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969
Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th and last year of the 960s decade. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October 28 – Siege of Antioch: Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes (during a night attack) seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Hamdanids is completed three days later, when reinforcements under the '' stratopedarches'' Peter Phokas arrive. The Byzantine army then moves deeper into Syrian territory — besieging and taking the city of Aleppo. * December 11 – Emperor Nikephoros II is murdered in the royal palace of Boukoleon at Constantinople after a 6-year reign. Former friends have acted on the instructions of his wife Theophano. Nikephoros is succeeded by his nephew John I Tzimiskes, who becomes co-emperor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nikephoros II Phokas
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 greatly contributed to the resurgence of the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century. In the east, Nikephoros completed the conquest of Cilicia and retook the islands of Crete and Cyprus, opening the path for subsequent Byzantine incursions reaching as far as Upper Mesopotamia and the Levant; these campaigns earned him the sobriquet "pale death of the Saracens". Early life and career Nikephoros Phokas was born around 912. From his paternal side, he belonged to the Phokas family which had produced several distinguished generals, including Nikephoros' father Bardas Phokas, brother Leo Phokas, and grandfather Nikephoros Phokas the Elder, who had all served as commanders of the field army ('' domestikos tōn scholōn''). From his maternal side he belonged to the Maleinoi, a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
October 28
Events Pre-1600 * 97 – Roman emperor Nerva is forced by the Praetorian Guard to adopt general Marcus Ulpius Trajanus as his heir and successor. * 306 – Maxentius is proclaimed Roman emperor. * 312 – Constantine I defeats Maxentius, becoming the sole Roman emperor in the West. * 969 – The Byzantine Empire recovers Antioch from Arab rule. *1344 – The lower town of Smyrna is captured by Latin Christians in response to Aydınid piracy during the Smyrniote crusades. * 1420 – Beijing is officially designated the capital of the Ming dynasty when the Forbidden City is completed. * 1449 – Christian I is crowned king of Denmark. *1453 – Ladislaus the Posthumous is crowned king of Bohemia in Prague. *1492 – Christopher Columbus lands in Cuba on his first voyage to the New World, surmising that it is Japan. * 1516 – Second Ottoman–Mamluk War: Mamluks fail to stop the Ottoman advance towards Egypt at the Battle of Y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Bourtzes
Michael Bourtzes (, Arabic: ''Miḥā’īl al-Burdjī''; ca. 930/35 – after 996) was a leading Byzantine general of the latter 10th century. He became notable for his capture of Antioch from the Arabs in 969, but fell into disgrace by the Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. Resentful at the slight, Bourtzes joined forces with the conspirators who assassinated Phokas a few weeks later. Bourtzes re-appears in a prominent role in the civil war between Emperor Basil II and the rebel Bardas Skleros, switching his allegiance from the emperor to the rebel and back again. Nevertheless, he was re-appointed as ''doux'' of Antioch by Basil II, a post he held until 995, when he was relieved because of his failures in the war against the Fatimids. Biography Career under Nikephoros II and John Tzimiskes Michael Bourtzes was the first prominent member of the Bourtzes family, originating in the upper Euphrates region, which went on to become one of the major clans of the Byzantine military a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter I Of Bulgaria
Peter I (; ; died 30 January 970) was the emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. Facing Bogomilism and rebellions by his brothers and also by Časlav Klonimirović early on in his reign, Peter secured more success later in life; he ensured the retreat of the invading Rus by inciting Bulgaria's allies, the Pechenegs, to attack Kiev itself. Traditionally seen as a weak ruler who lost land and prestige, recent scholarship challenges this view, emphasizing the empire's affluence and internal peace. Considered a good ruler during the Middle Ages, his name was adopted by later leaders trying to restore Bulgarian independence under Byzantine rule to emphasize legitimacy and continuity. Early reign Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at the beginning of his reign. In 913 Peter may have visited the impe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Antioch (968–969)
The siege of Antioch in 968–969 was a successful military offensive undertaken by leading commanders of the Byzantine Empire in order to reconquer the strategically important city of Antioch from the Hamdanid Dynasty. Following a year of plunder in Syria, the Byzantine Emperor, Nikephoros II Phokas, decided to return to Constantinople for the winter. Before leaving, however, he constructed the Bagras Fort near Antioch and installed Michael Bourtzes as its commander, instructing him and Petros to lay siege to Antioch. Nikephoros explicitly forbade Bourtzes from taking Antioch by force in order to maintain the structural integrity of the city. Bourtzes, however, did not want to wait until winter to take the fortress. He also wanted to impress Nikephoros and earn himself glory, and so he entered into negotiations with the defenders seeking terms for surrender. At this point, Petros was engaged in a raid on the surrounding countryside with the Syrian commander 'Ayšalš, where he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter (stratopedarches)
