| Country | Leader | From | To | |
| England | Ethelred II the Unready (968-1016) | Mar. 18, 978 | Apr. 23, 1016 |  |
| France | Robert II the Pious (972-1031) | Oct. 24, 996 | July 20, 1031 |  |
| Germany | HRE Otto III (980-1002) | Dec. 25, 983 | Jan. 23, 1002 |  |
| Poland | Boleslaus I the Mighty of Poland (967-1025) | 992 | Apr. 18, 1025 |  |
| Papacy | Sylvester II (946-1003) | Apr. 2, 999 | May 12, 1003 |  |
1000 World pop.: 200M-300M; Constantinople: 300K, Rome: 35K, Paris: 20K; the thriving Chinese Bei (Northern) Song Dynasty (960-1127) is the world's most populous empire; the Muslim Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) and remnants of the Umayyad Caliphate (661-) thrive in Spain, N Africa, the Middle East, and C Asia; there are 45K Christians in Baghdad; early in this cent. W Europe develops its first urban society. India's share of global GDP: 28.9%, sliding to 24.4% in 1700, 16.1% in 1820, and 4.2% in 1950, rising to 7.1% in 2015. A third of world Christians still live in Asia, and a tenth in Africa; by the end of the 14th cent. they are virtually wiped out by Islamic persecution. The original myth of the female orgasm? This was the last year of the 10th cent. in the Julian Calendar as well as the last year of the first millennium, and was a leap year starting on Mon.; the papal chancery now dated all documents using the Anno Domini (A.D./B.C.) system for the Julian Calendar - perhaps they now can't cover up that the world has a long future ahead of it before (if ever) he comes baaack, but don't want the world to regress to the pagan state that existed before he arrived? The Terreur de l'An Mil (Millennium Fever) (MF) gives many in Christendom a big buzz, mainly in France, which used the Julian Calendar, and mainly among monks, since the clerks still used regnal years, although rumors spread to the gen. pop. The Medieval Climate Anomaly begins, bringing a warm climate; the sea level rises 0.5mm a year for the next four cents; Europe begins a period of optimal climate conditions for agriculture, producing large harvests until c. 1250 - good era for producing those legions of young unmarried stags who will go on military expeditions looking for the Three P's, poon, er, the Three B's? The Early Middle Ages end, and the High Middle Ages begin, with major changes in W European life, incl. the rise of medieval communes, the resurgence of city life, the appearance of the burgher class, the revival of long-distance trade with the Mediterranean, the founding of the first univs., the rediscovery of Roman law, and the beginnings of vernacular lit.; meanwhile the Byzantine Empire enjoys its Golden Age in Greece and Turkey. About this time italy is divided into Lombardy (Genoa), the Marquisate of Tuscany (Pisa), the Repub. of Venice, Romagna, Pentapolis, the Papal States (Rome), the Duchy of Spoleto, the Principality of Benevento, the Principality of Capua, the Principality of Salerno, and the Duchy of Amalfi, with the Byzantine Empire controlling the toe, heel, and back of the ankle; Sardinia and Corsica are disputed, and Muslims control the Emirate of Sicily (Syracuse). In this cent. Venetian aristocrats begin using hereditary surnames, and by the end of the cent. returning Crusaders spread the custom throughout Europe, incl. Anglo-Saxon England. In this cent. the failure of Christ to return causes him to go from being portrayed as "Christ triumphant" to "the Christ of pain", becoming his main act by the 13th cent. Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and fame? On Mar. 11 after "Emperor of the World" HRE Otto III makes Rome the permanent residence of the HREs, then makes a pilgrimage to Aachen, where he opens his hero Charlemagne's Tomb, and finds him seated in a marble throne, which is used for the coronation of Holy Roman emperors for cents., then continues to Regensburg, Meissen, Magdeburg, and Gniezno (in Poland), and venerates the shrine of Adalbert, he attends the Congress of Gniezno (Gnesen) in Gniezno in WC Poland, held by Boleslav (Boleslaus) (Boleslaw) I Chobry (the Brave) (the Mighty) (the Great) (967-1025), setting up the independent archbishopric of Gniezo, with Radim Gaudentius (970-1020) as the first Polish archbishop - the heady power of the zero in the year one-zero-zero-zero, man this must be like being king of the world at the batting-1000 point in Christian history? Attila the Hun rolls over in his grave? On Mar. 27 Pope Sylvester II grants the title of king (apostolic majesty) to Hungarian ruler (St.) Stephen I (the Great) (969-1038), and appoints him papal vicar for his new Roman Catholic country, with a mission to kick Orthodox Christian and pagan butt, and he goes on to found St. Peter and St. Paul Monastery in Buda. On Sept. 9 Olaf I Tryggvason (b. 969) of Norway is killed in his ship Long Serpent by Svein Forkbeard (Sweyn I) of Denmark and Earl Eric, son of Earl Hakon in the naval Battle of Svolder (Svold) (Swold), giving Denmark control of part of Norway under King Cnut's Norwegian brother-in-law Earl Eric of Lade (d. 1015). Ethelred II the Unready of England finally gets ready and ravages Cumberland and Anglesey, then invades Normandy, getting his butt kicked by Duke Richard II the Good, and returning after signing a treaty. David III of Tao (Tayk) (b. 930), lord of the Armenian-Iberian borderlands is murdered by his nobles, and Byzantine emperor Basil II takes over