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968 is a rough year for Bulgarians.

Their large empire suffers a massive defeat from the Rus, and then the Rus and the Byzantines seize Bulgaria's eastern territories. But the Bulgarians persuade the Pechenegs to attack the Rus from the other direction. What? You've never heard of the Pechenegs? They were a Turkish kingdom south and east of the Rus. In 1122 they were annihilated in battle and the survivors blended in with the Rus, Hungarians, Turks, and others.

Dinh Bo Linh becomes Vietnam’s first emperor after attaining independence. For its first thirty independent years, Vietnam had been ruled by twelve semi-independent warlords under the authority of a weak king. Dinh Bo Linh had been a military leader when he seized the kingship, and after a few years of consolidating his power, he now declares himself emperor. He pacifies Vietnam, and reorganizes it following the Chinese model. He carefully sends tribute to the powerful Song Dynasty of China and declares himself their vassal, while maintaining Vietnamese independence.

Aleppo, in Syria, had been the third-largest city in the Byzantine Empire before the Moslems captured it. This year, Byzantium captures it back.

Pope John XIII appoints Poland's first bishop, who answers directly to the Pope.
 
And now it's time for 969!

Having captured all of northern Africa, the Fatimid Moslems finally succeed in conquering Egypt. Now, some bright person might point out that Egypt is part of northern Africa, but politically, it was always considered separate. Egypt's Sunni Moslems are forced to submit, and the victorious Fatimids found the city of Cairo.

It's another bad year for Bulgaria, as the Rus capture their ruler.

After three hundred years under Moslem rule, Antioch, in Syria, is freed by Byzantium. You might have noticed that the Byzantines are winning a lot of battles, and their military leader, General Tzimiskes, agrees with you. So he assassinates the Emperor and begins a six year reign in which he continues to expand Byzantium's borders.

In southern India, the King of Chola is assassinated by his nephew (the rightful king) who begins a successful sixteen year reign.

10 year old Enyu begins his fifteen year reign as Emperor of Japan, when his insane brother is forcefully retired.
 
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Look at the time! It's 970 already!

Moslems establish a hospital at Baghdad that becomes a medical marvel. They divide doctors into interns (new and inexperienced) and externs (who train the interns). They have a real nursing system, and a pharmacy that includes drugs from all over the known world.

Two great natural disasters strike. A ten-year famine begins in France, and Japan has a major volcano eruption.

The new Byzantine Emperor, John I, wastes no time. Having pounded the Moslems for years as a general, he heads the other way to pound the Rus who have attacked his western border. Byzantium is now pushing westward into Europe.

It is not clear who the first King of Sweden was. Eric the Victorious defeats a southern invasion and expands his kingdom in central Sweden. The kingdom will eventually grow into the nation of Sweden.
 
971

China defeats the Southern Tang Dynasty, even though the Southern Tang used war elephants. The Southern Tang had expanded its territory through its successful use of elephants, but the Chinese use crossbows to kill them, Southern Tang is then re-united with China.

Byzantium annexes Bulgaria. Bulgaria, however, disagrees, and for the next fifty years wages war until Bulgaria is defeated and absorbed. Taking advantage of the situation, the Rus seize eastern Bulgaria. But Byzantine Emperor John 1 is no slouch; he quickly smashes the Rus, then allows their survivors to leave after they sign a treaty renouncing their claims to Bulgaria.
 
All right, what's new in 972?

It doesn't even exist yet, but Poland beats Germany at the Battle of Cedynia. German nobles had rejected the HRE's treaty with the Poles and attempted to steal their land. Mired in a swamp, Germany's knights are virtually annihilated.To this day, Poland uses their victory to claim former German territory that is now part of Poland.

Iceland and Estonia got to war. Seriously.

There is a northern African kingdom called Ifriqiya (which means "Africa") When the victorious Fatimids move their capital to Egypt, the Ifriqiyans begin expanding back into their old territory in Algeria.

Pope John XIII dies in September, but a replacement is not appointed until next year.
 
973 draws near.

As rioting sweeps Baghdad, the Turks capture the city.

Holy Roman Emperor Otto I appoints Benedict VI as Pope, and Otto dies shortly afterwards. The nobility quickly places Pope Benedict in prison and he is murdered there the next year. Benedict had affirmed privileges of certain monasteries, but almost nothing else is known about his reign.

18 year old Otto the Red begins his ten year reign as HRE. After defeating rebellious relatives (he was the son of Otto I), Otto devotes most of his reign to conquering the rest of the Italian peninsula. He battles the Byzantine Empire, independent states, and Moslems before abandoning his goal in order to put down a rebellion elsewhere.

