900s (decade)

The 900s decade ran from January 1, 900, to December 31, 909.

900

This section is transcluded from AD 900. (edit | history)

By place

Abbasid Caliphate

• Spring – Forces under the Transoxianian emir Isma'il ibn Ahmad are victorious at Balkh (Northern Afghanistan) over Amr ibn al-Layth; the latter is captured and sent to Caliph Al-Mu'tadid in Baghdad.^[1] The Samanid Dynasty rules over Khorasan, as well as Transoxiana.^[2] A few months later, the Samanids conquer the Zaydid emirate of Tabaristan. This victory marks the beginning of the dispersion of the local Shi'ites by the new Sunni power.
• Arab–Byzantine wars: Emperor Leo VI ("the Wise") begins an offensive against the Abbasid army in Cilicia, Upper Mesopotamia and Armenia. He also continues the war against the Muslims in Sicily and southern Italy.^[3]
• The future founder of the Fatimid Caliphate, Abdallah al-Mahdi and his family migrate to North Africa. They claim to be descendants of Fatimah, the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
• The Qarmatians of al-Bahrayn, under Abu Sa'id al-Jannabi, score a major victory over the Abbasid army led by al-Abbas ibn Amr al-Ghanawi.

Europe

• Spring – Atenulf I, Lombard prince of Capua, conquers the Duchy of Benevento. He deposes Duke Radelchis II and unites the two southern Lombard duchies in Mezzogiorno (Southern Italy). The Byzantines offer a strategic alliance to Atenulf who directs a campaign against the Saracens. They establish themselves on the banks of the Garigliano River. From here, Arab warbands launch frequent raids in Campania.^[4]
• February 4 – The 7-year-old Louis IV ("the Child") is proclaimed king of the East Frankish Kingdom at an assembly at Forchheim (Bavaria). Because of his young age, the reins of government are entirely in the hands of others – the Frankish nobles and bishops. The most influential of Louis' councillors are Hatto I, archbishop of Mainz, and Solomon III, bishop of Constance.^[5]
• June 8 – Edward the Elder (son of Alfred the Great) is crowned king of England at Kingston upon Thames.^[6]
• June 17 – Baldwin II, Count of Flanders has Fulk the Venerable, bishop of Reims, assassinated.^[7]
• June 29 – The Venetians repel the Magyar raiders at Rialto.^[8]
• Summer – After the death of his wife Zoe Zaoutzaina, the Byzantine emperor Leo VI marries Eudokia Baïana.^[9]
• August – Abdallah, son of the Aghlabid emir Ibrahim II, represses a revolt of his Muslim subjects, and then initiates a campaign against the last Byzantine strongholds in Sicily.^[3]
• August 13 – Zwentibold, king of Lotharingia, is killed in battle on the Meuse River, while fighting against his rebellious subjects; subsequently they recognize Louis IV as their rightful suzerain - Lotharingia is then converted from a kingdom to a duchy.^[10]
• October 12 – Following Magyars raids in Lombardy, king Louis III ("the Blind") is called to Italy by the grandees. He takes Pavia, forcing king Berengar I to flee, and replaces him as King of Italy.^[11]
• King Donald II is killed after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousin Constantine II as king of Scotland;^[12] he will reign for more than 40 years.
• Docibilis I of Gaeta and his Saracen mercenaries attack Capua, in vain.^[13]
• After the rejection of their alliance proposal by the Bavarians, the Hungarians attack this country, occupying Pannonia and parts of Ostmark, which become part of the Hungarian state.

Asia

• April 21 – Namwaran and his children, Lady Angkatan and Bukah, are granted pardon by the Lakan (ruler) of Tondo, as represented by Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pila, which released them of all their debts as inscribed in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (Philippines).
• Maravarman Rajasimha II, king of Pandya, begins to rule. He is constantly at war with Chola (his overlord) and becomes the last ruler of the first Pandyan Empire (India).^[14]
• December 1 – Emperor Zhao Zong is deposed and forced by a group of Tang eunuchs led by Liu Jishu to abdicate the throne to his son, Crown Prince Li Yu (until 901).

