31 events · 31 nations
1000s
27 records
Africa
- ERI
Eritrea · Economy & Trade · 11th century
Rise of the Sultanate of Dahlak
The Dahlak Islands become a wealthy Muslim sultanate controlling pearl fisheries and the trade between the Red Sea and the Christian highlands.
The Beja, the Dahlak Sultanate and the Muslim Coast
Sources: Massawa (Wikipedia) · Massawa (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- GMB
Gambia · Peoples & Migration · c. 1st millennium CE
Settlement of the Mandinka, Wolof, Fula and Serer
The ancestors of the region's principal peoples — Mandinka, Wolof, Fula and Serer — settled the river valley and savanna through migration and the spread of farming, herding and trade, predating the river kingdoms.
Stone circles and the peoples of the river
Sources: The Gambia (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Gambia (Encyclopaedia Africana)
- GHA
Ghana · Formation · c. 11th–13th centuries
The medieval Ghana Empire flourishes far to the northwest
The Soninke empire of Ghana, centred on Koumbi Saleh in modern Mauritania and Mali, dominated the trans-Saharan gold-and-salt trade before its decline; the modern state would later adopt its name despite sharing no territory.
The Akan forest states and the gold trade
Sources: Ghana Empire (World History Encyclopedia) · Ghana (historical West African empire) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- LSO
Lesotho · Peoples & Migration · from c. 2nd millennium CE
Sotho-Tswana settlement
Bantu-speaking Sotho-Tswana farmers and herders settle the region, bringing cattle, cultivation and iron-working alongside earlier San and Khoekhoe peoples.
Hunters, Painters and Farmers
Sources: History of Lesotho (Wikipedia) · Rock art in southern Africa (British Museum, African Rock Art)
- MDG
Madagascar · Economy & Trade · c. 10th–12th century
Swahili and Arab trade contacts
Muslim Swahili traders (the Antalaotra) settle the northwest coast, linking Madagascar to Indian Ocean commerce.
Settlement & the Making of the Malagasy
Sources: Antalaotra (Wikipedia) · Madagascar on the Maritime Silk Roads (UNESCO Silk Roads Programme)
- MWI
Malawi · Culture & Ideas · Late Iron Age
The Chewa rock-painting tradition at Chongoni
Chewa farming communities, especially women, developed a distinctive rock-painting tradition on the granite hills of the central plateau, linked to initiation, funerals and rainmaking, building on far older paintings by BaTwa hunter-gatherers.
Bantu farmers and the rock-painters of Chongoni
Sources: Chongoni Rock-Art Area (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Chongoni Rock Art Area (Wikipedia)
- MLI
Mali · Economy & Trade · by c. 1000
Apogee of the gold-and-salt trade
Ghana controls a broad swathe of the western Sahel, acting as the broker between southern goldfields and North African salt caravans.
The Ghana Empire (Wagadou)
Sources: The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) · The Ghana Empire — World Civilization (Lumen Learning)
- MRT
Mauritania · Peoples & Migration · early 11th century
Break-up of the Sanhaja confederation
The confederation of veiled Sanhaja Berbers controlling the western Saharan trade routes fragments, producing warfare and unrest among the desert tribes.
The Ghana Empire and the Sanhaja Sahara
Sources: History of Mauritania (Wikipedia) · Almoravids (Berber confederation) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- MUS
Mauritius · Peoples & Migration · medieval period
Known to Arab and Malay sailors
Mariners crossing the Indian Ocean are thought to have known the uninhabited island, reputedly recorded on Arab maps as 'Dina Arobi'.
The Empty Island & Its First Visitors
Sources: Mauritius (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Mauritius (Wikipedia) · Explore Mauritius — Republic of Mauritius (Government of Mauritius)
- SOM
Somalia · Economy & Trade · c. 10th–13th century
Zeila, Berbera and Mogadishu flourish
The ports of Zeila, Berbera and Mogadishu grow wealthy on Indian Ocean trade with Arabia, Persia and India; Mogadishu mints its own coinage and becomes a leading commercial centre.
Islam, the Coastal City-States and the Adal Sultanate
Sources: Somalia (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Somali maritime history (Wikipedia)
- UGA
Uganda · Formation · c. 11th–14th century
Rise of Bunyoro-Kitara
The kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara, ruled by the omukama and linked in tradition to the Bachwezi, emerges as the dominant power of the interlacustrine region.
