973

This article is about the year 973. For other uses, see 973 (disambiguation).

Year 973 (CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Millennium:	1st millennium
Centuries:	9th century 10th century 11th century
Decades:	950s 960s 970s 980s 990s
Years:	970 971 972 973 974 975 976

973 in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	973 CMLXXIII
Ab urbe condita	1726
Armenian calendar	422 ԹՎ ՆԻԲ
Assyrian calendar	5723
Balinese saka calendar	894–895
Bengali calendar	380
Berber calendar	1923
Buddhist calendar	1517
Burmese calendar	335
Byzantine calendar	6481–6482
Chinese calendar	壬申年 (Water Monkey) 3670 or 3463     — to — 癸酉年 (Water Rooster) 3671 or 3464
Coptic calendar	689–690
Discordian calendar	2139
Ethiopian calendar	965–966
Hebrew calendar	4733–4734
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1029–1030
- Shaka Samvat	894–895
- Kali Yuga	4073–4074
Holocene calendar	10973
Iranian calendar	351–352
Islamic calendar	362–363
Japanese calendar	Tenroku 4 / Ten'en 1 (天延元年)
Javanese calendar	874–875
Julian calendar	973 CMLXXIII
Korean calendar	3306
Minguo calendar	939 before ROC 民前939年
Nanakshahi calendar	−495
Seleucid era	1284/1285 AG
Thai solar calendar	1515–1516
Tibetan calendar	阳水猴年 (male Water-Monkey) 1099 or 718 or −54     — to — 阴水鸡年 (female Water-Rooster) 1100 or 719 or −53

Otto II is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the Schools in the East), continues the operations in Upper Mesopotamia.
• July: Melias moves against Amida (modern Turkey). He defeats the Arabs outside the walls, and begins to lay siege to the city. After a few days, a violent wind and a thick dust spreads over the Byzantine camp. Covered by the dust, the Arabs attack and route the Byzantines. Many of them are slaughtered and some, including Melias, are taken prisoner. Previous Byzantine gains in the area are lost. The wounded Melias dies later in captivity.

Europe

• May 7 – Emperor Otto I (the Great) dies at Memleben in Thuringia (modern Germany) after a 37-year reign. He is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Otto II (the Red), who becomes absolute ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. His mother Adelaide will exert great influence on Otto, although her lavish philanthropies will be a source of contention. Otto's succession leads to conflicts in the south German duchies and in Lotharingia.^[1]

Britain

• Edgar I (the Peaceful) is crowned king during a royal ceremony at Bath by Archbishop Dunstan. In a council at Chester, Lothian (a region of the Lowlands) is ceded to Scotland, in return for fealty from King Kenneth II.
• Edgar I marches with his army north to Chester. His navy meets him there via the Irish Sea. This show of strength persuades the 'Northern Kings' to submit to his overlordship (approximate date).

Africa

• Caliph Al-Mu'izz transfers the royal residence of the Fatimid Caliphate from El-Mansuriya (modern Tunisia) to the newly founded city of Cairo in Egypt. He leaves general Buluggin ibn Ziri to govern the Western North African territories, which will become the province of Al-Maghreb (meaning the West).

By topic

Commerce

• Cloves, ginger, black pepper, and other Eastern spices are available for purchase in the marketplace at Mainz. The spices are brought to the city by Jewish traveling merchants, known as the Radhanites, who have contacts in the international trade between the Christian and Islamic world (approximate date).

Religion

• January 19 – Pope Benedict VI is consecrated as the 134th pope of the Catholic Church. He is installed at Rome with the approval of Otto I and becomes a puppet ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The Roman aristocracy resents Otto's dominance in Roman civil and ecclesiastical affairs.^[2]
• In the Council of Winchester, Edgar I accepts a 'Monastic Agreement' (called the Regularis Concordia). The document is compiled by Bishop Æthelwold and serves as a rule for how monastic life should be performed.

Births

• May 6 – Henry II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1024)
• September 4 – Al-Biruni, Persian physician and polymath (d. 1048)
• Adelaide I, German princess and abbess (approximate date)
• Abul 'Ala Al-Ma'arri, Syrian philosopher and poet (d. 1057)
• Hisham III, Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (d. 1036)
• Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese poet and lady-in-waiting (or 978)
• Qadi 'Abd al-Wahhab, Abbasid scholar and jurist (d. 1031)

Deaths

• January 14 – Ekkehard I, Frankish monk and poet
• March 26 – Guntram (the Rich), Frankish nobleman
• March 27 – Hermann Billung, Frankish nobleman
• May 7 – Otto I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (b. 912)
• May 15 – Byrhthelm, bishop of Wells (Somerset)
• July 4 – Ulrich (or Oldarici), bishop of Augsburg (b. 893)
• July 19 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
• September 12 – Nefingus, bishop of Angers
• November 12 – Burchard III, Frankish nobleman
• December 18 (or 972) – Eberhard IV, Frankish nobleman (or 972)
• Abu'l-Abbas Ismail, Abbasid official and statesman
• Cathal mac Tadg, king of Connacht (Ireland)
• Conchobar mac Tadg, king of Connacht
• Geibennach mac Aedha, king of Uí Maine (Ireland)
• Guo Zongxun, emperor of Later Zhou (d. 953)
• Hrotsvitha, German canoness and poet (approximate date)
• Jawdhar, Fatimid general and chief minister
• Karka II, ruler of the Rashtrakuta Empire (India)
• Melias, Byzantine general (approximate date)
• Reginar III, Frankish nobleman (approximate date)
• Richar (or Richer), Frankish nobleman
• Werner (or Warin), Frankish nobleman

References

1. Reuter, Timothy (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 254. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
2. Roger Collins (2009). Keepers of the keys of heaven: A History of the Papacy, p. 187 (Basic Books).