By place Africa • The
Nile river in Egypt freezes over. •
Egyptian military commander
Zar'ah ibn Isa ibn Nasturus appointed
Vizier of
Egypt.
Asia • The
Lý dynasty is established in
Vietnam (or
1009), and moves the capital to
Thăng Long (modern-day
Hanoi). •
Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: The
Goryeo king is unseated in a revolt, resulting in an invasion by the
Liao dynasty, and the burning of the Korean capital
Gaegyeong. •
Song Zhun of
Song dynasty China completes the work of the earlier geographer Lu Duosun, an enormous
atlas of China that is written and illustrated in 1,556 chapters, showing maps of each region, city, town, and village (the atlas took 39 years to complete). • In the
Chola dynasty of southern India, the first votes are celebrated by adding a ballot in an urn.
Japan •
January –
Fujiwara no Kenshi (daughter of Michinaga) is married to the imperial heir Crown Prince
Okisada. •
February 14 – On the death of
Fujiwara no Korechika his daughter, the poet
Fujiwara no Chikako, becomes a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi. •
Emperor Ichijō wants to retire – the influential statesman
Fujiwara no Michinaga supports Crown Prince
Okisada (now his son-in-law), who will be the successor, but the emperor prefers his eldest son by the late Empress
Teishi, Prince Atsuyasu, who has been raised by
Empress Shōshi, who also supports her stepson, leading to conflict at court.
American •
Viking explorer
Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to found a settlement in
North America (approximate date).
Europe •
June 2 –
Fitna of al-Andalus –
Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr: The
Caliphate of Córdoba is defeated. Allied to Muslim rebels,
Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona sacks Córdoba, and
Hisham II the Nephast is restored as
Umayyad caliph of Córdoba, succeeding
Muhammad II al-Mahdi. • The Russian city of
Yaroslavl is founded, as an outpost of the
principality of
Rostov Veliky. • The fortified city of
Fiesole in Italy is captured and destroyed by the people of nearby
Florence. • Swedish king
Olof Skötkonung gives city rights to
Sigtuna.
By topic Architecture • The construction of 217 ft (66 m) tall
Brihadisvara Temple in
Thanjavur (a city now in
Tamil Nadu,
India) is completed during the
Chola dynasty, and at about this time the wall painting
Rajaraja I and His Teacher Literature •
March 8 – Persian poet
Ferdowsi finishes writing the
Shahnameh (Book of Kings), which will be regarded as the
national epic of the
greater Iranian culture. •
Lady Murasaki writes
The Tale of Genji in Japanese (approximate date). •
Beowulf is written anonymously in
Old English (approximate date).
Technology •
Eilmer of Malmesbury in England attempts flight in a
glider of his own construction. == Births ==