Harrying of the North: King
William I (the Conqueror) quells rebellions in the north of
England, following an invasion by Sweyn II. Widespread
famine follows the devastation wrought.[2]
May 1 – After 353 years of being exiled to
Lugo due to the muslim ocupation of the city of
Braga, the
Archdiocese of Braga is restored by order of
Ferdinand I of León under Archbishop D. Pedro of Braga thanks to the advancing christian forces during the
Reconquista.
June –
Denmark signs a treaty with England; Sweyn II and his forces leave the country.[1]
August 26 –
Battle of Manzikert: The Byzantine army (35,000 men) under Emperor
Romanos IV meets the Seljuk Turk forces of Sultan
Alp Arslan, near the town of
Manzikert. Although the armies are initially evenly matched, as the Byzantines advance, the Seljuk Turks withdraw before them, launching hit-and-run attacks on the Byzantine flanks. While attempting to withdraw, the Byzantine army falls apart, either through treachery or confusion; the battle ends in a decisive defeat for the
Byzantine Empire. Romanos is captured (later released by Alp Arslan within a week), and much of the elite
Varangian Guard is destroyed (this will prove catastrophic for the Byzantine Empire).
The English rebels under
Hereward (the Wake) and
Morcar, Saxon former
earl of Northumbria, are forced to retreat to their stronghold on the
Isle of Ely. They make a desperate stand against the Norman forces led by King
William I (the Conqueror), but are defeated.
Edwin, earl of
Mercia, rebels against William I, but is betrayed and killed. His castle and lands at
Dudley (located in the
West Midlands) are given to William's Norman subjects.
October 7 – Alfonso VI becomes king of
León and
Castile, following the assassination of Sancho II. He is bestowed with the title of "Emperor of Spain", and is forced by
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (El Cid), the
standard-bearer of Sancho, to take an oath denying any involvement in his brother's death.
December 15 – Sultan
Alp Arslan (Heroic Lion) dies after a 9-year reign (during his campaign in
Transoxiana). He is succeeded by his 17-year-old son
Malik-Shah I, who is declared new ruler of the
Seljuk Empire.
Qavurt, a brother of Alp Arslan, claims the Seljuk throne for himself and occupies the capital of
Isfahan.
China
Shen Kuo, Chinese
polymathic scientist and statesman, is appointed as the head official for the
Bureau of Astronomy – where he begins his work with the colleague
Wei Pu on accurately plotting the orbital paths of the stars, planets, and moon three times a night, for a continuum of five years.
Fall – Shen Kuo is sent to supervise
Wang Anshi's program of surveying the building of
silt deposits in the
Bian Canal, outside the capital city of
Kaifeng. Using an original technique, Shen successfully dredges the canal and demonstrates the formidable value of the silt gathered as a
fertilizer.
Spring – Emperor
Michael VII (Doukas) sends a Byzantine army to deal with Seljuk raiding in
Cappadocia, supported with a mixed force of Norman and French mercenary heavy cavalry under
Roussel de Bailleul. Roussel re-conquers some territory in
Galatia and declares it an independent Norman state. Michael, enraged, sends another army led by his uncle, Caesar
John Doukas and the veteran General
Nikephoros Botaneiates to deal with the rising of the Norman threat in
Asia minor. But the Byzantines are defeated and John is captured. Roussel marches with a force (3,000 men) across
Bithynia to the
Bosporus and sacks
Chrysopolis, near
Constantinople.[9]
Wang Anshi, Chinese
chief chancellor of the
Song Dynasty, creates a new bureau of the central government (called the Directorate of Weapons), which supervises the manufacture of military armaments and ensures quality control.
June 15 – Emperor
Go-Sanjō dies after a 5-year reign and is succeeded by his 19-year-old son
Shirakawa as the 72nd emperor of
Japan.
Emperor
Shen Zong of the
Song Dynasty establishes a Marine Office and a Goods Control Bureau north-west of
Shanghai, allowing for the loading and unloading of freight.
The future Emperor Alexios Komnenos captures the Norman rebel
Roussel de Bailleul in
Amaseia. Roussel had established a principality in eastern
Anatolia in 1073 after rebelling against Emperor
Michael VII Doukas, basing his power on his western mercenaries and local support in exchange for protection against invading Turkmen.[15]
Roger de Breteuil is brought before the
Great Council. He is deprived of his lands and sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. Ralph de Gael and Waltheof are charged as co-conspirators.
Summer –
Shen Kuo, Chinese
polymath scientist and statesman, solves a border dispute with the
Liao Dynasty by dredging up old diplomatic records. He refutes Emperor
Dao Zong's bluffs point for point during a meeting at Mt. Yongan (near modern-day
Pingquan), reestablishing the rightful borders of the
Song Dynasty.
Vietnamese forces under General
Lý Thường Kiệt defend
Vietnam against a Chinese invasion.
The Liao Dynasty version of the Buddhist
Tripiṭaka is completed (approximate date).
April – The Dictatus papae (a compilation of 27 statements of powers) are included in the registry of Gregory VII, in which he asserts papal authority over earthly as well as spiritual rulers.
December 8 – Gregory VII writes a letter of reprimand to Henry IV. He accuses him of breaching his word and continued support of excommunicated councilors.
February 22 – Gregory VII pronounces a sentence of excommunication against Henry IV at
Rome. He is excluded from the
Catholic Church, and all the bishops named by Henry are excommunicated.
A church council in Poitiers deposes Bishop Sylvester of Rennes who had
bought his office in 1076. This leads also to the flight of
Robert of Arbrissel to Paris where he begins his studies.[26]
Omar Khayyam, Persian
mathematician and
astronomer, calculates a 33 year calendar consisting of 25 ordinary years that include 365 days, and 8 leap years that include 366 days, the most accurate calculation of his time. Khayyam, in his Treatise on Demonstrations of Problems in Algebra, produces a complete classification of cubic equations and their geometric solutions (approximate date).
^John Julius Norwich (1991). Byzantium: The Apogee – The Disaster, p. 357.
ISBN0-39453779-3.
^Brian Todd Carey (2012). Road to Manzikert: Byzantine and Islamic Warfare (527–1071), p. 155.
ISBN978-1-84884-215-1.
^Fletcher, R. A. (1987). "Reconquest and Crusade in Spain c. 1050-1150". Transactions of the Royal Historical Society. 5. 37: 31–47 [35].
JSTOR3679149.
^"Fires, Great", in The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance, p. 25. Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876).
^Claude Cahen (1968). Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history c. 1070–1330. Trans. J. Jones-Williams, pp. 73–74 (New York: Taplinger).