his lands. Bohemia and Moravia are united. Castile is burned by the Muslims, and the pop. messed up medievally. Mahmud of Ghazni launches the first of 17 Expeditions into India across the Afghan frontier, kicking Indian butt, stealing everything that isn't nailed down (and that too), and slowly turning the Punjab region into a dependency while forcing conversion to Muslim or enslaving millions; by 1525 as many as 60M-80M are killed by Muslim invaders and rulers. The people of Capua oust their prince Adhemar, and invite Landulf di Sant'Agata (-1007), brother of Pandulf II the Old of Benevento to be their new prince. Burchard of Wurms (Worms) (-1025) becomes bishop of Wurms (Worms) (until 1025). A new millennium, a new kind of hog for the Hell's Angels? In this decade the Norwegian ex-Viking Normans, having settled in France and adopted Christianity and the French language, and abandoned their old Viking long ship pirate ways for PC cavalry warfare, seek to expand into S Italy and Sicily - now that they are PC? Early in this cent. the Saxons settle in Bristol (modern-day pop. 454K/1.0M) on the banks of the Avon River at its confluence with the Frome River, about 120 mi. W of London; they originally call it Bricg Stowe ("settlement by the bridge"); it receives a royal charter in 1155, going on to make it to the top three cities after London in tax receipts by the 13th cent. until it is surpassed by Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool during the Industrial Rev., becoming the launch point for exploration of North Am. by John Cabot in 1497, and a center for shipping African slaves to North Am. in 1700-1807, carrying 500K slaves on 2K ships. In this decade I-can-only-imagine Venice extends its rule to the Dalmatian coast and the Adriatic Sea, causing once-boss Aquileia to start shriveling down to the size of a small fishing village - go daddy dot com? Early in the decade the Khitans of Manchuria invade Korea (Koryo) for a 2nd time, but withdraw when their supply lines become overextended. Tiahuanaco in Bolivia is wiped out by invaders, but a few of the white settlers (of 500 years earlier) escape to the sea? In this cent. the Welsh still fail to achieve political unity, producing nearly 100 different rulers - those wild Celts still like to be hillbillies? In this cent. Greenland becomes part of the German diocese of Hamburg-Bremen, but doesn't get its own bishop until 1126. In this cent. German traders set up shop in the Baltic island of Gothland (Gotland) (Gottland) and in London. In this cent. Dunwich on the Suffolk coast of England 92 mi. NE of London and 9 mi. S of Southwold flourishes as the capital of the Kingdom of the East Angles, with a large port, naval base, two seats in parliament, and one-sixth the pop. of London; too bad, the fast-eroding coastline causes the pop. to dwindle, reaching a breaking point with a storm surge in 1286 and two great storms in 1287, reducing the pop. to 200 by modern times. In this cent. the Kingdom of Goryeo (Koryo) (founded in 918) builds a summer palace in the "Southern Capital", which becomes known as Seoul (modern-day pop. 10.1M/25.6M); in 1392 the new Joseon (Chosun) (Choson) Dynasty (ends 1897) moves its capital to Seoul. In this cent. the port city of Quanzhou, China becomes China's major port for foreign traders until the 14th cent., becoming known for its mosques incl. the 13th cent. Qingjing Mosque. In this cent. the O'Shaughnessy sept becomes dominant in S Ui Fiachra. In this cent. the Wari civilization in the Andean highlands declines, making way for the Inca. In this cent. C.E. Bantu-speaking peoples evolve the Zimbabwe culture at the Great Zimbabwe royal palace in Africa near Lake Mutirikwe (ends 15th cent.) In the 11th cent. the tall warrior-dominated Bantu-speaking Hutu arrive in modern-day Rwanda and Burundi, soon outnumbering the native Twa and Tutsi. In this cent. nomadic Berber (Zenaga) tribes from Mauretania begin moving S into the valleys of the Gambia and Casamance Rivers on the W bulge of Africa, meeting African tribes from the S and forming the country of Senegal. In this cent. potatoes and corn are planted in Peru. In this cent. the ruined seaport of Brindisi in S Italy is rebuilt as a port of embarkation for Crusaders. About this time there are 46 monasteries on Mt. Athos in Greece, where women aren't allowed; down to 20 by modern times. In this cent. the U. of Parma in Italy is founded. In this cent. Walter Giffard, Norman vassal of the king (William I's standardbearer at the 1066 Batttle of Hastings) becomes the first earl of Buckingham. In this cent. the House of Wettin is founded, acquiring Wettin Castle in Wettin on the Saale River in Saxony-Anhalt, becoming the ancestor of many Euro dynasties incl. the dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, British Prince Albert, and Edward VII of Britain; in 1917 the British royal family changes its name to Windsor. Modern-day Norwegians claim that the city of Oslo is founded this year. In this cent. Dhaka, Bangladesh is founded. Early in this cent. the town of Lille (Ryssel) in Nord, France (66 mi. SE of Calais) (named after the L'Isle Castle) is founded by the counts of Flanders, becoming a manufacturing center and the medieval capital of Flanders. In this cent. the Mayan civilization in Yucatan reaches its zenith. In this cent. the tribes in the N highlands of Ecuador form the kingdom