Jewish merchants called "Radanites" have successfully traded between the Moslem and Christian worlds. Now, Egypt and Italy officially permit trade.
 
974 is here.

China constructs and defends a floating pontoon bridge to help them move supplies in their wars against competing dynasties
.
There is some confusion over both the facts and the interpretation of the facts. Boniface VII is elected Pope after he murders Pope Benedict VI, who had been installed eighteen months earlier by the Holy Roman Emperor against the wishes of the local clergy. But facing an uproar from the local citizens, he grabs all the loot he can and flees to Constantinople.

The clergy then elect Benedict VII as Pope, and he quickly excommunicates Boniface VII. Quiet, competent, and honest, Pope Benedict forbids the selling of Church offices and works with Emperor Otto II to bring in reforms. He rules for nine years.

Byzantium retakes all of Syria from the Moslems.

England is hit by an earthquake.
 
Welcome to 975.

The Fatimid Empire of northern Africa is going strong. Having conquered Egypt and founding Cairo, they establish the Noble Azhar University. The second-oldest university in the world, it is the center of Moslem learning today. Their new leader, Al-Aziz, will reign for 21 successful years. He will strengthen the economy, expand their borders, establish internal peace with only one civil war, and expand learning.

When the king dies, the Catholic Church quickly crowns Edward the Martyr as King of England, successfully preventing civil war. His opponents retaliate by seizing monasteries and their lands, but then they settle down. He is murdered three years later by the mother of his half-brother Aethelred the Unready, who will become King at the age of ten and botch up everything.

China reconquers Hunan, a large area in southeastern China. And, a few years after defeating the Southern Tang Dynasty, the last resistance there is defeated.
 
It is now 976.

China founds the Yuelu Academy of Higher Learning. It has grown into a university and still exists today.

Basil the Bulgar-Slayer begins his 49 year reign as Byzantine Emperor. He begins with several civil wars, and then he expands the Empire to its greatest size in four centuries. He completely defeats and absorbs Bulgaria and successfully holds the southern Italian peninsula against the HRE.

Brian Boru was King of Munster, a large kingdom in southern Ireland. This year he conquers enough territory to rule all of southern Ireland and is declared "High King." Technically, that meant the the other kings would obey him, but they often didn't.

HRE Otto grants some land to a nobleman named Leopold, accidentally creating the nation of Austria.

Famine continues t spread through England.
 
Are you ready for 977?


The Chinese build The Luster of the Dragon Buddhist Temple, which still stands today. Although heavily rebuilt, it keeps the original architecture.

A Turkish general founds the Moslem kingdom of the Ghaznavids. Surviving a little more than two centuries, it eventually controls Iran, northern India, and surrounding areas.

The village of Egmond aan Zee is founded on the Dutch coast. They have a lot of institutional homes today, run by churches and charities, that allow poor children to have a vacation by the sea.

Three civil wars break out among the Moslems.
 
You're not to late for 978!

China completes “The Extensive Records of the Taiping Era.†This magnificent 500 volume work includes about 7,000 Chinese stories, mostly fiction, some of which are literary masterpieces in their own right.

The mother of seven year old Aethelred the Unready assassinates his fifteen year old half-brother Edward the Martyr, and her son now becomes one of the most incompetent kings in history. "The Unready" is actually a mistranslation of "Without Good Advice," and he certainly lives up to his name.

The former treasurer of Moslem Spain seizes the throne. Changing his name to "The Conqueror," he spends the next 24 years warring against Christian Spain north of him, while stopping civil wars. In his very first year, he sacks Leon and seizes so much territory that the ruler of Catholic Spain has to flee.

Wracked by rioting, Baghdad falls to rival Moslems who now concentrate in repairing the area's ruined irrigation systems.

Vladimir I, ruler of the Kiev Rus, marries the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor and orders his people to convert to Christianity.
 
You're just in time for 979!

It's a mixed year for China. With the Emperor personally leading their army, China defeats and incorporates the Northern Han Dynasty back into China. But at the Battle of Gaoliang River, China loses the city of Beijing to the Liao Dynasty. Centuries will pass before China recovers from this defeat, as they are now unable to retake northern China.

There's a hamlet with a chapel, called "Home in the Marsh," on an island in a river. A local noble decides to fortify it, and today, Brussels, Belgium, has a population of over one million.

And it's another really bad year for Germany. Once again breaking a treaty between the HRE and the Poles, German nobles invade Poland. Not only do the Poles beat them and seize some of their fortresses, but the Poles also destroy Hamburg.
 
It is now the year 980 AD!