Peoples and the Great Lakes Kingdoms
Sources: History of Buganda (Wikipedia) · Uganda: Bunyoro and Buganda (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- ZMB
Zambia · Peoples & Migration · 1st–2nd millennium CE
The Tonga of the Zambezi
On the southern plateau the Tonga and related Ila peoples established dispersed farming communities along the middle Zambezi, organised by lineage rather than centralised kingship.
Iron Age farmers and the Bantu migrations
Sources: History of Zambia (Wikipedia) · History of Zambia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- ZWE
Zimbabwe · Formation · c. 11th century
Great Zimbabwe is built
Ancestors of the Shona began raising the mortarless granite walls of Great Zimbabwe, which would become the largest stone city in sub-Saharan Africa and give the modern nation its name.
Great Zimbabwe and the gold trade
Sources: Great Zimbabwe National Monument (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Great Zimbabwe (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Great Zimbabwe (Wikipedia)
Asia
- IRN
Iran · Culture & Ideas · 9th–11th centuries CE
Persia at the heart of the Islamic golden age
In the House of Wisdom and beyond, Persian scholars such as Avicenna, al-Khwarizmi and Omar Khayyam advance medicine, mathematics and astronomy during the Islamic golden age.
The Arab Conquest and Islamic Persia — the Golden Age
Sources: Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (Wikipedia) · House of Wisdom (Wikipedia)
- KGZ
Kyrgyzstan · Economy & Trade · 10th–12th c.
Karakhanid Balasagun and the Burana tower
Under the Karakhanid dynasty, the first Turkic Muslim power in Central Asia, Balasagun in the Chüy valley flourished as a capital; its minaret, the Burana tower, survives as the best-known monument of northern Kyrgyzstan.
The Silk Road, the Tian Shan and the Mongol Age
Sources: Kyrgyzstan: Silk Roads Programme (Burana and the Chüy valley) (UNESCO Silk Roads Programme) · Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
Europe
- HUN
Hungary · Formation · c. 1000–1001
Coronation of Stephen I
Stephen, of the Árpád line, was crowned the first king of Hungary, traditionally with a crown from Pope Sylvester II, founding a Christian kingdom organised on Western models. He was later canonised as Saint Stephen.
The Magyar Conquest and the Christian Kingdom
Sources: Stephen I, king of Hungary (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Holy Crown of Hungary and the Coronation Regalia (Hungarian National Assembly (Parliament of Hungary))
- ISL
Iceland · Religion · c. 1000
The Althing adopts Christianity
Faced with a split between pagans and Christians, the Althing entrusted the decision to the lawspeaker Þorgeir, who ruled that Iceland should become Christian; the conversion was achieved by compromise, without bloodshed.
Christianity, the Sagas and the Old Covenant
Sources: Christianity: the conversion of Iceland (Þingvellir National Park (official)) · Iceland: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- POL
Poland · Religion
Congress of Gniezno
Emperor Otto III made pilgrimage to Gniezno and an independent Polish church province was established, recognising the young state's standing within Christian Europe.
The Birth of the Piast State and the Christianization of Poland
Sources: Poland: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- SMR
San Marino · Formation · early Middle Ages
Refuge on a fortified mountain
Set atop the steep limestone massif of Mount Titano and of little strategic value to its powerful neighbours, the community could govern itself in isolation, a continuity of free republican life that UNESCO would later recognise as stretching from the Middle Ages to today.
Saint Marinus and the Mountain Commune
Sources: San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · The World's Oldest Continuous Republic (WorldAtlas)
- SVK
Slovakia · Politics & Power · c. 1000
Incorporation into the Kingdom of Hungary
The Slovak lands were absorbed into the Kingdom of Hungary founded by Stephen I, beginning roughly a thousand years under the Hungarian crown as the region known as 'Upper Hungary'.
A Thousand Years in the Kingdom of Hungary
Sources: History of Slovakia (Slovakia.travel (official tourism portal)) · Slovakia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
North America
- CAN
Canada · Peoples & Migration · c. 1000
Norse arrival at L'Anse aux Meadows
Norse explorers established a short-lived base at L'Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland around the year 1000 — the first known European presence in the Americas, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Indigenous peoples and First Nations before contact
Sources: L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · L'Anse aux Meadows (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- GRL
Greenland · Peoples & Migration · c. 1000
Leif Erikson sails to Vinland
Erik's son Leif Erikson voyaged west from Greenland to North America, reaching the land the sagas called Vinland and becoming the first European known to have set foot on the American continent.
