Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* Emperor

Nikephoros II Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...

receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (the son of Tsar

Peter I of Bulgaria Peter I ( cu, Петръ А҃; bg, Петър I) (died 30 January 970) was emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. His seal reads ΙΠSVΟς·GRECIA·VΟΔΟ. Early reign Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second ma ...

), with a plea for help against the invading

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

. Nikephoros, occupied in the East, is unable to support him. Instead he sends envoys to summon the

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა� ...

to aid Boris. They besiege Kiev, but Grand Prince

Sviatoslav I ; (943 – 26 March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, was Grand Prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. H ...

(on campaign in Bulgaria) returns with a Kievan relief force, and defeats the Pechenegs. He drives them out into the

Steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

, and sets up

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

s to rule his Rus' territory.

Europe

* Spring – Emperor

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

(the Great) travels to Capua to meet there with

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

s of Nikephoros II, who again reiterate their friendship, but refuse to consent to his

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

demands (see

967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the ne ...

). Otto invades the Byzantine Theme of Langobardia with a Lombard expeditionary force. With the assistance of

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

- Capua and naval support from

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, Otto attempts to take

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

by assault, but Byzantine resistance is stiff, and Otto withdraws back to

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

. *

Battle of Silistra The Battle of Silistra occurred in the spring of 968 near the Bulgarian town of Silistra, but most probably on the modern territory of Romania. It was fought between the armies of Bulgaria and Kievan Rus' and resulted in a Rus' victory. Upon the ...

: A Kievan army (60,000 men) led by Sviatoslav I crosses the Lower Danube and defeats the Bulgarians at

Silistra Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...

. He occupies most of the

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

by seizing 80 fortresses in northeastern Bulgaria. They are looted and destroyed but not permanently occupied. During the winter, Sviatoslav transfers the capital from Kiev to Pereyaslavets. *

Pandulf I Pandulf I Ironhead (died March 981) was the Prince of Benevento and Capua from 943 (or 944) until his death. He was made Duke of Spoleto and Camerino in 967 and succeeded as Prince of Salerno in 977 or 978. He was an important nobleman in the fi ...

(Ironhead), a Lombard prince, takes over the territory of Benevento and Capua after the death of his brother Landulf III. He appoints his son Landulf IV as co-prince of Benevento, and disinherits Pandulf II (a son of Landulf III) as lord of Sant'Agata (located northeast of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Ireland

Battle of Sulcoit The Battle of Sulcoit was fought in the year 968 between the Gaelic Ireland, Irish of the Dál gCais, led by Brian Boru, and the Vikings of Limerick, led by Ivar of Limerick. It was a victory for the Dál gCais and marked the end of Norse expan ...

: The Irish of the

Dál gCais The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent fr ...

led by

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domi ...

defeats the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

forces of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. After the battle the Dál gCais seize and burn the Viking stronghold of Limerick. Ending of Norse expansion in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

By topic

Religion

* Otto I founds the

Archbishopric of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 968, the Roma ...

at the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of Ravenna. He appoints

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

as the archbishop of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. The archbishopric under Adalbert includes the bishoprics of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

and Havelberg — as well as the newly erected sees of

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

and naumburg-Zeitz.Reuter, Timothy (1999). ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III'', p. 252. . *

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...

, duke and prince of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, constructs Poznań Cathedral within the fortified stronghold ('' gord'') of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

. The settlement becomes a bishopric, Mieszko appoints

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

as the first bishop.

Births

November 29 Events Pre-1600 * 561 – Following the death of King Chlothar I at Compiègne, his four sons, Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert I and Chilperic I, divide the Frankish Kingdom. * 618 – The Tang dynasty scores a decisive victory over t ...

–

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, 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.

1008 Year 1008 ( MVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Olaf Haraldsson, future king of Norway, makes raids in the Baltic Sea. He lands on the Est ...

) * December 21 –

Minamoto no Yorinobu was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. Along with his brother Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He held the title, p ...

, Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

(d.

1048 Year 1048 ( MXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 18 – Battle of Kapetron: A combined Byzantine-Georgian army, under ...

) * December 23 – Zhen Zong, emperor of the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(d.

1022 The year 1022 ( MXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Battle of Svindax: The Byzantine army under Emperor Basil II d ...

) * Gisela, French princess and daughter of Hugh Capet (d.

1002 Year 1002 (MII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 23 – Emperor Otto III dies, at the age of 22, of smallpox at Castle of Pater ...

) * Pan, Chinese princess and wife of Zhen Zong (d.

989 Year 989 (Roman numerals, CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to he ...

) *

Romanos III Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...

, emperor of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

(d.

1034 Year 1034 ( MXXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April 11 – Emperor Romanos III (Argyros) is drowned in his bath, at the urg ...