Mesoamerica

• The Postclassic Period: The Maya civilization that has flourished for about 650 years in upland areas of what later will be called Central America comes to an end as a result either of depleted agricultural resources or warfare between some 40 rival city-states. The great stone pyramids, ball courts and other structures at cities such as Tikal, Copán, and Palenque are abandoned and overgrown with jungle, as will eventually be the sculpture and relief carvings of the Maya, who have developed a calendar based on almost perfect astronomic measurements. Cities such as Chichen Itza, Mayapan and Uxmal in the highlands of the Yucatán Peninsula will continue to flourish.
• In Peru the Lambayeque people establish themselves over areas previously developed by the Moche (approximate date).

By topic

Art

• c. 900 –1230 – Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, is built by the Ancestral Pueblo people.

Religion

• January – Pope John IX dies after a two year reign. He is succeeded by Benedict IV as the 117th pope of the Catholic Church.^[15]

Commerce

• The east coast of Africa is impacted by trade and Arab, Persian and Indian traders mix with the indigenous Bantu. Many of the coastal Bantu adopt Islam, reaching as far south as Sofala (Mozambique).

Exploration

• Greenland is discovered by the Norseman Gunnbjörn Ulfsson, sailing from Norway to Iceland: he is blown off course by a storm and comes in sight of some islands off the coast (approximate date).

Medicine

• The Persian scientist Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi distinguishes smallpox from measles in the course of his writings. Holding against any sort of orthodoxy, particularly Aristotle's physics, he maintains the conception of an 'absolute' time, regarded by him as "a never-ending flow".

Significant people

• Al-Mu'tadid
• Ali al-Muktafi
• Al-Muqtadir
• Leo VI of Byzantium
• Badr al-Mu'tadidi military leader
• Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz

Births

Transcluding articles: 900, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, and 909

900

• Abū Ja'far al-Khāzin, Persian astronomer (d. 971)
• Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen (approximate date)
• Berengar II, king of Italy (approximate date)
• Berthold, duke of Bavaria (approximate date)
• Conrad, bishop of Constance (approximate date)
• Fujiwara no Saneyori, Japanese statesman (d. 970)
• Gero, archbishop of Cologne (approximate date)
• Gero, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)
• John of Gorze, Frankish abbot and diplomat (d. 974)
• Mord Fiddle, Icelandic farmer and law expert (d. 968)
• Nicodemus of Mammola, Italian monk (d. 990)
• Ramiro II, king of León (approximate date)
• Ramwold, Frankish abbot (approximate date)
• Rasso, Frankish military leader (approximate date)
• Yang Pu, emperor of Wu (d. 939)

901

• Biagota, probable wife of duke Boleslaus I of Bohemia

902

• November 25 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Liao dynasty (d. 947)
• Ælfweard, king of Wessex (approximate date)
• Du, empress of the Song dynasty (approximate date)
• Eadgifu, queen and wife of Charles the Simple
• Han Xizai, Chinese official and calligrapher (d. 970)
• Lady Xu Xinyue, wife of Qian Yuanguan (d. 946)
• Lothar I, Frankish nobleman (d. 929)
• Wang Jun, chancellor of Later Zhou (or 903)

903

• December 7 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Persian astronomer (d. 986)
• Feng Yanji, chancellor of Southern Tang (d. 960)
• Kūya, Japanese priest of Pure Land Buddhism (d. 972)
• Li Gu, chancellor of Later Zhou (d. 960)
• Wang Jun, chancellor of Later Zhou (or 902)

904

• September 10 – Guo Wei, emperor of Later Zhou (d. 954)
• Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester (or 909)
• Egill Skallagrímsson, Viking warrior and poet (approximate date)
• Yongming Yanshou, Chinese Zen master (d. 975)

905

• Abu al-Misk Kafur, Muslim vizier (d. 968)
• Al-Mustakfi, Abbasid caliph (d. 949)
• Constantine VII, Byzantine emperor (d. 959)
• Fulk II, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)
• Godfrey, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)

906

• June 21 – Abu Ja'far Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Saffarid emir (d. 963)
• Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, Qarmatian ruler (d. 944)
• Fujiwara no Atsutada, Japanese nobleman (d. 943)
• Guan Tong, Chinese landscape painter (approximate date)
• Liu Congxiao, Chinese general (d. 962)
• Majolus of Cluny, Frankish abbot (approximate date)
• Nasr II, Samanid emir (d. 943)
• Sherira Gaon, Jewish spiritual leader (d. 1006)