of Quito ("Middle of the World"). The Fremont People on the Colorado Plateau mysteriously vanish after 3K years. In this cent. the 3K-5K inhabitants of Mesa Verde move into adobe villages, then by the end of the cent. move under the rim. About this time Arabic speakers in India change the pronunciation of the word "Sinhu" (people living E of the Indus River) to "Hindu". In this decade Arabs and Jews begin arriving in backwards Germany to become court physicians. In this cent. Islam's scholarly groups begin a fierce factional rivalry, incl. bloody street battles, which lasts until the 13th cent. In this cent. the village of Alpbach in W Austria in the Tyrol is first settled; its parish church is dedicated to St. Oswald of Northumbria. Early in this cent. the secret Muslim Druse (Druze) sect in Syria and Lebanon is founded by Ismail al-Darasi (al-Darazi) (al-Durzi) (-1020) ("the tailor"). King Gryffull ab Aynam of North Wales reforms the order of Welsh bards, separating the professions of bard and minstrel. In this cent. the Arabs introduce the lemon plant to Sicily and Spain. In this cent. French and other European men begin to wear their hair in one or two cues, bound up with ribbons and lying over the shoulders from the back - the original pull my cue trick? Pottery made in Guatemala in this cent. contains the first pictorial record of smoking tobacco; the Mayan term for smoking is "sik'ar". About this time the Chateau de Goulaine vineyard in the Loire Valley of France is founded. About this time the Fonderia Pontificia Marinelli bell foundry is founded in Italy. About this time the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kolobrzeg in Poland is founded by Bishop Reinbern (-1015). In this cent. the Frisians of the Netherlands begin building dykes. About this time Indian Hindu Shaivist sage Abhinavagupta (Sansk. "authoritative") (950-1016) flourishes in Kashmir, originating the theory of rasa (vital juice or sap) in his masterpiece Tantraloka (Sansk. "Light on Tantra"), which synthesizes the 64 monistic agamas (traditions). Architecture: A wave of new church-building sweeps Christendom starting this year, due to you guessed it. Otto II begins the Basilica of San Bartolomeo all'Isola in Rome to host the relics of St. Bartholomew. The Basilica San Pietro de' Cassinensi in Perugia, Italy is built in this cent. In this cent. the Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages in Foochow (Fuzhou), China is built. The Shiwa Temple in Prambanan, Java is founded in this cent. Cahokia Mounds across the Mississippi River from modern-day St. Louis are built in this cent., incl. 100-ft.-high Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas. Inventions: In this cent. Persians begin mixing chromium into their steel. In this cent. gears become common in the Arab world, used with water wheels and water clocks. In this cent. the Welsh Fidicula, AKA Crwth (pr. "CROOTH") (crowd) (crouth) (cruit) (chorus) (crotta) (rote) (from the Welsh word meaning a hump?), a type bowed of lyre and a forerunner of the modern violin is invented; the names Crowder, Crowther, MacWhirter and MacWhorter denote crwth players - far from the madding crwths, look it up in the Guinness Book of Records? About this time Arab brain man Alhazen (Ibn Al-Haytham) (965-1039) invents the Camera Obscura (pinhole camera), and reverses Aristotle, correctly claiming that light comes from the object seen into the eye and not vice-versa. In this cent. the people of coastal Ecuador learn to smelt platinum to make small beads, although how their method of achieving high temps is unknown. According to chronicler William of Malmesbury Abbey in England, fellow monk Eilmer (981-1061) tries to fly by attaching wings to his arms and legs to form a tailless glider, and launches himself from a tower, flying 200m (660 ft.) before crashing and breaking both legs. About this time Euro scribes invent the letter W (also written UU). In this cent. walrus ivory chess pieces are made on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides (Scotland), and rediscovered in the early 19th cent., becoming the earliest known chess pieces. Science: In this cent. a calendar with a 360-day year divided into 12 mo. of 27-28 days, with an extra month added at regular intervals is introduced in India. In this cent. a 7-day week is introduced to China by Persians or C Asian merchants, superseding the 10-day week. In this cent. Chinese scholars decide that not only the Moon but the Sun has a role in controlling tides. In this decade Persian superbrain Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (980-1037) claims two causes for mountains: "Either they are the effects of upheavals of the crust of the Earth, or they are the effect of water, which cuts itself a new route and denudes the valleys." Inventions: The 3-Field System is adopted in Europe, becoming the hat trick for a thousand years of progress out of the Dark Ages. Nonfiction: Abu al-Biruni (973-1048), Vestiges of the Past (Chronology of Ancient Nations) (Al-Athar al-Baqiyah fi Qanun al-Khaliyah); the calendars and festivals of various religions, trying for objectivity; "We must clear our minds... from all causes that blind people to the truth - old custom, party spirit, personal rivalry or passion, the desire for influence." Poetry: About this time the Anglo-Saxon Christian poem The Dream of the Rood (Crucifix) is written