World Timeline

AD 962: King Otto I (the Great) is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII at the Old St. Peter's Basilica, ending Rome's feudal anarchy.
 
AD 963: The Chinese government of the Song Dynasty attempted to ban the practice of cremation; despite this decree, the lower and middle classes continued to cremate their dead until the government resolved the problem in the 12th century, establishing public graveyards for paupers.
 
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AD 965: Battle of the Straits: The Byzantine attempt to recover Sicily fails, when the Byzantine fleet is annihilated by the Fatimids. The last Byzantine stronghold on the island, Rometta, surrenders. The population is massacred, and the survivors are sold into slavery. Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah completes the conquest of Sicily, and establishes naval superiority in the Western Mediterranean.
 
AD 966: The Hungarians invade the Bulgarian Empire and force Peter I, emperor of the Bulgarians, to conclude a peace treaty with them.
 
AD 967: July 5 – Emperor Murakami dies after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by his 17-year-old son Reizei, who is insane and becomes the 63rd emperor of Japan.
 
AD 969: February 6–July 9 – Fatimid conquest of Egypt: Caliph Al-Mu'izz's army under General Jawhar invades Egypt. Jawhar occupies the lands around the Nile from the Ikhshidids after a siege at Giza and the capitulation of Fustat.
 
AD 971:Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, personally led by Emperor John I. He lays siege to the fortress city of Dorostolon (located on the Lower Danube), and is reinforced by a fleet of 300 ships equipped with Greek fire. The Kievan Rus' and their Bulgarian allies are reduced to extremities by famine. After a 3-month siege, Grand Prince Sviatoslav I agrees to sign a peace treaty with the Byzantines, whereby he renounces his interests towards Bulgarian lands and the city of Chersonesos in Crimea. Sviatoslav is allowed to evacuate his army to Berezan Island, while the Byzantines enter Dorostolon. John renames the city Theodoropolis (named after the reigning Empress Theodora).
 
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AD 972: The Al-Azhar University opened in Cairo, Egypt. It is considered the foremost institute of Sunni scholarship.
 
AD 973: Cloves, ginger, black pepper, and other Eastern spices are available for purchase in the marketplace at Mainz. The spices are brought to the city by Jewish traveling merchants, known as the Radhanites, who have contacts in the international trade between the Christian and Islamic world (approximate date).
 
AD 974: Song Dynasty waged war against the State of Southern Tang, intending to completely conquer the latter. Under the command of Cao Bin, the Song army built a two-kilometer long floating bridge at Caishiji (now in Anhui Province), allowing them to cross the Yangtze River with full armor and completely crush Southern Tang's defense force.
 
AD 975: July 8 – King Edgar I (the Peaceful) dies at Winchester after a 16-year reign. He is succeeded by his 12-year-old son Edward the Martyr as ruler of England.
 
AD 976: Zhang Sixun, a Chinese astronomer and engineer, employs the use of liquid mercury, in order that the escapement mechanism of his astronomical clock can function, and metal parts will not rust by using hydraulics (water), or freeze in winter.
 
AD 977: War of the Three Henries: Henry III (the Younger), duke of Carinthia, gets involved in a conflict over the Patriarchate of Aquileia (March of Verona) in northeastern Italy. Emperor Otto II (the Red) decides in Aquileia's favor, prompting Henry III to go into revolt. He joins forces with Henry II (the Wrangler), duke of Bavaria. They are both joined by Henry I, bishop of Augsburg.
 
AD 979: Song Dynasty conquered the State of Northern Han. This marks the reunification of China (except territories occupied by the Khitan Empire) and the end of Five Dynasties period.
 
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AD 980: Viking raids from Scandinavia threaten the southern English coast after a pause of 25 years. Hampshire and the Isle of Thanet are ravaged.
 
AD 982: In the Battle of Stilo, Kalbid muslims in Sicily defeated the army of the Holy Roman Empire, although the former's leader, Abu al-Qasim, was slain on the battlefield.
 
AD 983: One of the Four Great Books of Song, the encyclopedia Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era is completed in 1,000 volumes, of 4.7 million written Chinese characters.
 
AD 984: Fall – Emperor En'yū abdicates the throne in favor of his 16-year-old son Kazan after a 15-year reign. En'yū retires and becomes a Buddhist priest.
 
AD 985: Raja Raja Chola I (considered by many as the greatest emperor of the Chola Empire) becomes ruler of the Chola Dynasty. During his reign he expands his domains beyond South India.
 
AD 986: Bjarni Herjólfsson, a Norse-Icelandic merchant captain and explorer, becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to discover the mainland of the Americas.
 
AD 987: Lin Mo died on the sea when helping rescure people from a shipwreck. In memory of her noble deed, she was sanctified as Mazu, Goddess of the Sea. The first Mazu temple was also constructed in this year in Meizhou (in Fujian Province). Today Mazu is widely worshipped by Taoists, Chinese seafarers, and people of Chinese heritage across the world.
 
AD 988: The city of Odense (located on the island of Funen) in Denmark is founded. King Otto III grants trade rights and to the neighbouring settlements.
 
AD 990: The Ghana Empire takes the Berber town of Aoudaghost (modern Mauritania) as the West African nation makes further gains.
 
AD 991: April 5: 991 Damascus earthquake in Syria: According to historian George Elmacin (13th century), the earthquake caused the fall of 1,000 houses in Damascus itself, and many people were trapped in their ruins and died. The village of Beglabec was reportedly engulfed, due to the earthquake.
 
AD 992: In China, Emperor Taizong of Song ordered Wang Zhu to gather all calligraphy works in his court and copy them into a massive, 10-volume collection. This collection was known as Calligraphic Inscriptions in the Secret Chamber of the Chunhua Period (淳化閣帖), and was the first systematic collection of Chinese calligraphy works.
 
AD 993: An increase in 14C concentration, recorded in tree rings, as well as 36Cl and 10Be isotopes, recorded in ice cores, suggests that a strong solar storm may have hit the Earth in either 993 or 994.
 
AD 994: The first Goryeo-Khitan war ended with Goryeo (a.k.a. Korea) defeat. As a result Goryeo became nominally a nation subordinate to the Khitan Empire.
 
AD 995: King Eric VI (the Victorious) dies at Uppsala, after a 25-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Olof Skötkonung, as the first baptized Christian ruler of Sweden.
 
AD 996: Richard I (the Fearless), duke of Normandy, dies after a 55-year reign. He is succeeded by his young son Richard II. During his minority, Rodulf of Ivry (his uncle), who wields the power as regent puts down a peasants revolt at the beginning of Richard's reign.
 
AD 997: May 8 – Emperor Tai Zong (Zhao Jiong) dies at Kaifeng after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Zhen Zong as the third ruler of the Song dynasty.
 
AD 999: The Karakhanids invade from north of the Syr Darya river, ending the Samanid Empire (modern Uzbekistan). The Samanid domains are split between the Ghaznavid Dynasty and the Karakhanids.
 
AD 1000: The first millennium ended! We have reached a great milestone, the four digits, fellow TNP history nerds!

... what that doesn't count as a significant event?

AD: 1000:
  • On this year's Christmas, István I was crowned by Pope Sylvester II and established the Kingdom of Hungary.
  • The Vikings reached North America and named the place where they landed Vinland (nowadays Newfoundland).
  • In Iceland, the Alþingi adopted Christianity as the country's official religion.
 
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