With Pope Benedict VII absent, Pope Boniface VII returns from exile and enters Rome, re-seizing the Papacy.

Vladimir the Great was ruler of Kiev Rus, located within present Russia. It was one of the earlier Russian states, although it did not include most of modern Russia. Having married the daughter of the Byzantine Empire last year, he now converts to the Orthodox Church, bringing his nation with him.

Hindus grant Jews the right to settle safely in Cranganore, a major seaport on India's west coast. Sparce records indicate that there had been a synagogue in the city for about five centuries, but the new influx of Jews became a prosperous trading community.

You might need a map to understand this. Denmark juts out of northern Europe. Sweden extends south from the Scandinavian Peninsula. So Denmark is actually west of southern Sweden. Between them is a large island called Trelleborg, that is part of Denmark. Denmark, Trelleborg, and much of southern Sweden are part of a Viking kingdom at this time. The Vikings had been working for decades on constructing a ring of forts for their kingdom, and this year they complete one on Trelleborg. And they renew their raids on English ports.

With permission from the HRE, Bishop Notger makes his territory independent. It becomes a center of academics and remains independent until annexed by France in 1795.

Moslems found the Zanj Empire on Africa's east coast. Developing a profitable slave trade, it flourishes until seized by the British in 1896.

In eastern Mexico, the Toltec Empire moves its capital to Tula, under their new leader, "Our Prince/ Divine Lord."
 
I hope that 981 is interesting.

China decides to flex its muscles, sending a combined navy and infantry force to invade Vietnam. Both forces suffer massive defeats as they enter ambushes. The Chinese withdraw their shattered survivors and Vietnam remains independent.

Otto II personally leads soldiers into Rome to capture Pope Boniface VII, but he escapes again to Constantinople. Otto then places Pope Benedict VII back on the papal throne.

Exiled from Iceland for three years, Erik the Red sails west and re-discovers Greenland. He spends three years exploring, returns to Iceland with tales of how great it is, and brings back the first European permanent settlement in the Americas. At its height, the Viking settlement had 5,000 inhabitants. Decimated by disease, they blended in with the Inuit, pirates, and other settlers

Korea's new king establishes a civil service system, awarding government jobs on the basis of competence, rather that allotting a certain amount to each ethnic group.

And in Asia, somebody starts selling shaving cream, but did NOT invent this jingle:

I proposed to Ida
Ida refused
I'da had my Ida
If I'da used
Burma Shave!
 
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Welcome to 982!

HRE Otto II has to flee for his life when his army is defeated by Byzantium. It doesn't help any that Moslems defeat a HRE army on the southern coast of Italy.

Moslems found a major hospital in Baghdad.
 
983

Pope Benedict VII dies, so Holy Roman Emperor Otto II hurries to Rome and puts his Imperial Chancellor on the Papal Throne as Pope John XIV, against the wishes of the Romans. But Otto dies shortly afterwards. His three year old son is now ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, and in the chaos that ensues, the Romans determine to overthrow the well-hated John XIV.

Chinese printers carve a complete set of printing blocks for the entire Buddhist canon.

Contradictory dates tell us that about this time, Erik the Red establishes the first permanent colony in the Americas. He settles Vikings in southwestern Greenland, the only part of the world's largest island that is habitable. And this produces a mystery of history: Where did the colonists get their firewood? Greenland has one small forest. Sparce records tell us that they gathered a lot of driftwood from the beaches, but that wouldn't be enough, especially after the colony had grown to 5,000 people a few centuries later. It is possible that they sailed regularly to Canada to chop wood. The colony itself survives for five centuries before disease nearly wipes out the population. The survivors intermarry with Inuit (Eskimos) and new colonists.
 
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All the events and rivalry between the popes is a far cry from the simple beliefs of the New Testament centering in the Person and Word of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
It's 984's moment in the sun.


It is difficult to navigate rivers when the depth changes due to rapids. Three and a half centuries before the Europeans, the Chinese invent the “pound lock.†It allows the Chinese to store water during high tides and then release the water into shallow areas when needed.

Returning to Rome with an army, Pope Boniface VII arrests and murders Pope John XIV and regains the Papal Throne.

Seventeen year old Kazan becomes Emperor of Japan. He commissions a book of poetry and is forced to abdicate two years later, becoming a monk.

Henry the Quarellsome, Duke of Bavaria, had worked hard at seizing the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, eventually being imprisoned, escaping,and being defeated in battle. This year he kidnaps the three year old Emperor Otto III. The empire is forced to make him Duke of Bavaria again in return for the child.
 
Farouk, you're making a good point there. Popes were appointed by different methods, and sometimes these methods produced more than one Pope.
 
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