in Britain, preserved in the Vercelli Book, written late in this cent. Fiction: Diary of a Mayfly (Kagerofu no Nikki) is written by an anon. Japanese woman. In this cent. Gregorian monk Euthymios writes The Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, about Christian saints who allegedly lived in India in the 3rd or 4th cent. C.E. but is really a ripoff of the story of Buddha; it gets mistakenly attributed to 7th cent. writer John of Damascus. Sei Shonagon, Makura no Soshi (The Pillow Book) (1000-1015); diary of a woman at the imperial Japanese court. Music: The Winchester Troper is composed in Britain, becoming the oldest large collection of 2-part music in Europe. it also contains the liturgical drama "Quem quaeritis", becoming the oldest surviving medieval play with music. Births: Muslim Buyid ruler of Kerman (1012-28) Qawam al-Daula (al-Dawla) (Au'l-Fawaris) (d. 1028) in Apr. French duke of Normandy #5 (1027-35) Robert II (I) (the Devil) (le Diable) (the Magnificent) (d. 1035) on June 22; son of Richard II the Good (963-1027) and Judith of Brittany (982-1017); father of bastards William the Conqueror (1026-87) and Adelaide of Normandy (1026-90) by Herleva, daughter of Falais tanner Fulbert. Norman count of Brionne and Eu Gilbert (Giselbert Crispin (d. 1040); son of Count Geoffrey of Eu (962-1010); father of Ritchard fitz Gilbert (1034-90) and Baldwin fitz Gilbert (-1090); guardian of William I. French duke of Upper Lorraine (1047-8) Adalbert (1000-1048); son of Gerhard II de Bouzonville, count of Metz and Gisela. Roman Byzantine emperor #145 (1042-55) Constantine IX Monomachus (Monomachos) (d. 1055) in Constantinople; husband (1942-) of Empress Zoe. Greek patriarch of Constantinople (1043-58) (author of the Great Schism) Michael I Cerularius (Caerularius) (Kerularios) (d. 1058). Arab rhetorician Ibn Rashiq (d. 1070). German archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg (1043-72) ("Vicar of the North") Adalbert (Adelbert) (Albert) I (d. 1072) in Goseck Castle, Hassegau, Saxony; son of Count Friedrich von Goseck, regent of HRE Henry IV, and Agnes of Weimar. French scholastic theologian Berengar (Berengarius) of Tours (d. 1088) in Tours. English monk Gamel de Spofforth (d. ?); father of Gamelbar de Spofforth (1037-?). Deaths: German nun Roswitha of Gandersheim (b. 935), leaving Six Plays of Roswitha of Gandersheim, and Carmen de Gestis Ottonis about her patrons Otto I-III. Norwegian (995-1000) king Olaf I Tryggvason (b. 969) on Sept. 9 (KIA). English queen consort (964-75) Aelfthryth (Elfrida) (b. 945) on Nov. 17; wife of Edgar (943-75). Spanish king Garcia IV of Pamplona (b. ?). Persian astronomer Al-Khujandi (b. ?). Toltec ruler Tlilcoatzin (b. ?).
1001 On Feb. 6 Count Gregory I of Tusculum (d. 1012) is named head of the Roman Repub. after leading a revolt against HRE Otto III and expelling the Crescentii; too bad, the latter return to power next year and expel him. On Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) (St.) Stephen I (the Great) (969-1038) of Hungary is crowned by HRE Otto III with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II - put the maximum-bridge-builder-to-God's magic passkey on and you're set? The Byzantines under Basil II renew their campaign against Bulgarian khan Samuel I, who rules from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, and was raiding into C Greece. Sancho III the Great of Navarre unites with Navarre and begins the conquest of the kingdom of Leon (ends 1035). HRE Otto III appoints Werner I (978-1028), son of Lanzelin of Altenburg (-991) as bishop of Strasbourg (until 1028); he and his brothers Rudolph I (-1063) and Count Radbot of Klettgau (985-1045) are the first members of the all-new-ugly-betty House of Hapsburg (Habsburg) (Ausria). Brian Boru leads his army from Kincora to Athlone on the Shannon River S of Lough Ree in C Ireland to attend a gathering. After Icelandic Viking anything-goes-man Leif Ericson (Ericsson) (970-1020), son of Erik the Red buys Bjarni Herjulfson's ship (knarr) and sails with a 35-man crew from Greenland in a SW direction, he runs into North Am., first at Baffin Island, which he calls Helluland ("land of flat stones"), then Labrador, which he calls Markland ("land of forests"), and finally Newfoundland, which he calls Vinland the Good ("land of grapes/berries/meadows"), a place where wild grapes and wheat are seen growing; they winter there, building a village of "big houses", encountering the Beothuk people; in 1960 Helge Ingstad finds evidence of Vinland in L'Anse aux Meadows (Fr. "L'Anse-aux-Meduses" = jellyfish cove) in Newfoundland; did they bring back native women? Architecture: Kaiyuan Temple in Dingzhou, China is begun (finished in 1055). The domed cruciform Great Cathedral of Ani in Armenia (E Turkey) is completed in the reign of Gagik I (d. 1020); in 1319 an earthquake collapses the dome; in 1988 another earthquake collapses the NW corner. Births: English earl of Wessex (1019-53) Godwin of Wessex (d. 1053) in Sussex; father of Earl Sweyn of Herefordshire, Harold II Godwinson (1022-66), Earl Tostig of Northumbria, Queen Edith of Wessex (1029-75) (wife of Edward the Confessor), Earl Gyrth of East Anglia, Earl Leofwine of Kent, and Wulfnoth. Arab Abbasid caliph (1031-75) (Sunni Muslim) Al-Qa'im (d. 1075); son of Al-Qadir (991-1031); husband (1056-) of Arslan Khatun Khadija, son of Chaghri Beg (989-1060).
