By place Byzantine Empire • Summer – Emperor
Basil I allies with the
Frankish emperor
Louis II against the
Saracens. He sends a
Byzantine fleet of 400 ships (according to the
Annales Bertiniani), under the command of Admiral
Niketas Ooryphas, to support Louis (who is
besieging the city port of
Bari) and to clear the
Adriatic Sea of
Muslim raiders. • The
Hagia Sophia Basilica (
church) in
Constantinople suffers great damage during an
earthquake, which makes the eastern half-dome collapse. Basil I orders it to be repaired.
Europe •
August 8 –
Lothair II, King of Middle Francia (
Lotharingia), dies at
Piacenza, on his way home from meeting
Pope Adrian II at
Rome, to get assent for a divorce. Lotharingia is subsequently divided between Lothair's uncles,
Charles the Bald of France and
Louis the German.
Britain • The
Danes, led by Viking chieftain
Ivar the Boneless, 'make peace' with the
Mercians (by accepting
Danegeld). Ivar leaves
Nottingham on horseback, and returns to
York. • Autumn –The
Great Heathen Army, led by Ivar the Boneless and
Ubba, invades the
Kingdom of East Anglia and plunders
Peterborough. The Vikings take up winter quarters at
Thetford. •
November 20 – Vikings conquer East Anglia, killing King
Edmund the Martyr.
Arabian Empire • The
Zanj Rebellion: The
Zanj (black
slaves from
East Africa), provoked by mercilessly harsh labor conditions in
salt flats, and on the sugar and
cotton plantations of southwestern
Persia, revolt. • Summer – Caliph
Al-Mu'tazz is murdered by mutinous Muslim troops, after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by
Al-Muhtadi (a grandson of the late
Al-Mu'tasim), as ruler of the
Abbasid Caliphate.
Japan •
July 9 – The
869 Sanriku earthquake and associated tsunami devastate a large part of the
Sanriku coast on the northeastern side of the island of
Honshu. • The first
Gion Festival is held in order to combat an epidemic thought to be caused by an angry deity.
Mesoamerica • The last monument ever erected at
Tikal,
Stela 11, is dedicated by ruler (
ajaw)
Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil II.
By topic Religion •
October 5 – The
Fourth Council of Constantinople, called by Basil I and
Pope Adrian II, opens. The council will condemn
Photius I and depose him as
patriarch, reinstating his predecessor
Ignatios. == Births ==