Directory

1085 CE

Emperor Zhezong ascends the throne at the age of 8 under the supervision of his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Gao. She cancels the reform policy of Chancellor Wang Anshi. King Alfonso VI of León and Castile ("the Brave") recaptures Toledo from the Moors, and occupies other cities such as Madrid and Talavera (including the castle of Aledo). Alfonso moves his capital to Toledo, and consolidates his power between Sistema Central and the Tagus River, from where he launches more attacks against the taifas of Córdoba, Seville, Badajoz and Granada (modern Spain). Vratislaus II, a son of Duke Bretislav I, becomes the first king of Bohemia and is elevated 'for life' by Henry IV.

Conflict & Security

  • May 25 – King Alfonso VI of León and Castile ("the Brave") recaptures Toledo from the Moors, and occupies other cities such as Madrid and Talavera (including the castle of Aledo). Alfonso moves his capital to Toledo, and consolidates his power between Sistema Central and the Tagus River, from where he launches more attacks against the taifas of Córdoba, Seville, Badajoz and Granada (modern Spain).source
  • The Domesday Survey is commissioned by King William the Conqueror, apparently prompted by the abortive invasion of Canute IV, to ensure proper taxation and levies.source

Religion & Belief

  • Emperor Henry IV declares the Peace of God in all the imperial territories of the Holy Roman Empire to quell any sedition.source

Economy & Finance

  • The output of copper currency for the Chinese Song dynasty reaches 6 billion coins a year, prompting the Chinese government to adopt the world's first paper-printed money later in the 1120s.source

Culture & Society

  • April 1 – Emperor Zhezong ascends the throne at the age of 8 under the supervision of his grandmother, Grand Empress Dowager Gao. She cancels the reform policy of Chancellor Wang Anshi.source
  • June 15 – Vratislaus II, a son of Duke Bretislav I, becomes the first king of Bohemia and is elevated 'for life' by Henry IV.source
  • Katedralskolan in Lund (modern Sweden), the oldest school in Scandinavia, is founded by King Canute IV of Denmark.source

Births

  • September 19 – Maria Komnene, Byzantine princesssource
  • Waleran II, duke of Lower Lorraine (approximate date)source
  • Ahmad Sanjar, Seljuk ruler of Khorasan (approximate date)source
  • Stephen of Obazine, French priest and hermit (d. 1154)source
  • Robert fitz Martin, Norman knight and nobleman (d. 1159)source
  • Imad ad-Din Zengi, Seljuk ruler of Mosul (approximate date)source
  • Avempace, Andalusian polymath and philosopher (d. 1138)source
  • Ralph I (or Raoul), count of Vermandois (approximate date)source
  • William, Count of Sully ("the Simple"), French nobleman (approximate date)source
  • Zhu Bian, Chinese diplomat, poet and writer (d. 1144)source
  • Meginhard I, count of Sponheim (approximate date)source
  • William of Montevergine, Italian monk and abbot (d. 1142)source
  • Elizabeth of Vermandois, English countess (approximate date)source
  • Alberich of Reims, archbishop of Bourges (approximate date)source

Deaths

  • January 3 – Williram of Ebersberg, German abbotsource
  • April 1 – Shenzong, emperor of Song dynasty China (b. 1048)source
  • May 25 – Gregory VII, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • May 27 – Gundred, Countess of Surrey (or Gundreda), English noblewomansource
  • June 19 – Vitalis of Bernay, Norman monk and abbotsource
  • July 17 – Robert Guiscard, Norman warrior and noblemansource
  • August 19 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (b. 1028)source
  • September 20 – Hermann II, German nobleman (b. 1049)source
  • Yūsuf Balasaguni, Karakhanid statesman (b. 1019)source
  • Maitripada, Indian Buddhist philosopher (b. 1007)source
  • Al-Lakhmi, Fatimid scholar, jurist and writer (b. 1006)source
  • Osbern Giffard, Norman nobleman (approximate date)source
  • Cheng Hao, Chinese neo-Confucian philosopher (b. 1032)source
  • Alfanus I (or Alfano), Italian physician and archbishopsource