1002 On Jan. 24 Otto III (b. 980) dies, and after a struggle is succeeded as German king by his 2nd cousin (son of Duke Henry II the Wrangler, and great-grandson of Henry the Fowler) (St.) Henry II (the Saint) (973-1024), the 5th and last Saxon king of Germany; on his orders Otto III is buried beside Charlemagne in Aachen; Otto of Worms (-1004), who lost the duchy of Carinthia in 978 withdraws from the election in return for receiving it back. In the summer Cordoban emir Hajib al-Mansur (Almanzor) (b. 938) captures Caceres (Cáceres), then dies of illness on Aug. 8 in Castle Calatanazor as he is preparing to cross the Pyrenees, and his son Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar (the Victorious) (-1008) becomes emir of Cordoba (until 1008), after which the Cordovan caliphate begins disintegrating. The Danish Pearl Harbor? On Nov. 15 (St. Brice's Day), by order of King Ethelred II the Unready, Redeless, and Devoid of Counsel, thousands of Danish settlers are massacred around Britain, incl. the sister of Svein Forkbeard, pissing the later off; anxious for alliances to help fight the devilish Danes Ethelred II marries Emma (Aelfgifu) of Normandy (985-1052), sister of Duke Richard II the Good of Normandy, giving Normandy a future claim on the English throne - big mistake? Irish high king Brian Boru defeats the Norse. St. Stephen I of Hungary defeats an anti-Christian revolt in Transylvania - run secretly by Dracula? The Byzantines under Basil II defeat the Bulgarians at the Battle of Vidin and regain Moesia. Vrsovichi (Vrsovici) nobles organize a revolt against weak Bohemian duke Boleslaus III the Red-Eyed, who flees to the protection of Henry I of Austria in Germany, who at first arrests them releases him and promises support; meanwhile Boleslaus' alcoholic kinsman Vladivoj (981-1003) becomes duke of Bohemia (until Jan. 1003). The city of Erlangen in Bavaria on the Regnitz River 11 mi. NW of Nuremberg (modern-day pop. 110K) is first mentioned under the name Villa Erlangon; in 1361 it is acquired by HRE Charles IV, who makes it part of Czech.; in 1364 a city is built near the village, which in 1374 is granted its own mint, and in 1398 is granted municipal rights by Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia; in 1402 it is acquired by the House of Hohenzollern as part of the Principality of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth starting in 1603); in 1810 it is acquired by the kingdom of Bavaria; in 1686 the first French Huguenots fleeing persecution arrive, and margrave Christian Ernst of Brandenburg-Bayreuth assigns the land to them and builds Neustadt for them; in 1706 the old town burns down, and is rebuilt, and in 1812 the two towns merge. Architecture: The 3-naved buttressed basilica St. Paul's Chapter Church in Worms is built by Bishop Burchard. Births: Bohemian Premyslid duke (1035-) ("the Bohemian Achilles") Bretislaus (Bretislav) I (d. 1055); son of Oldrich and Bozena; kidnaps his wife Judith of Schweinfurt in 1119 from a monastery, and marries her in 1030; father of Vladislav II (-1092), Spitigniev (Spytihnev) (1031-61), Conrad I (-1092), and Jaromir (-1088). Roman Byzantine emperor #152 (1078-81) Nicephorus III Botaniates (Nikephoros III Botaneiates) (d. 1081); descended from the Phokas family. Deaths: Spanish Muslim statesman-gen. Al-Mansur (Almanzor) (b. 938) on Aug. 8. German HRE Otto III (b. 980) on Jan. 24 in Paterno; buried near Charlemagne, whose body he had dug up to pray before.
1003 On Feb. 9 after Vladivoj drinks himself to death, Boleslaus III is restored as duke of Bohemia with the support of Boleslav of Poland, causing his brothers Jaromir (whom he castrates) and Oldrich to flee to Merseburg, Germany under the protection of Henry II, but after he orders the Vrsovici nobles massacred at Vysehrad on the Vlata River during Lent, slaying his own son-in-law with his sword, Boleslav hears about it and gets pissed, then invites him to a castle and has him blinded and imprisoned, and takes over Bohemia, declaring himself duke; Boleslaus dies in captivity 34 years later; meanwhile Jaromir promises to hold Bohemia as a vassal of Henry II, placing it within the jurisdiction of the HRE. Early in the year with pesky Al-Mansur out of the way, Count Ramon Borrell of Barcelona leads an alliance of Catalonian counts to defeat a 17K-man force from the Caliphate of Cordoba at the Battle of Tora (Torà) at Tora, Lleida, causing Al-Mansur's son Abd al-Malik to raid his county to show he can fill daddy's shoes, and capture his brother Ermengol I of Urgell, imprisoning him in Albesa until a ransom is paid; on Feb. 25 after the Cordobans retreat to their own territory, the Battle of Albesa near Balaguer sees the united Christian forces of Catalonia lose Bishop Berngar of Elne, while the Cordobans lose Said bin Musa of Elvira. On May 12 Pope (since 999) Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) (b. 946) dies; because he is learned and has studied with the Muslim Moors he is regarded by the common people as a magician in league with the Devil, e.g., he is said to have tried to impose the Arabic (really Hindu) number system on Christians, incl. the newfangled zero, and to have invented the pendulum clock (that newfangled zero must have seemed groovy to the worldly, and pure terror to the pious?); on June 13 Crescentius II' son John gets Pope (#141) John XVII (-1003) elected, but he dies on Nov. 6.; he then gets Pope (#142) (St.) John XVIII (-1009) elected next Jan. The Byzantines under Basil II raid Macedonia and capture Skopje (Scopje) from the Bulgarians; in 2004 the Skopje Border Stone of Samuel is discovered near Petrich, reading "Samuel the Bulgarian Autocrat", pissing-off the citizens of Skopje, who had been claiming he was Macedonian. The Danes under Sweyn land in Britain, and attack Oxford, Exeter, Norwich et al. Count Adelfer of Avellino leads a rebellion against Prince Pandulf II the Old of Benevento, and ousts him and his son, but they make a comeback in 1005. Kung Fu master "White Eyebrow Priest" Pai Mei avenges an insult by massacring 60 eagle claw Kung-Fu Shao Lin monks, introducing the "Five Finger Palm Exploding Heart Technique", a single blow so powerful that the victim takes five steps and then his heart explodes :) (Quentin Tarantino). Births: English (penultimate Anglo-Saxon) king #19 (1042-66) Edward III the Confessor (d. 1066); son of Ethelred II the Unready (968-1016) and 2nd wife Emma of Normandy; half-brother of Edmund II Ironside (988-1016); half Anglo-Saxon and half Norman; raised as a Norman; feast day: Oct. 13. Deaths: Greek Byzantine monk St. Athanasios of Trebizond (b. 920) on Mount Athos; killed when the cupola of his church collapses. Norwegian explorer Erik the Red (b. 950) in Iceland (plague).