Erik the Red and the Norse Colony
Sources: Erik the Red, Norse explorer (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- PRI
Puerto Rico · Peoples & Migration · by c. 1000 CE
Taíno settle Borikén
Arawak-speaking peoples develop the Taíno culture on the island they call Borikén, living in cacique-led villages and farming cassava and other tropical crops.
Borikén of the Taíno and Columbus's Arrival
Sources: Puerto Rico: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)
- TTO
Trinidad and Tobago · Peoples & Migration · c. 1000 CE
Arawak and Carib peoples established
By the time of European contact the islands were home to Arawakan-speaking groups such as the Nepoya and Suppoya and Cariban speakers such as the Yao, peoples whose roots lay in the Orinoco region.
The first peoples
Sources: Trinidad and Tobago (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · T&T History Timeline (National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago)
South America
- BRA
- CHL
Chile · Culture & Ideas · c. 10th-16th century
The moai of Rapa Nui
On Easter Island, the Polynesian society of Rapa Nui carves and raises some 900 colossal stone moai on hundreds of ceremonial platforms, an unrivalled monumental tradition later recognised by UNESCO.
Indigenous Peoples and the World of Rapa Nui
Sources: Rapa Nui National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
- ECU
Ecuador · Politics & Power · early 2nd millennium CE
Quitu, Cara and Cañari chiefdoms
Highland peoples including the Quitu and Cara around Quito and the Cañari near Cuenca build farming chiefdoms linked by trade and rivalry.
Valdivia Potters and the Chiefdoms of the Andes
Sources: History of Ecuador (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
Europe
- IRL
Ireland · Politics & Power · c. 1002
Brian Boru becomes High King
Brian Boru of the Dál Cais of Munster made himself High King of Ireland around 1002, the most powerful ruler the island had known and a claimant to authority over all of Ireland.
Vikings, Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf
Sources: The Vikings in Ireland (World History Encyclopedia)
2 records
Asia
- GEO
Georgia · Formation
Bagrat III unites Georgia
Bagrat III of the Bagrationi dynasty united the eastern and western Georgian lands into a single kingdom, laying the foundation for the medieval golden age.
The Conversion of Iberia and an Early Christian State
Sources: History of Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Gelati Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
Europe
- SWE
Sweden · Religion · c. 1008
Christianization advances under royal patronage
The conversion of the Swedes proceeded through the eleventh century by way of baptised kings and the founding of churches, even as paganism endured at the temple of Uppsala until the faith finally prevailed.
Vikings, Birka and the Coming of Christianity
Sources: Sweden: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
Asia
- VNM
Vietnam · Politics & Power · 1009 CE
Founding of the Ly dynasty
Ly Cong Uan takes the throne and founds the Ly dynasty, moving the capital to Thang Long (Hanoi) in 1010 and establishing the enduring institutions of independent Dai Viet.
Independent Dynasties: Ly, Tran, and Le
Sources: Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
11 events · 10 nations
1010s
2 records
Asia
- IRN
Iran · Culture & Ideas · c. 1010 CE
Ferdowsi completes the Shahnameh
The poet Ferdowsi finishes the Shahnameh, the 'Book of Kings', an epic of some 50,000 couplets that preserves Iran's mythic and pre-Islamic history and anchors the Persian language.
The Arab Conquest and Islamic Persia — the Golden Age
Sources: Ferdowsī — Persian poet (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Avicenna (Ibn Sina) (Wikipedia)
- JPN
Japan · Culture & Ideas · c. 1010 CE
The Tale of Genji
The court lady Murasaki Shikibu completes The Tale of Genji, widely regarded as the world's first full-length novel and the summit of Heian literature.
Nara and Heian: The Classical Age
Sources: The Tale of Genji (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Murasaki Shikibu (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
Africa
- DZA
Algeria · Politics & Power
Hammadid dynasty and Beni Hammad
The Berber Hammadid dynasty is established and founds the Qal'a of Beni Hammad; Bejaïa becomes one of the foremost ports of North Africa.
Vandals, Byzantines and the Coming of Islam
Sources: Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · History of Algeria (Wikipedia)
2 records
Europe
- IRL
Ireland · War & Rupture · 23 Apr 1014
Battle of Clontarf
On Good Friday 1014 Brian Boru's army defeated the Norse of Dublin and the men of Leinster near Dublin, breaking Viking political power in Ireland; Brian was killed in the battle.