907

• November 26 – Rudesind, Galician bishop (d. 977)
• Bertha of Swabia, Frankish queen (approximate date)
• Robert of Vermandois, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)
• Wenceslaus I, duke of Bohemia (approximate date) (k. 935)

908

• Al-Muttaqi, Abbasid caliph (d. 968)
• Guo Chong, Chinese general (approximate date)
• Ibrahim ibn Sinan, Abbasid mathematician (d. 946)
• Kiyohara no Motosuke, Japanese nobleman (d. 990)
• Thankmar, Frankish prince (approximate date)

909

• Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester (or 904)
• December – Ar-Radi, Abbasid caliph (d. 940)
• Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury (d. 988)
• Fujiwara no Morosuke, Japanese statesman (d. 960)
• Shen Lun, Chinese scholar-official (d. 987)
• Thomais of Lesbos, Byzantine saint (d. ca. 947)^[49]

Deaths

Transcluding articles: 900, 901, 902, 903, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, and 909

900

• June 17 – Fulk, archbishop of Reims
• July 8 – Qatr al-Nada, wife of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tadid^[50]
• August 13 – Zwentibold, king of Lotharingia (b. 870)
• Donald II, king of the Picts (Scotland)^[51]
• Dongshan Shouchu, Chinese Zen teacher
• Eardulf, bishop of Lindisfarne (approximate date)
• Fujiwara no Takafuji, Japanese nobleman (b. 838)
• Ibn Abi Asim, Muslim Sunni scholar (b. 822)
• John IX, pope of the Catholic Church
• Lde-dpal-hkhor-btsan, Indian ruler
• Litan, Irish abbot (approximate date)
• Liu Chongwang, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• Li Zhirou, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• Merfyn ap Rhodri, king of Powys (approximate date)
• Muhammad ibn Zayd, emir of Tabaristan (Iran)
• Ono no Komachi, Japanese poet (approximate date)
• Tadg mac Conchobair, king of Connacht (Ireland)
• Wang Tuan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• Wulfhere, archbishop of York (approximate date)

901

• January 24 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
• February 12 – Antony II, patriarch of Constantinople
• February 18 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Syrian astronomer and physician (b. 826)
• April 12 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI
• July 8 – Grimbald, Frankish Benedictine monk (b. 820)
• November 10 – Adelaide, queen of the West Frankish Kingdom
• Guaimar I of Salerno, Lombard prince
• Lady Shuiqiu, wife of Qian Kuan
• Lei Man, warlord of the Tang Dynasty
• Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj, Abbasid general
• Ubayd Allah ibn Sulayman, Abbasid vizier
• Wu Renbi, Chinese Taoist and writer
• Xu Yanruo, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty

902

• February 16 – Mary the Younger, Byzantine saint (b. 875)
• April 5 – Al-Mu'tadid, Abbasid caliph
• August 14 – Badr al-Mu'tadidi, Abbasid commander-in-chief
• October 23 – Ibrahim II, Aghlabid emir (b. 850)
• December 5 – Ealhswith, queen and wife of Alfred the Great
• December 16 – Wei Yifan, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
• Æthelwold, son of Æthelred of Wessex
• Amr ibn al-Layth, Saffarid emir
• Anscar I, margrave of Ivrea (Italy)
• Li Cunxin, general of the Tang dynasty (b. 862)
• Wang Zongdi, Chinese official and governor
• Yunju Daoying, Chinese Buddhist teacher (b. 830)

903

• March 6
  • Lu Guangqi, Chinese official and chancellor
  • Su Jian, Chinese official and chancellor
• March 26 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese politician and poet (b. 845)
• June 10 – Cheng Rui, Chinese warlord
• July 27– Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
• July – Benedict IV, pope of the Catholic Church^[52]
• December 24 – Hedwiga, duchess of Saxony
• December 30 – Tian Jun, Chinese warlord (b. 858)
• Adalhard of Babenberg, Frankish nobleman
• Moses Bar-Kepha, Syriac bishop and writer
• Théodrate of Troyes, Frankish queen (b. 868)
• Zhu Yanshou, Chinese governor (b. 870)