1004 German King Henry II goes on his first Italian campaign, defeats Ardoin, and is crowned king of Lombardy in Pavia; he then begins a war with Boleslav I of Poland over his acquisition of Lusatia and Silesia on the Polish border (ends 1018), and drives him out of Bohemia, allowing his 2nd son Jaromir (-1035) to occupy Prague and declare himself the new duke (until 1012), although Boleslav still holds Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia. Duke Otto I of Worms (brother of Pope Gregory V) dies, and his 3rd son Conrad I (975-1011) succeeds as duke of Carinthia (until 1011). After King (since 994) Garcia Sanchez II the Trembler died in 1000, his eldest son Sancho III Garces (El Mayor) (the Great) (the Large) (985-1035) becomes king of Pamplona (incl. Aragon) (until 1035), and sues Cordoba for peace; he spends his career uniting the Spanish kingdoms, adding the counties of Sobrarbe in 1015, Ribagorza in 1018, and Cea in 1030. The Saracens sack Pisa - I prefer mine in a cardboard box? China becomes tributary to the Tungusic Khitans, paying 100K oz. of silver and 200K bolts of silk. Rajaraja Chola I of S India finishes conquering Ceylon (Sri Lanka), funneling Singhalese revenues to his baroque Dravidian Great Pagoda of Rajarajesvara in Tanjore, and endowing a Buddhist monastery in Negapatam built by a king of Sumatra (Srivijaya). Leif Ericsson returns to Vinland, and is given the honorary name of Leif the Lucky; he gives his ship to his brother Thorvald Ericsson (Torvald Eiriksson) (-1005) (the Unlucky?), who leaves for Vinland in the fall. Architecture: Against episcopal objections Henry II founds the bishopric of Bamberg, building the Romanesque Bamberg Cathedral (finished in 1012), and richly endowing it as a German outpost against the pesky Slavs, beginning the anti-Slav prejudice of the "pure Aryan" Germans that culminates in the Nazi atrocities of WWII?; the cathedral later houses his tomb. Births: Spanish count #2 of Urgell (1010-38) Ermengol (Armengol) II (the Pilgrim) (d. 1038); son of Ermengol I (974-1010). Islamic Isma'ili (Assassin) theologian-poet Nasir-i Khusraw (d. 1008) in Balkh.
1005 I'm through with you Snowflake, it's time to say goodbye to your fat pants? In the summer while exploring the St. Lawrence Region, Thorvald and his crew attack a band of Skraelings (skrellings) (Indians), killing eight; the natives retaliate by ambushing them and killing Thorvald, making him the first white Euro killed in North Am.? On Nov. 16 Aelfric of Abingdon dies, and Winchester bishop (St.) Aelfheah (Elphege) (Alfege) (Godwine) (954-1012) becomes Canterbury archbishop #29 (until Apr. 19, 1012). There's a new sheriff in town? Malcolm II (the Aggressor) (the Destroyer) (980-1034) defeats and kills Kenneth III and his son Giric in Monzievaird in Strathearn, and becomes king of lily-white Alba (Scotland) (until Nov. 25, 1034), becoming the king of ruthless as he imposes his authority over the Scottish mainland, extends the borders far to the S, and keeps a check on his Moray kinsmen via alliances with the Norse rulers of Orkney; at first three kingdoms share Scotland: Alba in the N, Lothian in the SE, and Strathclyde in the SW. Irish Ard Ri (high king) Brian Boru (Boruma) (940-1014) of Munster is declared emperor of the Irish in Armagh. The Byzantines under Basil II recover Durres (Durazzo) (Dyrrachion) in S Albania from the Bulgarians with the help of the Chryselioi; too bad, the Byzantines hit a wall and fail to make any significant gains for the next several years (until 1014). Le Hoan dies, and Le Long Dinh (Le Ngoa Trieu) (986-1009), "the reclining emperor" becomes king of Vietnam (until 1009). Aelfric the Grammarian (the Homilist) of Eynsham (Cerne) (955-1020) becomes abbot of Eynsham, England, going on to write Letter to the Monks of Eynsham, Introduction to the Old and New Testament (1008), et al., reforming the language of Alfred the Great and replacing it with Late Wset Saxon. Islington in C London starts out as a manor named Giseldone, later (1062) Gislandune (Gisla's Dun or Hill), which changes to Isledon until the mid-17th cent. Births: Spanish count of Barcelona (1018-35) Berenguer Ramon (Berengar Raymond) I (the Crooked) (the Hunchback) (d. 1035); son of Raymond Borrell and Ermesinde of Carcassonne (972-1057); father of Ramon Berenguer I (1035-76). Egyptian Fatimid caliph #7 (1021-1036) (Shiite Muslim) Ali az-Zahir (Abu'l Hasan ?Ali az-Zahir li A'zaz li Din-illah) (d. 1036) on June 20; son of Al-Hakim bi Amr al-Lah (985-1021). Scottish king (1040-57) Macbeth (MacBeth) (Macbethad) (d. 1057); cousin of Malcolm II; husband of Gruoch (Lady Macbeth), daughter of Gillacomgain and granddaughter of Kenneth Mac Duib, son of King Dub. Roman Byzantine emperor #148 (1057-9) Isaac I Comnenus (Komnenos) (d. 1061); founder of the Comnenus Dynasty (1081-1185). English archbishop of Canterbury (1070-89) Lanfranc (d. 1089) in Pavia, Italy.
