10th century

901 – 1000 · 19 events

What happened around the world

c. 939 Eldgjá eruption — Record lava flood witnessed by Iceland's first settlers
962 Coronation of Otto I — Birth of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasts until 1806
987 Hugh Capet becomes King of France — Nobles pick a dynasty that will rule France for centuries
c. 1000 Stephen I, first king of Hungary — The Magyar nomads become a Christian kingdom

911 Oleg's treaty with Byzantium — The oldest surviving treaty between Rus' and another power
922 Volga Bulgaria adopts Islam — A caliph's embassy, and Ibn Fadlan's notes on the Rus'
c. 957 The baptism of Princess Olga — The first Christian on the throne of Kiev
965 Sviatoslav destroys the Khazar Khaganate — A Kyivan prince breaks the power that long ruled the steppe
966 Baptism of Poland — Mieszko I adopts Latin Christianity and founds Polish statehood
988 Christianization of Kievan Rus' — Vladimir ties Rus' to the Orthodox Byzantine world

969 Founding of Cairo — The Fatimids build a capital, soon home to al-Azhar
972 Al-Azhar Mosque opens — A Fatimid mosque becomes Sunni Islam's leading university
c. 1000 Extinction of the elephant birds — Giants with the biggest eggs vanish as people burn the forests

946 Millennium Eruption of Mount Paektu — The blast forms Heaven Lake and dusts Japan with ash
960 Founding of the Song dynasty — An age of cities, compasses, gunpowder and paper money begins

c. 950–1250 Medieval Warm Period — Warmth carries the Vikings to Greenland and America
c. 950 Rise of Tollan, capital of the Toltecs — The Toltecs become legendary ancestors to the Aztecs

c. 950 The Tuʻi Tonga maritime empire — An empire whose roads were ocean routes
c. 1000 Polynesians settle Hawaii — Star-guided canoes find islands in the middle of the Pacific

Rus and Russia: Oleg the Wise 879 – 912, Igor of Kiev 912 – 945, Olga of Kiev 945 – 960, Sviatoslav I 960 – 972, Yaropolk I 972 – 978, Vladimir the Great 978 – 1015
England and Britain: Edward the Elder 899 – 924, Æthelstan 924 – 939, Edgar the Peaceful 959 – 975, Æthelred the Unready 978 – 1013
Franks and France: Hugh Capet 987 – 996, Robert II the Pious 996 – 1031
Holy Roman Empire & Austria: Otto the Great 936 – 973, Otto II 973 – 983, Otto III 983 – 1002
China: dynasties: Tang 618 – 907, Five Dynasties 907 – 960, Song 960 – 1279
Japan: shoguns & emperors: Heian period (emperors and Fujiwara regents) 806 – 1185
Rome and Byzantium: Macedonian dynasty 867 – 1056