- 10th century
The 10th century is the period from
901 to1000 in accordance with theJulian calendar in the Christian/Common Era .Overview
The tenth century is usually regarded as a low point in European history. In China it was also a period of political upheaval. In the
Muslim World , however, it was a cultural zenith, especially in Spain. Also it was the zenith for the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires.Medievalist and historian of technology Lynn White said that "to the modern eye, it is very nearly the darkest of the
Dark Ages ", but concluded that ". . . if it was dark, it was the darkness of the womb." [Quoted in "The Tenth Century: How Dark the Dark Ages?", edited by Robert Sabatino Lopez. Holt, Reinhart and Winston: 1959.] Similarly, Helen Waddell wrote that the tenth century was that which "in the textbooks disputes with the seventh the bad eminence, the nadir of the human intellect." ["The Wandering Scholars". Constable and Co: London, 1927.] Even in the fifteenth century,Lorenzo Valla described it as the Century of Lead and Iron and laterCardinal Baronius as the Leaden Century.Events
* The beginning of the
Medieval Warm Period
* TheByzantine empire reaches the height of its military and economic strengthAfrica
* The
Fatimid dynasty arises in easternAlgeria
*980s -Al-Azhar University is established inCairo by theFatimid dynasty.
* The ChristianNubia n kingdom reaches its peak of prosperity and military power (Early history of Sudan )
* TheNri Kingdom starts in SoutheasternNigeria Americas
* Collapse of the central lowland
Maya civilization . End of Classic Maya period, begin Post-Classic Maya.
* Rise of theToltec s inMexico
* Golden age of the Ancestral Puebloans (Pueblo II)
* TheMississippian culture begins in present daySouthern United States Eurasia
* Khazar kingdom is attacked and defeated by
Kievan Rus (965 )Asia
*
Buddhist temple construction commences atBagan ,Burma
* In919 , the first use ofgunpowder in battle occurred with the ChineseBattle of Lang-shan Jiang (Wolf Mountain River), where the naval fleet of theWen-Mu-King defeatedChien Yuan Kuan because Wen had used 'fire oil' (huo yóu, 火油) of gunpowder-fuse ignitedflamethrower s to burn Chien's fleet.
*Laguna Copperplate Inscription ,Kavi script, inscribed inLuzon ,Philippines , dated "Saka year 822" (900 )
*In910 ,Parantaka I of theChola Dynasty drove out the Pandyan from southernIndia into Lanka (nowSri Lanka ), which he also eventually conquered.
* Coastal cities on theMalay Peninsula are the seed for the first recorded Malay kingdoms
*993 — the Arab maritime captainAbu Himyarite fromYemen touredGuangzhou port, and was an avid visitor to ChinaEurope
*
Viking groups settle in northernFrance — Norse becomeNormans
* Foundation ofCluny , first federated monastic order
* In917 theBulgarians destroyed the Byzantine army in theBattle of Anchialus , one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages
*927 , official recognition of the first independent national Church in Europe, theBulgarian Patriarchate
* Incursions of Magyar (Hungarian) cavalry throughout Western Europe (47 expeditions inGermany ,Italy andFrance ,899 –970 )
*Mieszko I , first duke ofPoland , baptised a Christian in966
* Collapse ofGreat Moravia
* Themedieval Croatian state becomes a unified kingdom underTomislav
* Twentieth centuryBelgian astronomer Jean Meeus asserts that the positions of the eightplanets andPluto were within the same 90° arc of thesolar system on1 February ,949 . It is predicted this would next occur on6 May ,1492 .