)

Deaths

March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his ''bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...

–

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, archbishop of

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

(b.

929 Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * January 16 – Emir Abd-al-Rahman III of Córdoba proclaims himself caliph and create ...

) *

March 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1074 – Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland. * 1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguen ...

–

Matilda of Ringelheim Matilda of Ringelheim ( 892 – 14 March 968), also known as Saint Matilda, was a Saxon noblewoman. Due to her marriage to Henry I in 909, she became the first Ottonian queen. Her eldest son, Otto I, restored the Holy Roman Empire in 962. Matild ...

, Frankish queen * March 19 –

Emma of Paris Emma of France (died 935) was a French princess by birth and queen by marriage. She was also variously known as Emma Capet, Emma of Burgundy, and Emma of Neustria. She was the daughter of Robert I of France and either Aelis of Maine or Béatrice o ...

, duchess of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

(b.

943 Year 943 ( CMXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Allied with the Rus', a Hungarian army raids Moesia and Thrace. ...

) *

April 2 Events Pre-1600 *1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. Jo ...

–

Yuan Dezhao Yuan Dezhao (元德昭) (891-April 2, 968),''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms''vol. 87 Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar probably né Wei Dezhao (危德昭), courtesy name Mingyuan (名遠), was an official of the Chinese Five D ...

, Chinese

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

(b.

891 Year 891 ( DCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 21 – Guy III, duke of Spoleto, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Ste ...

) *

April 4 Events Pre-1600 * 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines. * 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. * 611 – ...

–

Abu Firas al-Hamdani Al-Harith ibn Abi’l-ʿAlaʾ Saʿid ibn Hamdan al-Taghlibi (932–968), better known by his pen name Abu Firas al-Hamdani ( ar, أبو فارس الحمداني), was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla and a member of the ...

, Arab prince and

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 ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

(b. 932) *

Abu al-Misk Kafur Abu al-Misk Kafur () (905–968), also called al-Laithi, al-Suri, al-Labi was a dominant personality of Ikhshidid Egypt and Syria."Kāfūr, Abu'l Misk al-Ikhsidi." ''E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936''. Edited by: M. Th. Hout ...

, Ikhshidid

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

(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 ...

) * Aldred, bishop of

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

(approximate date) * Al-Muttaqi, Abbasid caliph (b.

908 __NOTOC__ Year 908 ( CMVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May 15 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor L ...

) * Ananias I, catholicos of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

* Bardas Phokas (the Elder), Byzantine general *

Eadgifu The name Eadgifu, sometimes Latinized as ''Ediva'' or ''Edgiva'', may refer to: * Eadgifu of Kent (died c. 966), third wife of king Edward the Elder, King of Wessex * Eadgifu of Wessex (902 – after 955), wife of King Charles the Simple * Eadgifu, ...

, wife of

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...

(approximate date) * John III, duke of

(approximate date) * Landulf III, prince of

(or 969) * Liu Jun, emperor of

Northern Han The Northern Han () was a dynastic state of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was founded by Liu Min (), formerly known as Liu Chong (), and lasted from 951 to 979. Founding of the Northern Han The short-lived state of Later Ha ...

(b. 926) *

Mord Fiddle Mord Sighvatsson (c. 900–968; Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ), better known as Mord "Fiddle" (O.N.: ; M.I.: ) was a wealthy Icelandic farmer and expert on Icelandic law who lived during the late Settlement Period and early Commonwealth ...

, Icelandic farmer and law expert *

Mumadona Dias Mumadona Dias, or Muniadomna Díaz (died 968), was a Galician people, Galician noble and County of Portugal, Countess of Portugal, who ruled the county jointly with her husband from about and then on her own after her husband's death around 950 u ...

, countess of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Rajendravarman II Rajendravarman II ( km, រាជេន្ទ្រវរ្ម័នទី២) was the king of the Khmer Empire (region of Angkor in Cambodia), from 944 to 968 AD. Rajendravarman II was the uncle and first cousin of Harshavarman. His principal m ...

, ruler of the Khmer Empire *

Robert of Vermandois Robert of Vermandois ( – ) was Count of Meaux and Count of Troyes, son of Herbert II, Count of Vermandois and his wife, Adele of France, daughter of Robert I of France. Robert succeeded his father as Count of Meaux in 943 and became Count ...

, Frankish nobleman (or

) *

Sun Guangxian Sun Guangxian (; died 968'' History of Song'', vol. 483.The Chinese Wikipedia article for Sun Guangxian gave his birth year as 900, but did not cite a source.), courtesy name Mengwen (), self-styled Baoguangzi (), was an official of the Chinese F ...

, Chinese chief strategist * Sunifred II, Frankish nobleman (b.

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...

)

References

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