Year 959 ( CMLIX) was a

common year starting on Saturday A common year starting on Saturday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Saturday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is B. The current year, 2022, is a common year starting on Saturd ...

(link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* April -

May May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

– The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungarian army, led by

Apor Apor is a Hungarian name. In older sources, the name is sometimes spelled Opour, Opor or Upor. It can refer to: *Apor (chieftain), a 10th-century Hungarian tribal leader *Apor family, a family of ancient Transylvanian and Hungarian nobility (named ...

, invades

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

and Thrace. He plunders its territories until reaching Constantinople. On his way back, Apor is defeated during a night attack by Byzantine forces.Bóna, Istvá (2000). ''The Hungarians and Europe in the 9th-10th centuries''. Budapest: Historia - MTA Történettudományi Intézete, p. 33. . *

November 9 Events Pre-1600 * 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims, sentencing all Jews to slavery. * 1277 – The Treaty of Aberconwy, a humiliating settlement f ...

– Emperor

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

'' Porphyrogennetos'' (" born in the purple") dies at Constantinople after a 46-year reign. He is succeeded by his 21-year-old son Romanos II as ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * Winter – Romanos II appoints Leo Phokas (the Younger) to be commander of the Byzantine field army ('' Domestic of the Schools'') in the West. The Phokas clan becomes one of the leading families in Constantinople.

Europe

* Bruno I, archbishop and duke (''

archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

'') of Lotharingia resigns. His brother, King Otto I divides the duchy in two parts – Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine. He appoints Frederick I and Godfrey I as margraves (vice-duke). * Pietro III Candiano, doge of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Pietro IV Candiano, who breaks off his campaign in Spoleto on behalf of King Berengar II of Italy and returns to Venice. * Pietro IV Candiano divorces his wife Joanna for political reasons and banishes her as a nun to the monastery of San Zaccaria.

England

* October 1 – King Eadwig dies after a 4-year reign. He is succeeded by his 16-year-old brother

Edgar I Edgar ( ang, Ēadgār ; 8 July 975), known as the Peaceful or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. The younger son of King Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, he came to the throne as a teenager followin ...

(the Peaceful), who effectively completes the unification of England, when Northumbria submits to his rule.

By topic

Religion

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...

, bishop of Worcester and London, is appointed by Edgar I as archbishop of Canterbury and becomes his chief adviser.

Births

* April 12 – En'yū, emperor of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(d.

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between ...

) *

Yeshe-Ö Yeshe-Ö ( 959–1040) (spiritual names: Jangchub Yeshe-Ö, Byang Chub Ye shes' Od, Lha Bla Ma, Hla Lama Yeshe O, Lalama Yixiwo, also Dharmaraja ('Noble King') was the first notable lama-king in Tibet. Born as Khor-re, he is better known as Lh ...

, Tibetan

lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...

-king (approximate date) * Zhao Defang, prince of the Song Dynasty (d. 981)

Deaths

* July 27 –

Chai Rong Chai Rong () (27 October 921 – 27 July 959), later known as Guo Rong (), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou, was the second emperor of the Later Zhou dynasty of China, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ...

, emperor of Later Zhou (b.

921 __NOTOC__ Year 921 ( CMXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March – Battle of Pegae: Bulgarian forces under ''kavhan'' (first ...

) * October 1 – Eadwig (the All Fair), king of England * October 3 –

Gérard of Brogne Saint Gérard (in Walloon Sint-Djuråd) (c. 895 – October 3, 959) founded Brogne Abbey and reformed eighteen others according to the Benedictine Rule. Life Gérard was born at Staves ( Namur). His father was Stance, a member of the family of ...

, Frankish abbot *

–

, Byzantine emperor (b.

905 __NOTOC__ Year 905 ( CMV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – King Berengar I of Italy arranges a truce with the Hungarians, on p ...

) * Ælfsige (or Aelfsige), archbishop of Canterbury * Chen Jue, Chinese official and chief of staff *

Donnchadh mac Urchadh Donnchadh mac Urchadh (died 959) was King of Maigh Seóla. Nothing certain seems to be known of Donnchadh, though he would have been an uncle of Brian Boru. He is not listed in the genealogies. References * ''West or H-Iar Connaught'' Rua ...

, king of Maigh Seóla ( Ireland) *

Han Yanhui Han Yanhui (韓延徽) (882-959), courtesy name Zhangming (藏明), Khitan name Xialie (匣列, "one who returned"), formally the Duke of Lu (魯公), was an ethnically Han chancellor of the Khitan Liao dynasty, serving under its first four empero ...

, Chinese Khitan chancellor (b.

882 __NOTOC__ Year 882 (Roman numerals, DCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 20 – King Louis the Younger dies in Frankfurt. He ...

) * Pietro III Candiano, doge of

Song Qiqiu Song Qiqiu (887–959), courtesy name Zisong, formally Duke Chouliao of Chu (), was the chief strategist of Emperor Liezu of Southern Tang (Xu Zhigao/Li Bian), the founding emperor of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period state South ...

, Chinese chief strategist (b.

887 __NOTOC__ Year 887 (Roman numerals, DCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * November 17 – East Frankish magnates revolt against the ...

)

References

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