980s

This is a list of events occurring in the 980s, ordered by year.

980

By place

Europe

• Otto II renounces his claim to Lorraine.
• The Viking ring castle of Trelleborg is constructed in Denmark.
• Foundation by Notger of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège which will remain an independent state inside the Holy Roman Empire for more than 800 years, and where the Walloon language will develop.
• Vladimir I of Kiev starts to rule in Russia.

Asia

• Development of Dari dialect during the royal courts of the Samanids in Central Asia which became the major language of Persia.
• Kamboja rule in Bengal is deposed by resurgent Palas.
• The Zanj Empire is founded by Ali ibn Hasan, succeeding the Kilwa Empire.

Americas

• Topiltzin starts to rule (approximate date).
• Tula, Hidalgo becomes the Toltec capital.

981

By place

Europe

• The Viking explorer Eric the Red-haired leaves Norway to survey west of Iceland. He finds land and calls it Greenland. Hundreds of land-starved Vikings board longships and head west for this so-called "Greenland".
• The de facto ruler of al-Andalus, al-Mansur, conquers and razes to the ground the city of Zamora, as part of his effort to seize the Christian-dominated north of the Iberian Peninsula.

Asia

• The first ever Mahamasthakabhisheka ceremony of the sacred 57 feet (17 m) high monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali, is performed.
• The Gommateshwara statue is built by Chavundaraya of the Western Ganga Dynasty in India.
• The Bulgarians invade the Byzantine Empire.
• The first commercially made soap for shaving sells for 3 dirhams (0.3 dinars).

982

By place

Americas

• Greenland is discovered by Erik the Red (the first known European contact with North America).

Europe

• July 13 – The Kalbids troops of the emir of Sicily defeat the imperial German army of Otto II near Crotone.

Asia

• Yelu Longxu becomes the sixth emperor of the Liao Dynasty.
• The Buyid ruler, 'Adud al-Dawla, establishes what was soon to become the most important hospital of Bagdad.^[1]

By topic

Religion

• Adalbert becomes Bishop of Prague.

983

By place

Asia

• Wood carvers commissioned by China's Song Dynasty complete a carving of the entire Buddhist canon for printing (130,000 total blocks are produced).
• The reign of Amir Adhad ad-Dowleh of Buwayhid ends.
• Sharaf ad-Dawla becomes Amir Buwayhid.
• The Khazar Empire ends.
• Emperor Shengzong leads a Liao Dynasty expeditionary force against the Zubu.
• 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.

Europe

• Otto III becomes King of Germany following the death of Otto II.
• Veronese donation during the diet of Verona. Otto gifted the Rheingau to the archbishopric of Mainz

By topic

Religion

• December – Pope John XIV succeeds Pope Benedict VII as the 136th pope.

984

By place

Asia

• Emperor Kazan succeeds Emperor En'yū on the throne of Japan.
• The Song Dynasty Chinese engineer Qiao Wei innovates the first known use of the double-gated canal pound lock for adjusting different water levels in segments of the Grand Canal of China. This dramatically helps the passage of ships in segments with rougher waters leading slightly downhill. Qiao also has roof hangers built over the segments where double gates are installed, increasing the amount of safety for passing ships.

Europe

• Henry II, Duke of Bavaria abducts the child king Otto III.
• The settlement of Greenland is begun by the Norse.

By topic

Religion

• August 20 – Antipope Boniface VII murders Pope John XIV.

985

By place

Europe

• July 6 – Barcelona is sacked by troops of Al-Mansur.^[2]
• Greenland is colonized by Icelandic Viking Erik the Red (the date is according to legend but has been established as at least approximately correct – see History of Greenland).
• Lady Wulfruna founds the town that later becomes the city of Wolverhampton.
• Henry the Wrangler is restored as Duke of Bavaria.

Asia

• Rajaraja Chola I (considered by many as the greatest Emperor of the Chola Empire) becomes the Chola Emperor and brings in another golden era of Tamils and of the Chola dynasty.

By topic

Religion

• August – Pope John XV succeeds Pope John XIV as the 137th pope.

986

By place

Europe

• March 2 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
• The de facto ruler of al-Andalus, al-Mansur, continues his effort in the north of the Iberian peninsula, he takes and sacks Coimbra (following this episod the city is said to have remained deserted for six years).
• Sweyn Forkbeard becomes King of Denmark.
• Håkon Sigurdsson of Norway defeats the Danish invasion force at Hjørungavåg.

Asia

• Emperor Ichijō succeeds Emperor Kazan on the throne of Japan.
• March–July – The Song Dynasty sends armies on three fronts against the Liao Dynasty in the Sixteen Prefectures, but are defeated on all fronts.(Chi go Pass Compaign)
• One of the Four Great Books of Song, the Chinese encyclopedia Finest Blossoms in the Garden of Literature is finished in this year, with a total of 1,000 volumes representing the work of some 2,200 authors.

America

• Explorer Bjarni Herjólfsson becomes the first inhabitant of the Old World to sight North America.

987

By place

Americas

• Kukulcan conquers Chichen Itza.

Africa

• The Zirids fail to reconquer the western part of the Maghrib which they have recently lost to the Umayyads.^[3]

Europe

• Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, is crowned King of France.
• In Portugal, al-Mansur takes Coimbra, lost to the Christians in 904.^[4] The renewed domination of the central andalusian authorities on the north of the Gharb al-Andalus, leads to the submission of the Christian counts of Portugal to Cordoba. But it also illustrate the limited ability of the Muslims to repopulate or at least govern directly these remote areas.
• The population of Bari revolts against the Byzantines.^[5]

By topic

Art

• Extension of the Prayer hall, Great Mosque of Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain, is made.

988

By place

Europe

• The offensive of al-Mansur against the Christian kingdoms continues. He attacks the heart of the kingdom of León. The king Bermudo II has to escape to Zamora, the city of León resists four days but is taken, sacked and burned, Zamora has to surrender and the king must flee to Galicia.
• Dublin, Ireland is founded
• The city of Odense, Denmark is founded
• Kievan Rus' accepts Christianity
• Rus'–Byzantine War

Asia

• The Liao Dynasty adopts civil service examinations in the Southern Chancellery based on Tang Dynasty models.

989

By topic

Art

• Repairs are made on the Hagia Sophia.

Education

• Sankore University is founded in Timbuktu.

Astronomy

• September – Halley's Comet is at perihelion.

Significant people

Births

Deaths

References