.
• Amber, India is founded as a settlement.

Middle East

• 'Izz al-Daula becomes the Buyid emir of Iraq.
• Bisutun ascends to the Ziyarid throne.

Europe

• The Bishopric of Merseburg is formed in Saxony, with Boso of Merseburg as its first bishop.
• Conchobar mac Tadg (Connor MacTeague) becomes King of Connacht.
• Pandulf Ironhead becomes duke of Spoleto.
• Otto II is crowned co-emperor by Pope John XIII.
• Olaf Tryggvason flees Norway with his mother, only to be attacked by Estonian Vikings.
• Dado becomes count of Pombia.
• The Khazar capital of Atil falls to the Kievan Rus (approximate date)

968

By place

Asia

• The Pechenegs begin the Siege of Kiev.

Europe

• The Battle near Silistra occurs in the spring near the Bulgarian town of Silistra, but most probably on the modern territory of Romania.

By topic

Religion

• The Archbishopric of Magdeburg is founded.
• The first Polish bishopric is founded in Poznań. Jordan becomes the first bishop.

969

By place

Africa

• June: Fustat surrenders to the Fatimids, ending the Ikhshidid dynasty and signalling the takeover of Egypt by the Fatimids.

Asia

• Emperor En'yū succeeds Emperor Reizei on the throne of Japan.
• Jing Zong succeeds Mu Zong in the Khitan Empire.
• October 28 – Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Arabs is completed three days later, when reinforcements under the stratopedarches Peter arrive.
• Uththama Chola becomes the Chola Emperor after the mysterious death of Aditya Karikalan (also known as Aditya Chola II). He rules for 16 years. Arulmolivarman becomes the heir apparent, and later the great Rajaraja Chola I.

Byzantine Empire

• December 11 – John I Tzimiskes becomes Byzantine Emperor after assassinating Nikephoros II Phokas.

Europe

• Peter I abdicates and retires to a monastery and is succeeded by Boris II as Tsar of Bulgaria.
• Conquest of Bulgaria by Sviatoslav I of Kiev.

References