Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

), besiege Apamea (modern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

). Emperor Basil II sends a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

expeditionary army, led by Dux Michael Bourtzes, to relieve the city in

alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

with the Hamdanid Dynasty. Manjutakin defeats the Hamdanids with his forces and attacks the Byzantine force in the rear. The Byzantine army panics and flees, losing some 5,000 men in the process.

Europe

* June 23 –

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

: Danish

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

raiders, (probably) under King Sweyn Forkbeard, plunder the city of Stade (

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

). Count Lothair Udo I is captured and killed, during the battle with the pirates. *

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

– King Otto III, now 14 years old, receives the '' regalia'' to rule the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...

at an assembly of the Imperial Diet in Solingen. Otto appoints Heribert of Cologne as chancellor of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

England

* A Danish Viking fleet, under Olaf Tryggvason, sails up the Thames Estuary, and besieges

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. King Æthelred II (the Unready) pays Olaf 16,000 lbs of silver (

Danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or Protection racket, protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-c ...

).John Haywood (1995). ''The Historical Atlas of the Vikings'': Raids on Æthelred's Kingdom, p. 119. . * Olaf Tryggvason, already a baptised Christian, is confirmed as Christian in a ceremony at Andover. After receiving gifts from Æthelred II, Olaf leaves for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

By topic

Astronomy

* An increase in carbon-14 concentration, recorded in tree rings, suggests that a strong solar storm may have hit the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

in either 993 or 994.

Births

November 7 Events Pre-1600 * 335 – Athanasius, 20th pope of Alexandria, is banished to Trier on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. * 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. ...

– Ibn Hazm, Andalusian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and poet (d. 1064) * Ahmad al-Bayhaqi, Persian

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

scholar (d. 1066) * Alfonso V (the Noble), king of León (

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) (d. 1028) * Lothair Udo I, margrave of the

Nordmark The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...

(d. 1057) * Sancho III (the Great), king of

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

(approximate date) *

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...

, Norman

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Ely Abbey (approximate date) * Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Andalusian female

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

(d. 1091)

Deaths

February 3 Events Pre-1600 * 1047 – Drogo of Hauteville is elected as count of the Apulian Normans during the Norman conquest of Southern Italy. * 1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, u ...

– William IV, duke of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

(b. 937) * April 4 – Egbert (the One-Eyed), German nobleman * April 23 – Gerard of Toul, German priest and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

May 11 Events Pre-1600 * 330 – Constantine the Great dedicates the much-expanded and rebuilt city of Byzantium, changing its name to New Rome and declaring it the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. *868 – A copy of the Diamond Sūtr ...

– Majolus of Cluny, Frankish priest and

* June 23 – Lothair Udo I, German nobleman (b. 950) * June 24 – Abu Isa al-Warraq, Arab scholar (b. 889) * July 8 – Richardis, margravine consort of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

* July 10 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria (b. 940) * October 28 – Sigeric, archbishop of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

* October 31 – Wolfgang, bishop of

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

* Bagrat II, king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

- Kartli (

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

) (b. 937) * Fujiwara no Takamitsu, Japanese '' waka'' poet * Ibn Juljul, Andalusian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

(approximate date) * Sancho Garcés II, king of Navarre (Spain)

References

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