Year 1071 ( MLXXI) was a

common year starting on Saturday A common year starting on Saturday is any non-leap year (i.e. a year with 365 days) that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Saturday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is B. The most recent year of such kind was 2022, and the next ...

of the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

* August 26 – Battle of Manzikert: The Byzantine army (35,000 men) under Emperor Romanos IV meets the Seljuk Turk forces of Sultan Alp Arslan near the town of Manzikert. Although the armies are initially evenly matched, as the Byzantines advance, the Seljuk Turks withdraw before them, launching hit-and-run attacks on the Byzantine flanks. While attempting to withdraw, the Byzantine army falls apart, either through treachery or confusion; the battle ends in a decisive defeat for the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. Romanos is captured (though released by Alp Arslan within a week) and much of the elite

Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard () was an elite unit of the Byzantine army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from Nort ...

is destroyed; this will prove catastrophic for the Byzantine Empire. * October 24 – Romanos IV is deposed by John Doukas (Caesar) and his political advisor Michael Psellos after his return to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas (), nicknamed Parapinakes (, , a reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. He was known as incompetent as an emperor and reliant on ...

is crowned co-emperor and his mother Eudokia is forced to retire to a monastery.

Europe

February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Fer ...

– Battle of Cassel: Robert I ("the Frisian") defeats his sister-in-law Richilde (widow of Baldwin VI) and her nephew Arnulf III, in a succession struggle for the

County of Flanders The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Duchy of Brabant, Brabant and ...

. Robert is appointed count by King Philip I of France. * April 15 – Siege of Bari: The capital of

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, the last Byzantine-controlled city in the Catepanate of Italy, is captured by Italo-Norman forces under Duke Robert Guiscard after a 32-month siege.

England

* The English rebels under Hereward the Wake and Morcar, Saxon former

earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...

, are forced to retreat to their stronghold on the Isle of Ely in The Fens. They make a desperate stand against the Norman forces led by King

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

, but are defeated. * Edwin, earl of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

, rebels against William I, but is betrayed and killed. His castle and lands at

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

(located in the West Midlands) are given to William's Norman subjects.

Africa

* May – Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah marries Yusuf ibn Tashfin, leader of the Almoravids, and becomes his queen and co-regent.

Births

* October 22 – William IX ("the Troubador"), duke of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

(d. 1127) * Ibn al-Qalanisi, Arab politician and chronicler (d. 1160)

Deaths

January 26 Events Pre-1600 * 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph. * 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people. * 1564 – The Council of T ...

– Adelaide of Eilenburg, German noblewoman * February 17 – Frozza Orseolo, German noblewoman (b. 1015) *

(killed at the Battle of Cassel): ** Arnulf III, count of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

( House of Flanders) ** William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford * April 17 – Manuel Komnenos, Byzantine aristocrat *

May 24 Events Pre-1600 * 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. * 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. * 1276 – Magnus ...

– Wulfhild of Norway, duchess of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

(b. 1020) * August 22 – Lambert II Suła, archbishop of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

* September 5 – Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Arab scholar (b. 1002) * October 16 – Almodis de la Marche, French nobleman * December 2 – Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, Moorish judge (b. 978) * Domenico I Contarini, doge of

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

* Durand de Bredons, French

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

and bishop * Edwin (or Ēadwine), earl of

* Eleanor of Normandy, countess of Flanders (b. 1010) * Fujiwara no Yorimichi, Japanese nobleman (b. 992) * Geoffrey of Hauteville, Norman military leader *

Guido da Velate Guido da Velate (also Guy or Wido) (died 1071) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1045 until his death, though he had simoniacally abdicated in 1067. He had been chosen as successor to Aribert by the people in opposition to the choice of the noble ...

(or Guy), archbishop of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

* Henry II, count of

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

( House of Reginar) * Ibn Zaydún, Andalusian poet and writer (b. 1003) *

Isabella of Urgell Isabella of Urgel (Aragonese: ''Isabel d'Urchel''; died 1071) was Queen of Aragon; the only daughter of Ermengol III, Count of Urgell by his first wife Adelaide of Besalú. Isabella is mentioned in her brother Ermengol IV, Count of Urgell, Ermengo ...

, queen consort of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

* Robert Crispin, Norman mercenary leader * William Malet, Norman nobleman (approximate date)

References

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