By place Byzantine Empire •
January 1 – Empress
Eudokia Makrembolitissa, wife of the late Emperor
Constantine X, marries General
Romanos Diogenes (a member of a prominent
Cappadocian family) – who is proclaimed co-emperor as Romanos IV of the
Byzantine Empire. • Autumn – Romanos IV begins a campaign against the
Seljuk Turks, leading a Byzantine expeditionary force (which is in poor condition). He is successful in recapturing the fortress city of
Hieropolis (modern-day
Manbij) near
Aleppo in northern
Syria. • Winter – Romanos IV leaves a portion of his army as a rearguard at
Melitene. The Byzantine garrison fails to check a Seljuk raid that manages to sack
Amorium (penetrating deep in Byzantine territory). Romanos winters near Aleppo before returning to
Constantinople.
Europe •
Norman conquest of southern Italy: Norman forces under
Robert Guiscard (duke of
Apulia and Calabria) lay
siege to the Byzantine city of
Bari. •
Battle of the Alta River: The
Cumans defeat the
Kievan Rus' forces of Grand Prince
Iziaslav I, and his brothers
Sviatoslav II and
Vsevolod I. •
Kiev Uprising: The city of
Kiev rebels against Iziaslav I, in the aftermath of the Kievan Rus' defeat against the Cumans. •
Rethra destruction: In the Annals of Augsburg, the Slavic city is mentioned for the last time under the year 1068. It is captured by bishop
Burchard, who destroys their temple and abducts the sacred white horse living there. •
Norman forces under
Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger I invade
Sicily. Muslim ruler
Ayyub ibn Tamim's forces oppose them. The Normans and the Muslim army meet at the
Battle of Misilmeri. The Norman forces defeat the Muslim army.
Ayyub ibn Tamim flees from
Sicily. The Norman conquest of the island continues to expand.
England •
Siege of Exeter: Norman forces under King
William I (the Conqueror) take the city of
Exeter after a
siege of 18-days. • William I begins a campaign in the
East Midlands to put down the rebellions at
Nottingham,
Stafford,
Lincoln and
York. •
Edgar the Ætheling takes refuge with King
Malcolm III of Scotland along with Edgar's sister
Margaret, who marries King Malcolm. •
May 11 – William I brings his wife
Matilda of Flanders to
England. She is crowned queen in
Westminster Abbey.
Africa • September –
Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah marries
Abu Bakr ibn Umar, leader of the
Almoravids, and becomes his queen and co-regent.
Asia • Spring – Emperor
Yi Zong of the
Western Xia (or Xi Xia) dies after a 19-year reign. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old son
Hui Zong, who assumes the throne (until
1086). •
May 22 – Emperor
Go-Reizei dies after a 23-year reign, leaving no direct heirs to the throne. He is succeeded by his brother
Go-Sanjō as the 71st emperor of
Japan.
By topic Geology •
March 18 – An
earthquake affects the
Near East, with a maximum
Mercalli intensity of IX (
Violent). The shock has a magnitude greater than 7, and leaves about 20,000 people dead. == Births ==