WORLD HISTORY · TIMELINE 日本語
The 11th century1001–1100
What were the key events of the 11th century?
In the 11th century (1001–1100), Fujiwara no Michinaga became regent in Japan, and later Retired Emperor Shirakawa began rule by cloistered (retired) emperors. The Seljuks advanced into West Asia, and after the East–West Schism and the Norman conquest of England, the First Crusade began.
- Emperor Go-Ichijo enthroned; Fujiwara no Michinaga becomes regentAsia
- Seljuks advance into West AsiaMiddle East
- Former Nine Years' War beginsAsia
- East–West Schism becomes finalEurope
- Normans conquer EnglandEurope
- Pope and emperor clash over investitureEurope
- Retired Emperor Shirakawa begins cloistered ruleAsia
- First Crusade beginsEurope
Summaries are written by the site editors.
Key events of the 11th century (timeline · excerpt)
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Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and crowned King of Italy.
English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice's Day massacre.
Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
Patrician John II Crescentius, who has seized control of Rome, selects Pope John XVII as the new pope.
Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
Mainz Cathedral suffers extensive damage from a fire, which destroys the building on the day of its inauguration.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who hacks the Church's foundations down to bedrock.
Berber forces led by Sulayman ibn al-Hakam defeat the Umayyad caliph Muhammad II of Córdoba in the Battle of Qantish.
Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner.
Pope Benedict VIII begins his papacy following the death of his predecessor Pope Sergius IV earlier that month.
Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
Byzantine general Eustathios Daphnomeles blinds and captures Ibatzes of Bulgaria by a ruse, thereby ending Bulgarian resistance against Emperor Basil II's conquest of Bulgaria.
The death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, is announced, along with the succession of his son, al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah.
Constantine VIII becomes sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
Constantine VIII dies, ending his uninterrupted reign as emperor or co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire of 66 years.
Future Byzantine empress Zoe takes the throne as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros.
Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
The Battle of Azaz ends with a humiliating retreat of the Byzantine emperor, Romanos III Argyros, against the Mirdasid rulers of Aleppo. The retreat degenerates into a rout, in which Romanos himself barely escapes capture.
The Jordan Rift Valley earthquake destroys multiple cities across the Levant, triggers a tsunami and kills many.
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherits the throne.
King Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, dies; his nephew, Peter Orseolo, succeeds him.
King Duncan I is killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. The latter succeeds him as King of Scotland.
Michael V, adoptive son of Empress Zoë of Byzantium, is proclaimed emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Following the attempt of Byzantine Emperor Michael V Kalaphates to depose his wife and empress Zoe Porphyrogenita, a popular uprising in Constantinople breaks out with the intention to restore her.
Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country's penultimate Anglo-Saxon king.
Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita marries Constantine Monomachos, who is crowned the following day as Byzantine Emperor.
Constantine IX Monomachos is crowned as Byzantine Emperor, one day after his marriage to Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita.
The people of Constantinople riot against emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, whose preference of his mistress Maria Skleraina over empress Zoe Porphyrogenita is seen as an insult.
Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
Emperor Henry III convenes the synod of Sutri to mediate between different claimants to the papacy.
Drogo of Hauteville is elected as count of the Apulian Normans during the Norman conquest of Southern Italy.
Former Nine Years' War begins
Battle of Civitate: Three thousand Norman horsemen of Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX.
East–West Schism becomes final
A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly indigenous American observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
Three Roman legates place - acting illegally on their own authority - a bull of excommunication against Michael I Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople, and his followers on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Historians frequently describe the event as the formal start of the East–West Schism.
Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. This is known as the Battle of Dunsinane.
After a sudden gastric illness, Byzantine Empress Theodora dies childless, thus ending the Macedonian dynasty.
The Byzantine general Isaac Komnenos is proclaimed Byzantine Emperor in opposition to reigning emperor Michael VI Bringas.
