Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a

common year starting on Friday A common year starting on Friday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Friday, 1 January, and ends on Friday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is C. The most recent year of such kind was 2021 and the next one will ...

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

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (30,000 men) against the Bulgarians to capture the fortress city of

Sredets : ''Sredets is also a medieval name of Sofia. For the district in Sofia, see Sredets, Sofia.'' Sredets ( bg, Средец ) is a town in Burgas Province in southeastern Bulgaria. It is located near Lake Mandrensko and the northern slopes of Stran ...

. After a siege of 20 days, Basil is forced to retreat from the Sofia Valley towards the town of Ihtiman (through a passage known as the Gate of Trajan). The Bulgarians under Tsar

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

ambush and defeat the Byzantine forces. Only the elite Varangian Guard escapes with heavy casualties and leads Basil to safety through secondary routes.''Zlatarski'', History of the Bulgarian state, v. I, ch. 2, pp. 674–675.

Europe

* March 2 – King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) dies after a 32-year reign at Laon. He is succeeded by his 19-year-old son Louis V as ruler of the West Frankish Kingdom. * Summer: Al-Mansur, the '' de facto'' ruler of Al-Andalus, continues his effort in the north of the Iberian Peninsula and plunders the city of Coimbra (modern Portugal). * Empress Theophanu, accompanied by the 6-year-old King

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

and

Henry II of Bavaria Henry II (951 – 28 August 995), called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome (german: Heinrich der Zänker), a member of the German royal Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Bavaria from 955 to 976 and again from 985 to 995, as well as Duke of Carinthi ...

, leads a campaign against

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

and the

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

on the Elbe frontier. *

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 (''de facto'') ruler of Poland, pledges his allegiance to Otto III and the Holy Roman Empire. He promises assistance in Otto's war against the Slavs. * Battle of Hjörungavágr: The Earls of Lade under Haakon Sigurdsson (the Powerful) defeat a Danish invasion force led by the Jomsvikings in western Norway. * Winter – King Harald II (Bluetooth) dies after a 28-year reign (driven into

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

). He is succeeded by his son

Sweyn Forkbeard Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of D ...

as ruler of Denmark and Norway.

Arabian Empire

* Winter – Sabuktigin, emir of the Ghaznavid Dynasty, invades India. He expands the emirate between the Kabul Valley and the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

after defeating King Jayapala.

Asia

* Emperor Kazan abdicates the throne after a political struggle from the

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

family. He is succeeded by his 6-year-old cousin Ichijō as the 66th emperor (''

tennō The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the wi ...

'') 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 ...

. * Summer – Chi Go Pass Campaign: The Song Dynasty sends armies on three fronts against the Liao Dynasty in the

Sixteen Prefectures The Sixteen Prefectures () comprise a historical region in northern China along the Great Wall in present-day Beijing, Tianjin, and northern Hebei and Shanxi. Name It is more specifically called the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun or the Six ...

, but they are defeated on all fronts.

By topic

Exploration

Bjarni Herjólfsson Bjarni Herjólfsson ( 10th century) was a Norse- Icelandic explorer who is believed to be the first known European discoverer of the mainland of the Americas, which he sighted in 986. Life Bjarni was born to Herjólfr, son of Bárdi Herjólfsso ...

, a Norse- Icelandic merchant captain and explorer, becomes the first inhabitant of the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

to discover the mainland of the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

Literature

* One of the Four Great Books of Song, the Chinese encyclopedia '' Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature'' is finished, with a total of 1,000 volumes.

Births

* Al-Qushayri, Persian

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

scholar and theologian (d.

1072 Year 1072 ( MLXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 29 – Romanos IV (Diogenes), deposed emperor of the Byzantine Empire, ...

) * Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred II (the Unready) (d.

1014 Year in topic Year 1014 ( MXIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1014th in topic the 1014th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 14th year o ...

) * Bezprym (or Besfrim), duke of Poland (approximate date) * Constance of Arles, French queen (approximate date) * Lê Long Đĩnh, emperor of the

Lê Dynasty The Lê dynasty, also known as Later Lê dynasty ( vi, Hậu Lê triều, chữ Hán: 後黎朝 or vi, nhà Hậu Lê, link=no, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), was the longest-ruling Vietnamese dynasty, ruling Đại Việt from 1428 to 1789. The Lê ...

(d. 1009) *

Poppo Poppo can mean: * Bubo, Duke of the Frisians, also spelled Poppo (674–734), a king of Friesland * Poppo of Grapfeld (died 839/41), an early ninth-century ancestor of the Babenbergs * Poppo, Duke of Thuringia (died after 906), a margrave * Pop ...

, archbishop of Trier (approximate date) * Reginald I, count palatine of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

(d.

1057 Year 1057 ( MLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 8 – General Isaac Komnenos proclaims himself emperor in Paphlagonia ...

)

Deaths

* March 2 – Lothair III, king of the West Frankish Kingdom (b.

941 Year 941 ( CMXLI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * May – September – Rus'–Byzantine War: The Rus' and their allies, t ...

) * May 25 –

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Sufi ( fa, عبدالرحمن صوفی; December 7, 903 – May 25, 986) was an iranianRobert Harry van Gent. Biography of al-Sūfī'. "The Persian astronomer Abū al-Husayn ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn ‘Umar al-Sūfī was born in ...

, Persian astronomer (b. 903) * August 15 – Minnborinus, Irish missionary and abbot *

Æthelstan Mannessune Æthelstan Mannessune (died c. 986) was a landowner and monastic patron in late 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, coming from a family of secularised priests. Remembered by Ely Abbey as an enemy, he and his family endowed Ramsey Abbey and alleged ...

, English landowner (approximate date) * Bahram ibn Ardashir al-Majusi, Buyid official and general * Bobo, Frankish warrior and pilgrim (approximate date) *

Cadwallon ab Ieuaf Cadwallon ap Ieuaf (died 986) was a King of Gwynedd. Cadwallon was the son of Ieuaf ab Idwal and succeeded to the throne of Gwynedd on the death of his brother Hywel ab Ieuaf in 985. He only reigned for a year, for in 986 Maredudd ab Owain of Deh ...

, king of

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

( Wales) * Toke Gormsen, king of Scania (971-986), king of Denmark (985-986) * Mór ingen Donnchadha, Irish queen (approximate date) * Yang Ye, Chinese general and governor ('' jiedushi'') *

Styrbjörn the Strong Styrbjörn the Strong ( non, Styrbjǫrn Sterki ; died about 985) according to late Norse sagas was a son of the Swedish king Olof, and a nephew of Olof's co-ruler and successor Eric the Victorious, who defeated and killed Styrbjörn at the Battle ...

, Swedish Viking ruler

References

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