East-West schism: the ongoing break of
communion between the
Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches.
By place Byzantine Empire • Sultan
Tughril leads a large
Seljuk army out of
Azerbaijan into
Armenia, possibly to consolidate his frontier, while providing an incentive to his
Turkoman allies in the form of plunder. Tughril divides his army into four columns, ordering three to veer off to the north to raid into central and northern Armenia, while he takes the fourth column towards
Lake Van. The
Seljuk Turks capture and sack the fortress city of
Artchesh, after an 8-day siege.
Europe •
Battle of Mortemer: The
Normans, led by Duke
William the Conqueror, defeat a French army (near
Mortemer), as it is caught pillaging and plundering. King
Henry I of France withdraws his main army from the
Duchy of Normandy as a result.
Guy I, Count of Ponthieu, is captured during the course of the battle.
Scotland •
July 27 –
Siward, earl of
Northumbria, invades
Scotland, to support King
Malcolm III against
Macbeth, who has usurped the Scottish throne from Malcolm's father,
Duncan I. Macbeth is defeated at
Dunsinane.
Africa • The
Almoravids retake the trading center of
Aoudaghost from the
Ghana Empire. Repeated Almoravid incursions, aimed at seizing control of the trans-
Saharan gold trade, disrupt Ghana's dominance of the trade routes.
Asia •
Lý Nhật Tôn, third king of the
Lý Dynasty, begins to rule in
Vietnam, and changes the country's official name to
Đại Việt.
By topic Astronomy •
July 4 (approx.) –
SN 1054, a
supernova, is first observed by the Chinese, Arabs and possibly
Native Americans, near the star
Zeta Tauri. For 23 days it remains bright enough to be seen in daylight. Its remnants form the
Crab Nebula (
NGC 1952).
Religion • Spring – Pope
Leo IX sends a
legatine mission, under Cardinal
Humbert of Silva Candida, to
Constantinople, to negotiate with Patriarch
Michael I Cerularius, in response to his actions concerning the church in Constantinople. Leo becomes the first pope directly to invoke the forged
Donation of Constantine, citing a large portion in a letter to Michael, believing it genuine. •
July 16 –
East-West Schism: Humbert of Silva Candida, representative of the newly deceased Leo IX, breaks the relations between
Western and
Eastern Churches, through the act of placing an invalidly-issued
Papal Bull of excommunication during the celebration of the
Divine Liturgy. == Births ==