King Macbeth of Scotland is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
An army under Isaac I Komnenos defeat forces loyal to rival emperor Michael VI Bringas in the battle of Hades.
Elderly Byzantine Emperor Michael VI Bringas abdicates after just one year on the throne.
Byzantine general Isaak Komnenos is crowned Byzantine Emperor by patriarch Cerularius at the Hagia Sophia.
Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary meet to negotiate about the border territory of Burgenland.
Upon reaching Rome, Bruno of Toul is elected as pope Leo IX and starts initiating reforms.
The Mirdasids defeat the Fatimid Caliphate at the Battle of al-Funaydiq, signalling the definitive loss of Aleppo for the Fatimids.
The Great German Pilgrimage is attacked on Good Friday by Beduin bandits, suffering heavy losses.
The Great German Pilgrimage, which had been under attack by Bedouin bandits for three days, is rescued by the Fatimid governor of Ramla.
Normans conquer England
Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
Norwegian king Harald Hardrada lands with Tostig Godwinson at the mouth of the Humber River and begins his invasion of England.
In the Battle of Stamford Bridge, Harald Hardrada, the invading King of Norway, is defeated by King Harold II of England.
William the Conqueror and his army set sail from the mouth of the Somme river, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
Following the death of Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar the Ætheling is proclaimed King of England by the Witan; he is never crowned, and concedes power to William the Conqueror two months later.
William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.
Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
The Pavian-born Benedictine Lanfranc is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury in England.
The sharif of Mecca changes the khutbah from the Shiite Fatimid caliph in Cairo to the Sunni Abbasid Caliph in Bagdhad.
Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to the Norman Robert Guiscard.
The Seljuq Turks defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Manzikert, and soon gain control of most of Anatolia.
Former Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes is blinded on command of caesar John Doukas.
Battle of Kemej: The royal army of Solomon, King of Hungary defeats the force of his rebellious cousin Duke Géza.
Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.
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.
The city of Salerno surrenders to Robert Guiscard. Duke Gisulf continues his resistance in the citadel until May of the following year.
Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
The people of Constantinople revolt, lynch the unpopular official Nikephoritzes and proclaim Nikephoros Botaneiates as emperor.
Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his troops spend three days extensively looting Constantinople, is formally crowned on April 4.
Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated, most likely by his brother, Berenguer Ramon II.
The first King of Hungary, Stephen I, and his son, Prince Emeric, are canonized, a date now celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.
Tutush, brother of Seljuk sultan Malik Shah, defeats Suleiman ibn Qutalmish, the Turkish ruler of Anatolia in the battle of Ain Salm.
Spanish Reconquista: At the Battle of Sagrajas, the Almoravids defeat the Castilians, but are unable to take advantage of their victory.
Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Catholic Church. He is best known for initiating the Crusades.
The first synod of pope Urban II starts in Melfi, with seventy bishops and twelve abbots in attendance. The synod issues several decrees about church law and deals with the relation with the Greek part of the Church.
The Rouen Riot, an attempt by English king William Rufus to take possession of Rouen, the capital city of his brother Robert, duke of Normandy, fails.
Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.
London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II.
Battle of Alnwick: in an English victory over the Scots, Malcolm III of Scotland, and his son Edward, are killed.
The Council of Clermont begins: called by Pope Urban II, it led to the First Crusade to the Holy Land.
First Crusade begins
Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular.
Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens. At least 600 Jews are killed.
A Seljuk Turkish army successfully ambushes the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot.
Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I.
First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
A First Crusade army led by Bohemond of Taranto wins a major battle against the Seljuq emir Ridwan of Aleppo during the siege of Antioch.
First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon is elected the first Defender of the Holy Sepulchre of The Kingdom of Jerusalem.
First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon: Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade.
Henry I of England marries Matilda of Scotland, the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and a direct descendant of the Saxon king Edmund Ironside; Matilda is crowned on the same day.
Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.