Timeline: 900-1000

Timeline 900-1000:

900	Go to previous century. Alfonso III begins reconquest of Spain, slowly defeating Moorish overlords.
901	Edward the Elder takes the title, "King of Angles and Saxons."
906	Magyars invade Germany.
907	Chinese Empire ends in civil war as T'ang Dynasty collapses. Chaos continues until 960. Mongols begin conquest of Inner Mongolia and parts of northern China. By 1123 they will have successfully conquered the entire region.
910	Abbey of Cluny established in France.
911	The Franks are unable to dislodge the Viking chieftain Hrolf the Ganger (Rollo) from the region of Normandy.
912	King Charles the Simple of France (the Franks) reaches agreement with Rollo the Dane, granting the Northmen status as French subjects with Rollo recognized as Duke of the Region.
913	Edward the Elder conquers Essex from the Danelaw.
918	State of Korgo founded (modern day Korea)
919	Henry I (known as "the Fowler" for his love of hawking) becomes ruler of Germany.
920	The Kingdom of Ghana in Africa reaches a cultural golden age.
924	Aethelstan becomes king of Wessex, the most powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom. He becomes effectively the ruler of the unconquered sections of England.
926	Aethelstan annexes Northumbria. He forces the Princes of Wales, the kings of Strathclyde, and the Picts and Scots to submit to him.
929	King Wenceslas of Bohemia murdered.
932	Chinese printers adapt Wood-block printing to mass produce classical books.
934
935	The state of Koryo dominates Korea, beginning the Koryo period of history.
936	Otto I (often called Otto the Great) reigns over Germany until 973. His rise to power marks the beginning of the "Ottonian Renaissance."
937	Scots, Celts, Danes, and Vikings form alliance against Anglo-Saxon England. King Aethelstan leads Anglo-Saxons to decisive victory at the Battle of Brunanburh.He wins the title "King of all Britain."
939	Series of civil wars in Japan. Aethelstan's brother Edmund becomes king of England. He rules until 946.
942	Malcolm I becomes King of Scots. He rules until 953.
945	Scottish forces seize Cumberland and Westmorland from Anglo-Saxon control. Saint Dunstan becomes Abbot of Glastonbury.
946	Edred, younger brother of Edmund, inherits throne of England.
950	Otto I conquers Bohemia. New Zealand discovered by Maori.
951
955	Otto I beats the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld.This victory stops their westward advance into Europe. Edwy becomes king of Anglo-Saxon England.
956	Edwy sends Saint Dunstan into exile.
957	Mercians and Northumbrians rebel against Edwy.
959	Edgar the Peaceful becomes ruler of England. He recalls Saint Dunstan from exile and appoints him Archbishop of Canterbury.
960	Sung Dynasty founded in China.
961	Otto I undertakes Italian expedition to defend Pope John XII through the year 964.
962	Saint Bernard's Hospice founded in Switzerland. Pope John XII crowns Otto as Holy Roman Emperor.
966	Otto II crowned as heir presumptive to the throne. This political maneuver serves as a preemptive strike against other contenders to Otto I's throne.
971	Kenneth II becomes King of the Scots.
972
973	Otto II, King and Emperor until 983.
975
975	Edward the Martyr, son of Edgar, rules as King of England until his murder in 978.
978	The Chinese compile a one-thousand volume encyclopedia. Edward the Martyr killed at Corfe Castle. His brother Fathered II inherits the throne. Fathered II is so incompetent, he is nicknamed "Fathered Unraed," or "Aethelred the Un-counseled" by his contemporaries, a name often rendered as "Aethelred the Unready" by modern historians.
980	Vikings from Denmark renew their raids on England, attacking Chester and Southampton.
981	Erec the Red, outlawed in Iceland, settles in a land he names Greenland. The name is designed to lure other colonists.
985	Sweyn Forkbeard claims the throne of Denmark. He rules the Danes until 1014.
986
987	Hugh Capet elected King of France, founding the Capetian Dynasty.
988	Eastern Orthodox religion introduced to Russian lands around Kiev.
991	The Battle of Maldon takes place. Aging Byrhtnoth of Essex leads band of untrained commoners to confront the Danish invaders. He and his men are slaughtered. Aethelred II pays the Danes 10,000 pounds of silver as Danegeld.
992	Aethelred forms truce with Duke Richard I of Normandy.
993	Olaf Skutkonung first Swedish king to accept Christianity.
994	Danes led by Sweyn and Norwegians led by Olaf Trygvesson sail up the river Thames and besiege London. King Aethelred pays them Danegeld to buy peace.
995	Olaf Trygvesson sails to Norway, deposes King Haakon the Great, and becomes new king. The rule of Fujiwara Michinaga brings Japan to a literary and artistic golden age.
996	Richard II becomes Duke of Normandy. Robert II (Robert the Pious) becomes King of France.
998	Stephen I (Saint Stephen) rules as first King of Hungary.
999	Bagauda rules as first King of Kano (modern day Northern Nigeria).
1000	The Viking Biarni Heriulfsson sights North America after being blown off course. Battle of Svolder--Sweyn kills Olaf of Norway and annexes Norway to Denmark. King Aethelred II ("the Unready" or "Poorly Counseled") ravages Cumberland and southwestern Scotland. Click here to go to next century.

These timelines are intended as a rough guide for students seeking historical context rather than an authoritative research source. I consulted the following works while preparing this list. When sources differed on estimated dates, I used my best judgment to select an accurate date, but I will bow to the correction of professional historians.

Bibliography:

Baugh, A. C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 3rd edition. NJ: Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1978. [Now superseded by a fifth edition]
Cooke, Jean et al. History's Timeline: A 40,000 Year Chronology of Civilization. Ed. Fay Franklin. NY: Barnes and Noble, 1981. Updated 1996.
Crow, Martin and Virginia E. Leland. "A Chronology of Chaucer's Life and Times." As condensed and reproduced in Larry Benson's The Canterbury Tales, Complete. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. xxiii-xxv.
Englebert, Omer. The Lives of the Saints. Trans. Christopher and Anne Fremantle. NY: Barnes and Noble, 1994.
Haywood, John. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings. London: Penguin Books, 1995.
Lau, D. C., ed. "Chronological Table." Tao Te Ching. London: Penguin Books, 1963.
McEvedy, Colin. The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History. London: Penguin Books, n. d.
Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. Ed. Russelll Bourne, et al. Great Ages of Man Series. NY: Time-Life Books, 1967. Reprint 1976.
Urban, Linwood. A Short History of Christian Thought. Revised edition. NY: Oxford University Press, 1995.