904

• September 22 – Zhao Zong, emperor of the Tang dynasty (b. 867)
• Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Furat, Abbasid official
• Al-Husayn ibn Zikrawayh, Qarmatian leader
• Al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah, Abbasid vizier
• Christopher, antipope of the Catholic Church
• Cui Yin, chancellor of the Tang dynasty (b. 854)
• Du Xunhe, Chinese poet (b. 846)
• Erenfried I, Frankish nobleman
• Harun ibn Khumarawayh, Tulunid emir
• Ímar ua Ímair, Norse king of Dublin
• John the Old Saxon, abbot of Athelney
• Ki no Tomonori, Japanese poet (approximate date)
• Kurszán, ruler (gyula) of the Magyars
• Lady Zhang, wife of Zhu Quanzhong
• Leo V, pope of the Catholic Church
• Li Shenfu, general of the Tang dynasty
• Llywarch ap Hyfaidd, king of Dyfed (Wales)
• Tannet of Pagan, king of Burma (b. 859)
• Wigmund, bishop of Dorchester (approximate date)
• Zhang Jun, chancellor of the Tang dynasty

905

• March 17 – Li Yu, Prince of De, prince of the Tang Dynasty
• July 5
  • Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
  • Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
  • Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
  • Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
  • Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
• Du Hong, Chinese warlord
• Gai Yu, Chinese warlord
• Pei Zhi, Chinese chancellor
• Tribhuvana Mahadevi III, Indian Queen Regnant
• Rhodri ap Hyfaidd, king of Dyfed
• Yahya ibn al-Qasim, Idrisid emir of Morocco^[53]
• Yang Xingmi, Chinese governor (b. 852)

906

• January 22 – He, empress of the Tang dynasty
• January 27 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang dynasty
• February 27 – Conrad the Elder, Frankish nobleman
• September 9 – Adalbert von Babenberg, Frankish nobleman
• Acfred I, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)
• Dae Wihae, king of Balhae (Korea)
• Tughj ibn Juff, Abbasid governor
• Zhong Chuan, Chinese warlord

907

• May 2 – Boris I, ruler (knyaz) of the Bulgarian Empire
• July 4
  • Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg
  • Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria
• Alan I, duke ('king') of Brittany
• Árpád, Grand Prince of the Hungarians (approximate date)
• Herbert I, Frankish nobleman
• Isma'il ibn Ahmad, emir of the Samanid Empire
• Radelchis II, Lombard prince
• Rudesind I, bishop of Dumium (Spain)

908

• February 23 – Li Keyong, Shatuo governor (b. 856)
• March 25 – Li Kening, Chinese general
• March 26 – Ai, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 892)
• April 25 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
• May 1 – Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender
• June 9 – Yang Wo, emperor of Wu (b. 886)
• June 18 – Zhang Hao, Chinese general
• August 3
  • Burchard, duke of Thuringia
  • Egino, duke of Thuringia
  • Rudolf I, bishop of Würzburg
• August 13 – Al-Muktafi, Abbasid caliph
• September 13 – Cormac mac Cuilennáin, king of Munster (Ireland)
• December 17
  • Al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, Abbasid vizier
  • Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz, Abbasid poet (b. 861)
• Blaise of Amorion, Byzantine monk and missionary
• Cléirchén mac Murchadh, king of Maigh Seóla (Ireland)
• Denewulf, bishop of Winchester
• Li Sijian, Chinese warlord and governor
• Remigius of Auxerre, Frankish scholar
• Wang Shifan, Chinese warlord (b. 874)
• Xuefeng Yicun, Chinese Chan master (b. 822)

909

• April 18 – Dionysius II, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
• May 9 – Adalgar, archbishop of Bremen
• Aribo of Austria, Frankish margrave
• Asser, bishop of Sherborne (approximate date)
• Cadell ap Rhodri, king of Seisyllwg (Wales)
• Cerball mac Muirecáin, king of Leinster (Ireland)
• Fujiwara no Tokihira, Japanese statesman (b. 871)
• Gerald of Aurillac, Frankish nobleman (b. 855)
• Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet (b. 833)
• Muhammad ibn Dawud al-Zahiri, Muslim theologian (b. 868)
• Sochlachan mac Diarmata, king of Uí Maine (Ireland)
• Wighelm, bishop of Selsey