Peter (; died 977) was a Byzantine eunuch general. Originally a servant of the powerful Cappadocian Phokas family, he was raised to high military office ('' stratopedarches'' of the East) under Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, leading the capture of Antioch and the subjugation of Aleppo in 969. Under John I Tzimiskes, he fought as a senior commander against the Rus' in 970–971, while after Tzimiskes' death he led the loyalist forces against the revolt of the general Bardas Skleros in Asia Minor, falling in battle in autumn 977. Biography According to several Byzantine sources, Peter was originally a servant or member of the personal retinue of Nikephoros II Phokas. The exact relationship is unclear; although he is termed a slave, it is more likely that he was simply a manservant... Due to a mistranslation of a passage by Zonaras, he has been sometimes erroneously identified as a member of the Phokas clan and is known in some modern works as "Peter Phokas". Although a eunuch, Pete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general who married into the influential Skleros family, he strengthened and expanded the Byzantine Empire to include Thrace and Syria by warring with the Rus' under Sviatoslav I and the Fatimids respectively. Background John was born in present-day Çemişgezek in Tunceli Province. His father, son of Theophilos Kourkouas, was a scion of the Kourkouas family, a clan of Armenian origin that had established itself as one of the chief families among the Anatolian military aristocracy by the early 10th century. His mother belonging to the Phokas family of unknown ethnicity, maybe Greek-Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that "''Tzimiskes''" was derived either from the Armenian ''Chmushkik'' (Չմշկիկ), meaning "red boot", or from an Armenian word for "short stature", as explained by Leo the Deacon. A more favorable explanation is offered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
December 11
Events Pre-1600 * 220 – Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty. * 361 – Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor. * 861 – Assassination of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil by the Turkish guard, who raise al-Muntasir to the throne, start of the "Anarchy at Samarra". * 969 – Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas is assassinated by his wife Theophano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes. * 1041 – Michael V, adoptive son of Empress Zoë of Byzantium, is proclaimed emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. * 1239 – Treaty of Benavente: the heiresses of the Kingdom of León renounce their throne to King Ferdinand III of Castile * 1282 – Battle of Orewin Bridge: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri near Builth Wells in mid-Wales. 1601–1900 * 1602 – A surprise attack by forces under the command of Charle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northeastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine Empire, Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by Battle of Ongal, defeatingpossibly with the help of Seven Slavic tribes, local South Slavic tribesthe Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. During the 9th and 10th century, Bulgaria at the height of its power spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea and became an important power in the region competing with the Byzantine Empire. As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophano (born Anastaso)
Theophano (; – after 978) was a Greek woman from the region of Laconia, who became Byzantine empress by marriage to emperors Romanos II and Nikephoros II. In 963, between the deaths of Romanos and her marriage to Nikephoros, she was regent for her sons, Basil II and Constantine VIII. Contemporary sources have depicted Theophano as scheming and adulterous, although some modern scholars have called this into question. Marriage to Romanos II Theophano was born of Laconian Greek origin in the Peloponnesian region of Lakonia, possibly in the city of Sparta, in 941. Theophano was originally named Anastasia, or more familiarly Anastaso and was the daughter of a poor tavern-keeper called Craterus. Theophano was renowned for her great beauty and heir apparent Romanos fell in love with her around the year 956 and married her against the wishes of his father, Emperor Constantine VII. Theophano's humble origins made her unpopular among Byzantine elites and when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire and later as regional capital to both the Roman and Byzantine Empire. During the Crusades, Antioch served as the capital of the Principality of Antioch, one of four Crusader states that were founded in the Levant. Its inhabitants were known as ''Antiochenes''. The remains of the ancient city of Antioch are mostly buried beneath alluvial deposits from the Orontes River. The modern city of Antakya, in Hatay Province of Turkey, lies in its place. Antioch was founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, as one of the tetrapoleis of Seleucis of Syria. Seleucus encouraged Greeks from all over the Mediterranean to settle in the city. The ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empires between its consecration in 330 until 1930, when it was renamed to Istanbul. Initially as New Rome, Constantinople was founded in 324 during the reign of Constantine the Great on the site of the existing settlement of Byzantium, and shortly thereafter in 330 became the capital of the Roman Empire. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Although the city had been known as Istanbul since 1453, it was officially renamed as Is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