Vikings, Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf
Sources: The Vikings in Ireland (World History Encyclopedia) · How the Vikings Shaped Ireland (TheCollector)
- MKD
North Macedonia · War & Rupture
Battle of Kleidion and the fall of Samuel
The Byzantine emperor Basil II destroyed Samuel's army at Kleidion; the tsar died shortly afterwards, and by 1018 the region was fully reabsorbed into the Byzantine Empire.
Slavic Settlement, Tsar Samuel and the Ohrid Archbishopric
Sources: Samuel, tsar of western Bulgaria (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
Europe
- DNK
Denmark · War & Rupture · 1016–1035
Cnut the Great and the North Sea empire
Cnut won the English throne in 1016, inherited Denmark in 1018 and conquered Norway in 1028, ruling a maritime empire across the North Sea until his death in 1035.
The Viking Age and the Birth of the Kingdom
Sources: Denmark: The Viking era (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Gorm the Old, Harald Bluetooth and Svein Forkbeard (National Museum of Denmark)
1 record
Asia
- LKA
Sri Lanka · Politics & Power · c. 1017
Polonnaruwa becomes the capital
Following the Chola conquest and the abandonment of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa is established as Sri Lanka's second great capital in the north-central dry zone.
Polonnaruwa and the Move South
Sources: Ancient City of Polonnaruwa (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Sri Lanka: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)
2 records
Europe
- BGR
Bulgaria · War & Rupture
Byzantine conquest of the First Empire
After long wars the Byzantine emperor Basil II, the 'Bulgar-Slayer', destroyed Bulgarian resistance and annexed the realm, ending the First Bulgarian Empire and absorbing it into Byzantium.
Thracians, Asparukh's Khanate and the First Bulgarian Empire
Sources: Simeon I (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · About Bulgaria: History (Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria (gov.bg))
- MKD
North Macedonia · Religion
The Archbishopric of Ohrid
After the Byzantine reconquest an autocephalous archbishopric was established at Ohrid, sustaining the city's role as a centre of Orthodox church life and Slavonic learning.
Slavic Settlement, Tsar Samuel and the Ohrid Archbishopric
Sources: Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · North Macedonia: History (Ancient, Ottoman, Yugoslav) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
2 records
Europe
- RUS
Russia · Politics & Power · 1019-1054
Yaroslav the Wise and the Russkaya Pravda
Under Yaroslav the Wise, Kievan Rus' reaches a cultural peak; he issues the Russkaya Pravda, the earliest East Slavic written law code, and patronizes churches and learning in Kiev.
Kievan Rus' and the Mongol Yoke
Sources: Russia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kyivan Rus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- UKR
Ukraine · Politics & Power · 1019–1054
Reign of Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav consolidated Kievan Rus', codified the Russkaya Pravda, promoted Christianity and learning, and built the Saint-Sophia Cathedral, marking the height of the realm.
Kievan Rus' and the Baptism of 988
Sources: Yaroslav the Wise (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
3 events · 3 nations
1020s
1 record
Europe
- NOR
Norway · Religion
Moster assembly and Christian law
Olaf II established a nationwide church organisation and Christian law at Moster, banning non-Christian worship and making Christianity the kingdom's only permitted religion.
The Christian Kingdom, St Olaf and Hanseatic Bergen
Sources: Olav den hellige (Store norske leksikon)
2 records
Asia
- MYS
Malaysia · War & Rupture
Chola naval raid weakens Srivijaya
A naval expedition from the south Indian Chola dynasty strikes Srivijaya's ports, contributing to the long decline of its dominance over the strait.
Early Malay Polities and the Srivijaya Maritime Realm
Sources: Srivijaya empire (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Europe
- POL
Poland · Politics & Power
Coronation of Boleslaw I the Brave
Boleslaw I was crowned king at Gniezno, the first ruler to bear the royal title of Poland and to win recognition of the realm as a kingdom rather than a duchy.
The Birth of the Piast State and the Christianization of Poland
Sources: Poland: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · 1000 Years of the Polish Crown (Polish Museum of America)
3 events · 3 nations
1030s
1 record
Europe
- NOR
Norway · Religion · 29 Jul 1030
Battle of Stiklestad and the death of St Olaf
King Olaf II was killed at Stiklestad. Declared holy within a year and enshrined at Nidaros, he became Norway's patron saint and eternal king, accelerating the Christianisation of the realm.
The Christian Kingdom, St Olaf and Hanseatic Bergen
Sources: Olav den hellige (Store norske leksikon)
1 record
Africa
- SEN
Senegal · Religion · c. 1035
War Jabi adopts Islamic law in Takrur
King War Jabi of Takrur is recorded as making Sharia official, by tradition the first Sahelian ruler to do so, anchoring Islam in the region.