* Swedish influence extends to theBlack Sea
* Vladimir I, Prince ofKievan Rus , baptised a Christian in988
*Reindeer become extinct inScotland
*Lion s become extinct in Europe by this date, with the last dying inCaucasus .Oceania
* Formation of the
Tu'i Tonga Empire and of theTuʻi Tonga dynasty inTonga ignificant people
Africa
*
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi Billah , founder of theFatamid dynasty of Egypt in909 Americas
*
Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl , semi-legendaricToltec ruler, (exact years of his life are unknown)Eurasia and Eastern Roman Empire
*
Nicephorus II , Emperor of theEastern Roman Empire (lived912 –969 , reigned963 –969 )
*John I Tzimisces , Emperor of theEastern Roman Empire (lived925 –976 , reigned969 –976 )
*Basil II , Emperor of theEastern Roman Empire , (lived958 –1025 , reigned976 –1025 )Asia
*
Adikavi Pampa an earlyKannada language poet (born in902 )
*Ranna , an earlyKannada language poet fromIndia , (born in949 )
*Huyan Zan , Chinese general (died in1000 )
*Li Cheng , Chinese landscape painter
*Tailapa II , re-established theWestern Chalukya Empire of India (reigned973 -997 )
*Zhang Sixun , Chineseastronomer andmechanical engineer
*Ferdowsi Persian poet
*Li Fang , Chinese scholar and encyclopedist (925 -996 )
*Emperor Taizu of Song , founder of the ChineseSong Dynasty (livedMarch 21 ,927 –November 14 ,976 , reigned960 -976 )
*Parantaka I , ruler of theChola Dynasty of India (reigned907 -950 )Europe
*
Harald Fairhair , king ofNorway , united Norway in872 and remained its ruler until933 . One of the most powerful lords ofEurope at the time.
*Vladimir I (real name Valdemar), Prince ofKievan Rus (lived958 –1015 )
*Tomislav , king ofCroatia ,united themedieval Croatian state into theKingdom of Croatia , crowned in925
*Abd-ar-rahman III of Cordoba
*Simeon the Great, Emperor ofBulgaria (reigned893 –927 )
*Otto I the Great ,Holy Roman Emperor (lived912 –973 , reigned936 –973 )
*KingEdmund I of England (lived921 –946 , reigned939 –946 )
*Hugh Capet (lived938 –996 ), first Capetian King of France
*Géza of Hungary , ruler of theMagyars (lived940 –997 , reigned970 –997 )
*Otto II ,Holy Roman Emperor (lived955 –983 , reigned973 –983 )
*Theophanu , wife ofOtto II , mother andRegent of Otto III, (lived956 –991 , reigned983 –991 )
*Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria (lived958 –1014 , reigned976 –1014 )
*Otto III ,Holy Roman Emperor (lived980 –1002 , reigned983 –1002 )
*Erik the Red , Norwegian explorer, founded Greenland
*Leif Eiriksson , Norwegian explorer, son ofErik the Red , made the first European attempt to settle in America.
*Olav Tryggvason becomes the first king to try to Christianize Norway, dies at theBattle of Svolder in1000 .Oceania
*
'Aho'eitu (early 10th century), first king of theTuʻi Tonga Inventions, discoveries, introductions
*List of 9th-10th centuries inventions
*Hop (plant) first mentioned in connection withbeer brewing
*Zhang Sixun ofChina uses for the first time liquidmercury (element) instead of water to power theescapement mechanism rotating anarmillary sphere , since liquid mercury does not freeze easily like water during winter, and does not rust metal parts
*Fire Arrows are invented by the Chinese, along with the use of the firstblackpowder impregnated fuses for igniting the blast of double-pistonflamethrower s which employedGreek Fire , an imported good fromArabia in the early part of the century.
*Construction begins on theBrihadeeswarar Temple ofIndia , during the reign ofRajaraja Chola I
*The firstpound lock is invented by the Chinese engineer Qiao Weiyo, improving the canal lock system.
*Three of the "Four Great Books of Song " are published (the last one in1013 ), which were enormous Chineseencyclopedia s having millions of writtenChinese character s each.Decades and years
Notes
Further reading
*
Heinrich Fichtenau : "Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders" (transl.Patrick J. Geary ; Chicago cool London: 1991).
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