Year 940 ( CMXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday 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

Europe

* The tribe of the Polans begins the construction of the following fortified settlements ( Giecz, Bnin, Ląd,

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Grzybowo and Ostrów Lednicki) in

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

. The

Piast Dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

under Duke Siemomysł gains control over other groups of Polans along the Upper

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

, and establishes their rule around Giecz (approximate date).

Japan

March 25 Until 1752 it was the official date of the beginning of the year in England and its dominions (in the Julian calendar). Events Pre-1600 * 410 – The Southern Yan capital of Guanggu falls to the Jin dynasty general Liu Yu, ending th ...

– Taira no Masakado, the self-proclaimed "New Emperor" (新皇), is subdued by local rivals who revolt against his rule. His forces are defeated by his cousin, Taira no Sadamori, in

Shimōsa Province was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...

. Masakado's head is brought back to Emperor Suzaku in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

By topic

Literature

Saadia Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

, a Jewish

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and philosopher, compiles his

Siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...

(Jewish prayer book) in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and synagogal poetry in modern-day

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

(approximate date).

Religion

Narita-san Narita-san (成田山 "Narita mountain") Shinshō-ji ( 新勝寺 "New victory temple") is a Shingon Buddhist temple located in central Narita, Chiba, Japan. It was founded in 940 by Kanchō Daisōjō, a disciple of Kōbō Daishi. It is a lead ...

("New victory temple"), a Shingon Buddhist temple, is founded in Chiba (

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Births

June 10 Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. * 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederic ...

– Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani, Persian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

(d. 998) * Abdollah ibn Bukhtishu, Syrian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and scientist (d.

1058 Year 1058 ( MLVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March 17 – King Lulach ("the Unfortunate") of Scotland is killed in battle against his cousin and rival Malcolm III ( ...

) * Abu-Mahmud Khojandi, Persian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1000) * Abū Sahl al-Qūhī, Persian mathematician and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

(approximate date) * Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou, French queen and

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

(d. 1026) * Al-Baqillani, Muslim theologian and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

(approximate date) * Baldwin III ("the Young"), Frankish

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

(approximate date) *

Chavundaraya ''Cāmuṇḍarāya'' or Chavundaraya (Kannada ''Cāmuṇḍarāya, Cāvuṇḍarāya'', 940–989) was an Indian people, Indian Jain ruler. He served in the court of the Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (in modern Karnataka, India). A perso ...

, Indian general, architect and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

(d.

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

) * Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine governor (approximate date) * Eadwig ("the All-Fair"), king of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(approximate date) *

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

, Persian poet and author (approximate date) * George El Mozahem, Egyptian

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

(d. 969) * Géza,

Grand Prince of the Hungarians Grand Prince () was the title used by contemporary sources to name the leader of the federation of the Hungarian tribes in the tenth century.Constantine VII mentioned Árpád in his book De Administrando Imperio as ', while Bruno of Querfurt re ...

(approximate date) * Guy (or Guido), margrave of Ivrea (

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

) (d. 965) * Henry III ("the Younger"), duke of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

(approximate date) * Leopold I, margrave of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(approximate date) *

Lothair I Lothair I (9th. C. Frankish: ''Ludher'' and Medieval Latin: ''Lodharius''; Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario''; 795 – 29 September 855) was a 9th-century emperor of the ...

, margrave of the

Nordmark The Northern March or North March (, ) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and was part of the ...

(approximate date) *

Notker of Liège Notker (or Notger) of Liège (; c. 940 – 10 April 1008 AD) was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monk, bishop (972–1008) and first prince-Bishop, prince-bishop (980–1008) of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, Bishopric of Liège (now in ...

, French bishop and

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

(d. 1008) * Sulayman al-Ghazzi, Arab poet and bishop of Gaza (approximate date) * Subh of Córdoba, mother and regent of Hisham II (approximate date) * Thorgeir Ljosvetningagodi, Icelandic

lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', ) is a unique Scandinavian legal offic ...

(approximate date) * Vijayanandi, Indian mathematician and astronomer (approximate date) * Willigis, German

archchancellor An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Car ...

and archbishop (approximate date) * Wulfhilda of Barking, English nun and

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

(approximate date)

Deaths

– Taira no Masakado, Japanese nobleman and

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

May 12 Events Pre-1600 * 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church, and immediately takes a stand against Novatianism. * 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the ...

– Eutychius, patriarch of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

(b.

877 __NOTOC__ Year 877 ( DCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Charles II ("the Bald") sets out for Italy, accompanied by his wife Richilde and a number ...

) *

June 7 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire). * 879 – Pope John VIII recognises the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state. * 1002 – He ...

– Qian Hongzun,

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

(b. 925) *

July 4 Events Pre-1600 * 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and procla ...

– Wang Jianli, Chinese general (b. 871) * July 20 –

Ibn Muqla Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muqla (; 885/6 – 20 July 940/1), commonly known as Ibn Muqla, was an official of the Abbasid Caliphate who rose to high state posts in the early 10th century. His career culminated in his own assumption of the v ...

, Abbasid

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

August 5 Events Pre-1600 * AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty. * 70 – Fires resulting from the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem are ...

– Li Decheng, Chinese general (b. 863) *

September 30 Events Pre-1600 * 489 – The Ostrogoths under Theoderic the Great defeat the forces of Odoacer for the second time. * 737 – The Turgesh drive back an Umayyad invasion of Khuttal, follow them south of the Oxus, and capture thei ...

– Fan Yanguang, Chinese general *

November 8 Events Pre-1600 * 960 – Battle of Andrassos: Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger score a crushing victory over the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla. * 1278 – Trần Thánh Tông, the second emperor of the Trần dyn ...

– Yao Yi, Chinese

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

(b. 866) *

November 14 Events Pre-1600 * 332 BC – Alexander the Great is crowned pharaoh of Egypt. 1601–1900 * 1680 – German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680, the first comet to be discovered by telescope. *1770 – Ja ...

–

Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami, also known as Bal'ami the Elder (died November 14, 940), was a Samanid statesman from the al-Bal'ami family, who served as the ''vizier'' of Nasr II from 922 to 938. Biography Bal'ami is first mentioned as serving under the ...

, Samanid vizier * December 23 – Ar-Radi, Abbasid caliph (b. 909) * December 25 – Makan ibn Kaki, Daylamite warlord * Atenulf II of Benevento, Atenulf II, prince of Duchy of Benevento, Benevento and Principality of Capua, Capua (Italy) * Faelan mac Muiredach, king of Leinster (Ireland) * Ibn Abd Rabbih, Moorish writer and poet (b. 860) * Rajyapala, emperor of the Pala Empire, Pala Dynasty (Bengal) * Yang Lian (prince), Yang Lian, crown prince of Wu (Ten Kingdoms), Wu (Ten Kingdoms) * Zhao Guangyi (Southern Han), Zhao Guangyi, Chinese official and chancellor

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:940 940,