Takrur and the Coming of Islam
Sources: Takrur (Wikipedia) · Islam Is Introduced into West Africa (750 CE) (BlackPast.org)
1 record
Europe
- UKR
Ukraine · Religion · c. 1037
Saint-Sophia Cathedral begun in Kyiv
Built with Byzantine masters under Yaroslav the Wise as the main church of the Rus' capital, Saint-Sophia symbolised Kyiv as a 'new Constantinople'; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kievan Rus' and the Baptism of 988
Sources: Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Yaroslav the Wise (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
3 events · 3 nations
1040s
1 record
Africa
- MRT
Mauritania · Religion · c. 1040
Abdallah ibn Yasin founds the Almoravid movement
The theologian Abdallah ibn Yasin begins preaching a reformed Islam among the Sanhaja, gathering the disciplined religious-military following known as the al-Murabitun (Almoravids).
The Almoravid Jihad
Sources: Almoravids (Berber confederation) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Abdallah ibn Yasin (Wikipedia)
1 record
Europe
- MNE
Montenegro · Formation
Duklja wins independence from Byzantium
Stefan Vojislav led a revolt that freed the principality of Duklja from Byzantine control and established the Vojislavljevic dynasty, the first medieval state on the territory of Montenegro.
Duklja, Zeta and the Coming of the Name Montenegro
Sources: Montenegro: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Montenegro History (Duklja and Zeta) (FamilySearch)
1 record
Asia
- MMR
Myanmar · Formation · 1044-1077 CE
Reign of Anawrahta
Anawrahta unifies the Burman north and the Mon south into the first Burmese kingdom and adopts Theravada Buddhism as the state religion.
The Kingdom of Pagan (Bagan)
Sources: Anawrahta (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Pagan kingdom (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
3 events · 3 nations
1050s
1 record
1 record
Asia
- MMR
Myanmar · Religion · 1057 CE (traditional)
Conquest of Thaton
Anawrahta captures the Mon city of Thaton, by tradition bringing Buddhist scriptures, monks and artisans that enrich Pagan's culture.
The Kingdom of Pagan (Bagan)
Sources: Anawrahta (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Myanmar (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
1 record
Africa
- MRT
Mauritania · War & Rupture
Death of Ibn Yasin; Abu Bakr leads the desert wing
After Ibn Yasin is killed in 1059, Abu Bakr ibn Umar takes command of the Almoravid forces in the Sahara, while Yusuf ibn Tashfin leads the northern conquests.
The Almoravid Jihad
Sources: Abu Bakr ibn Umar (Wikipedia) · Almoravids (Berber confederation) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
4 events · 4 nations
1060s
3 records
Asia
- AZE
Azerbaijan · Peoples & Migration · 11th century
Seljuk invasions and Turkic settlement
The Seljuk Turks invaded the Caucasus, changing the population and establishing the dominance of Oghuz Turkic, the basis of the modern Azerbaijani language.
Islam, the Seljuks and the Shirvanshahs' Baku
Sources: Baku: location, history and economy (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Europe
- NOR
Norway · Peoples & Migration
Conventional close of the Viking Age
The era of large-scale Scandinavian raiding is conventionally closed in 1066, by which time Norway was a Christianising kingdom rather than a society of independent sea-kings.
The Viking Age and the Unification of Norway
Sources: Norway: The Treaty of Kiel (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
- GBR
United Kingdom · War & Rupture · 14 October 1066
Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest
William of Normandy defeated and killed King Harold II at Hastings and was crowned king on Christmas Day, beginning Norman rule and transforming England's language, law, and aristocracy.
The Norman Conquest and medieval England
Sources: Norman Conquest (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Story of England: 1066 and the Norman Conquest (English Heritage)
1 record
Europe
- BLR
Belarus · Politics & Power
Vseslav of Polotsk seizes Kiev
Prince Vseslav of Polotsk, the principality's most celebrated ruler, briefly held the throne of Kiev itself, a measure of Polotsk's ambition and its rivalry with the senior princes of Rus.
Polotsk and the Early East Slavs
Sources: History of Belarus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
8 events · 7 nations
1070s
1 record
Africa
- MAR
Morocco · Formation · c. 1070
Almoravids found Marrakesh
The Almoravids establish Marrakesh as the capital of an empire uniting Morocco and the western Sahara under a reformist Islamic banner.