1006 Malcolm II launches a plundering raid into N England, but his army is routed in the Battle of Durham, causing his men to go home without booty, hurting the new king's prestige; meanwhile Brian Boru adopts the title of "Emperor of the Gael" to signal to Malcolm II that he is the #1 Gaelic king. Rudolph III of Burgundy appoints Henry II as his heir, leading to unrest and a revolt led by Baldwin of Flanders (ends 1007); Robert II the Pious of France allies with Henry II. Muslims settle in NW India - where the Hindus welcome the Religion of Peace? Suryavarman I (-1050) becomes king of Angkor (Cambodia), extending his kingdom to the N and W. The Book of Kells is stolen from Kells, Ireland, and is recovered 2 mo. and 20 days later buried under sod, with its cover of jewel-studded gold gone. Science: A magnitude 9 supernova is observed in the constellation Lupus, becoming the brightest known. Births: Norman duke Waldern (Waldonius), 1st Lord (Count) of Saint-Clair (d. 1047) (d. 1057?); nephew of duke Richard II; father of William Sinclair, 1st baron of Rosslyn (1028-70). Roman Byzantine emperor #149 (1059-67) Constantine X Ducas (Doukas) (d. 1067).
1007 English King Ethelred II pays 30K pounds in Danegeld to gain two years of freedom from attacks and ransacking. The Viking settlers abandon Vinland to the pesky Skraelings, and Leif Ericson's dead brother Thorvald is returned to him in Greenland for burial - where do all these Skraelings come from on such a small island, duh? Baldwin of Flanders is defeated in Burgundy. Malcolm II marries one of his daughters to Jarl Sigurd the Mighty (-1014) of Orkney, whose realm stretches from Dornoch Firth and Shetland to the Hebrides, securing Malcolm's N frontiers and leaving him free to concentrate on the S. Landulf di Sant'Agata dies, and his brother Pandulf III the Old of Benevento succeeds as prince of Capua, reuniting them for the first time since 981. Elvira of Castile becomes a nun, and Alfonso V assumes personal rule (until 1028), going on to spend his reign trying to pick up the pieces after the Muslim incursions. The Nestorians convert 200K Kerait Turks this year and next. Hammad ibn Buluggin founds the Hammadid Dynasty in Algeria (until 1152). Henry II begins the vigorous Gorzian monastic reform, marked by many confiscations and secularization. Architecture: Hammad ibn Buluggin of Algeria builds the Al-Qala ("fortress") in the Hodna Mts. W of Setif, then builds a palace and mosque which become famous in the Muslim world. Count Fulk III of Anjou builds Beaulieu-les-Loches Abbey. Births: Hungarian prince (St.) Emeric (d. 1031); son of Stephen I and Gisela of Bavaria. Italian cardinal bishop of Ostia (1057-) (St.) Peter Damian (Pietro Damiani) (d. 1072); friend of Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII); feast day: Feb. 23. Chinese poet Ou Yang Hsiu (d. 1072). Deaths: Arabic poet Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadhani (b. 967) in Herat; leaves The Maqamat.
1008 In May John Curcua (Curcuas) (Giovanni Antipati da Cusira) (-1010), former strategos of Samos (of Armenian descent) becomes Byzantine catapan of Italy (until 1010). Al-Muzaffar, son of al-Mansur dies, and his brother Abd al-Rahman (Sanchuelo) (983-1009) succeeds as chief minister (until 1009), getting Hisham II to proclaim him as his heir, causing a revolt led by Muhammad II al-Mahdi (d. 1010), great-grandson of Abd-al-Rahman III. The Vikings raid Galicia, and kill Count Mendo Goncalo of Portugal. Mahmud of Ghazni defeats the piss-poor Hindus at the Battle of Peshawar. Architecture: Castle Veldenstein near Nuremberg is built. Inventions: The first known water-operated wool-processing plant operates in Ludi near Milan. Nonfiction: The Leningrad Codex is written, becoming the oldest complete copy of the Old Testament to survive to modern times - giving skeptics plenty of hay to fork? Births: Japanese Yamato emperor #68 (1016-36) Go-Ichijo (Atsuhira) (d. 1036) on Oct. 12; 2nd son of Ichijo (980-1011); brother of Go-Suzaku (1009-45). French king (1031-60) Henri I Capet (d. 1060) in Reims, Champagne; son of Robert II the Pious. English bishop of Worcester (962-95) (St.) Wulstan (Wulfstan) (d. 1095): feast day: Jan. 19.