The Berber Empires: Almoravids and Almohads
Sources: North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
1 record
Asia
- TUR
Türkiye · War & Rupture · 26 August 1071
Battle of Manzikert
The Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan defeated and captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV at Manzikert, breaking Byzantine control of the interior and opening Anatolia to Turkish settlement.
Greek, Roman and Byzantine Anatolia
Sources: Battle of Manzikert (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Osman I (World History Encyclopedia)
2 records
Africa
- TCD
Chad · Religion · c. 1075
Hummay founds the Sayfawa dynasty
Mai Hummay, the first Muslim ruler of Kanem, displaced the Duguwa and founded the Sayfawa (Sefuwa) dynasty, which would rule the empire for some seven centuries.
Kanem and Kanem-Bornu
Sources: Kanem-Bornu Empire (Wikipedia) · Hummay (founder of the Sayfawa dynasty) (Wikipedia)
Europe
- HRV
Croatia · Politics & Power
Coronation of Demetrius Zvonimir
Zvonimir was crowned king of Croatia with the sanction of the papacy, the last of the great native rulers and a symbol of the medieval kingdom at its height.
The Medieval Kingdom and the Union with Hungary
Sources: Croatia: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
2 records
Africa
- MLI
Mali · War & Rupture
Almoravids take Kumbi Saleh
Berber Almoravids from present-day Mauritania capture Ghana's chief city, weakening the empire and the trade routes it controlled.
The Ghana Empire (Wagadou)
Sources: The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) · The Ghana Empire — World Civilization (Lumen Learning)
- MRT
Mauritania · War & Rupture · c. 1076
Almoravids said to take Koumbi Saleh
Tradition records that Almoravid forces under Abu Bakr captured the Ghanaian capital of Koumbi Saleh around 1076, contributing to the decline of the Ghana Empire—though the campaign's scale is debated.
The Almoravid Jihad
Sources: History of Mauritania (Wikipedia) · Almoravids (Berber confederation) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Koumbi Saleh (Wikipedia)
2 records
Asia
- TUR
Türkiye · Politics & Power · c. 1077
Sultanate of Rûm at Konya
Seljuk Turks established the Sultanate of Rûm in Anatolia, with Konya as its centre, fostering a rich Islamic culture associated with the mystic poet Rumi.
The Rise of the Seljuks and Ottomans
Sources: Ottoman Empire (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Osman I (World History Encyclopedia)
Europe
- MNE
Montenegro · Politics & Power
Mihailo crowned king of Duklja
Mihailo of Duklja became the first ruler of the region to bear the royal title, the crown bestowed on him by Pope Gregory VII, marking Duklja's standing among Christian states.
Duklja, Zeta and the Coming of the Name Montenegro
Sources: Montenegro: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Montenegro History (Duklja and Zeta) (FamilySearch)
4 events · 4 nations
1080s
1 record
Europe
- ESP
Spain · War & Rupture · 1085 CE
Christian capture of Toledo
Alfonso VI of León and Castile took the former Visigothic capital of Toledo, a major advance of the Reconquista and a centre where Arabic, Hebrew and Latin learning was later translated.
Al-Andalus and the Reconquista
Sources: Spain (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
3 records
Africa
- MAR
Morocco · War & Rupture
Almoravids enter al-Andalus
Yusuf ibn Tashfin leads the Almoravids into Spain, checking the Christian Reconquista and bringing Muslim al-Andalus under Moroccan rule.
The Berber Empires: Almoravids and Almohads
Sources: North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
- SEN
Europe
- GBR
United Kingdom · Politics & Power
Domesday Book compiled
William the Conqueror ordered a comprehensive survey of landholding in England, producing Domesday Book, an unparalleled record of the kingdom's wealth and the new Norman order.
The Norman Conquest and medieval England
Sources: The British Library: history and collections (The British Library)
3 events · 3 nations
1090s
1 record
Europe
- MLT
Malta · War & Rupture
Norman conquest by Roger I
Count Roger I of Sicily took Malta from the Arabs in 1091, attaching the islands to the Kingdom of Sicily and beginning their return to Latin Christendom.
Arabs, Normans and Medieval Malta
Sources: Roger I, Norman Count of Sicily (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Malta (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
2 records
Asia
- PSE
- SYR
Syria · War & Rupture · 1098–1099 CE
The First Crusade reaches Syria
Crusader armies seize cities along the Levantine coast and capture Jerusalem in 1099, founding Crusader states and beginning two centuries of intermittent warfare across Syria.
Islam and the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus
Sources: Saladin — sultan of Egypt and Syria (Encyclopaedia Britannica)