1009 On Feb. 14 after being thrown out of Hungary in 1003 for trying to convert Eastern Orthodox nobles, then being sent by Vladimir I of Kiev to evangelize the nomadic pagan Turkic Pechenegs between the Danube and Don Rivers, where he baptizes 30 lucky duckers and consecrates a bishop for them, then moving to Yotvingia, Prussia (on the border with Lithuania and Kiev) and consecrating the first bishop of Sweden, and writing The Five Martyred Brothers (about his friend Benedict, who was killed along with four companions by robbers in 1003), (St.) Bruno (Brun) (Boniface) of Querfurt (974-1009) runs out of luck and is beheaded by a pagan duke, while his companions are hanged, after which he is soon sainted and called "the second apostle of the Old Prussians", and the town of Braunsberg (Braniewo) in Prussia (founded 1241) is later named after him - is it satire or is it slander? In early Feb. Sanchuelo (b. 983) heads S to confront the rebels, but his army deserts and he is arrested and executed; Muhammad II al-Mahdi deposes caliph Hisham II, and destroys Hajib al-Mansur's palace complex of Al-Madinat al-Zahira outside Cordoba on Feb. 15; in June he expels the Berbers, who camp at Calatrava, where Berber gens. nominate Sulayman (Suleiman) (Sulaiman) il ibn Hakam II al-Mustain (-1016) (another descendant of Abd-al-Rahman III) as a rival Umayyad caliph #5, and he seeks the aid of Count Sancho Garcia of Castile against Muhammad II; in Nov. the joint Berber-Castilian army defeats the Andalusian militia of Muhammad II and sacks Cordoba, and Sulayman II is proclaimed caliph; the civil war causes power in once-solid Andalusia (Muslim Spain) to be divided between three petty kingdoms called Taifas (ends 1086), playing into Christian hands. On May 9 Lombard nobleman Melus (Melo) of Bari (-1020) rebels against Byzantine catapan John Curcua in Baria, Apulia, S Italy, spreading the rebellion to other cities. In July Pope (since 1004) John XVIII dies, and on July 31 Peter Pig's Snout (Bucca Porci), son of Peter the Shoemaker is elected Pope (#143) Sergius IV (-1012). In Sept. after ordering the destruction in 1003 of St. Mark's Church in Fustat, Egypt and replacing it with the al-Rashida Mosque, which impinges on nearby Jewish and Christian cemeteries, followed by orders to confiscate Christian bldgs., burn crosses, and build small mosques on their roofs, falling for advisors who tell him how rich and arrogant Christians in Jerusalem are, mad Egyptian Fatimid Shiite caliph Al-Hakim orders the destruction of all churches (30K?) and synagogues in Jerusalem; his men sack and nearly destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, along with the Anastasis and the Martyrdom of Constantine, leaving only a few portions of the Rotunda on Golgotha; he follows with legislation to segregate dhimmis from the Muslim ummah and force them to convert to Islam by making Christians wear heavy crosses around their necks and making Jews carry a large block of wood; in 1011 Jews are stoned in Fustat as they follow a funeral cortege, while the synagogue in Jerusalem is desecrated and its holy scrolls burned; 1016 he turns on Muslims, forcing them to subsitute his name for God in Friday prayers, sparking riots in Cairo, which only makes him madder, and in 1017 he forbids Muslims to fast on Ramadan or to make the hajj to Mecca, torturing those who disobey; luckily for everybody, one night in 1021 he rides out of Cairo alone into the desert and is never seen again, leaving Christian Jerusalem in ruins, after which in 1023 his sister Sitt al-Mulk sends Patriarch Nicephorus of Jerusalem to Constantinople to report on the situation and get authorization to rebuild, only to be interrupted in 1024 by a revolt against the Fatimids by the Bedouin Jarrah Tribe, who seize control of the roads in Palestine and lay the countryside waste. The Muslims lay waste to Leon. The First Imperial Diet is held in Goslar. Chief Seljuk, founder of the Turkish Sunni Muslim Seljuk (Seljuq) Empire on the Jaxartes River and in Transoxiana dies, and is succeeded by his son Arslan ("the lion") Isra'il (Yabgu) (-1032). Le Long Dinh dies, and the Le Dynasty (begun 980) in Vietnam comes to an end after Buddhist monk-raised Ly Cong Uan (Ly Thai To) (974-1028), cmdr. of the palace guard seizes the throne supported by the Buddhist establisment, founding the Ly Dynasty (ends 1225). New bishop Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018) begins his Chronicles of the reigns of emperors Otto III and Henry II, covering the years 908-1018. Architecture: On Aug. 29 Mainz Cathedral (begun 975) is dedicated to St. Martin of Tours; too bad, the same day a fire extensively damages it, and new archbishop Bardo has it rebuilt by 1037 after Archbishop Willigis (b. 940) is buried in nearby St. Stephan's Church in 1011. Births: Japanese Yamato emperor #69 (1036-45) Go-Suzaku (Atsunaga) (d. 1045) on Dec. 14; son of Ichijo (980-1011); younger brother of Go-Ichijo (1008-36); father of Go-Sanjo (1034-73). Deaths: Egyptian Muslim astronomer-mathematician Ibn Yunus (b. 950); leaves "Al-Zij al-Kabir al-Hakimi" (dedicated to Caliph al-Hakim); a handbook of accurate astronomical tables, showing knowledge of the trigonometric identity 2cos(a)cos(b) = cos(a+b) + cos (a-b); "Hakimite Tables of Planetary Motions"; namesake of the ibn Yunus lunar crater. German Christian bishop St. Bruno of Querfurt (b. 970) on Feb. 14 in Yotvingia, Prussia (near the Lithuanian-Kievan border) (martyred). Spanish Muslim gen.-statesman Abd al-Rahman (Sanchuelo) (b. 983) in Feb.