Directory

1090 CE

King William Rufus of England tries to take advantage of the unrest in Normandy and take it from his brother Robert Curthose. Though he wins over several Norman nobles to his side, his plot to capture the capital city of Rouen fails. Troubadours begin playing in western Aquitaine (Poitou and Saintonge) and Gascony (approximate date). Qin Guan, Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, writes the Can Shu (Book of Sericulture), which describes a silk-reeling machine that has the world's oldest known mechanical belt drive.

Conflict & Security

  • November 3 – King William Rufus of England tries to take advantage of the unrest in Normandy and take it from his brother Robert Curthose. Though he wins over several Norman nobles to his side, his plot to capture the capital city of Rouen fails.source
  • Hassan-i Sabbah founds the Nizari Ismaili state after taking control of the Alamut Castle and organising the military group called the Order of Assassins.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Béjaïa (or Bugia) becomes the capital of the Hammadid dynasty in modern-day Algeria. It becomes an important port and centre of culture.source
  • Troubadours begin playing in western Aquitaine (Poitou and Saintonge) and Gascony (approximate date).source
  • A third Almoravid expedition is launched in Al-Andalus, designed to finally subdue the Taifa's Kingdoms. The cities of Córdoba, Seville, Granada, Málaga, Almería and Ronda fall to the troops of Sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Qin Guan, Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, writes the Can Shu (Book of Sericulture), which describes a silk-reeling machine that has the world's oldest known mechanical belt drive.source

Culture & Society

  • King Stephen II of Croatia becomes involved in an open conflict between factions of the Croatian nobility, who reassert their traditional rights in their own counties.source

Births

  • January 17 – Qin Hui, Chinese chancellor (d. 1155)source
  • Dōin (Fujiwara no Atsuyori), Japanese waka poet (d. 1179)source
  • Theobald of Bec, Norman churchman, archbishop of Canterburysource
  • Alaungsithu, Burmese king of the Pagan dynasty (d. 1167)source
  • Chen Yuyi, Chinese politician of the Song dynasty (d. 1138)source
  • Frederick II ("the One-Eyed"), German nobleman (d. 1147)source
  • Eliezer ben Nathan, German rabbi and liturgical poet (d. 1170)source
  • Agnes I, German abbess of Quedlinburg (approximate date)source
  • Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot and theologian (d. 1153)source
  • Adolf III, German count of Berg and Hövel (d. 1152)source
  • Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen, German nobleman and rector of Burgundy (d. 1152)source
  • Arnold of Brescia, Italian canon regular (approximate date)source
  • Eric II ("the Memorable"), king of Denmark (approximate date)source
  • Juliane de Fontevrault, illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of Englandsource

Deaths

  • March 22 – García II, king of Galicia and Portugal (b. 1042)source
  • April 16 – Sikelgaita, Lombard duchess of Apulia (b. 1040)source
  • May 3 – Adelaide of Rheinfelden, queen consort of Hungarysource
  • May 12 – Liutold of Eppenstein, German noblemansource
  • May 18 – Berthold of Rheinfelden, German noblemansource
  • June 26 – Jaromír, Bohemian prince and bishopsource
  • July 3 – Egbert II (or Ekbert), German noblemansource
  • August 11 – Fujiwara no Atsuie, Japanese nobleman (b. 1033)source
  • August 13 – Constance of Normandy, duchess of Brittanysource
  • St Isaiah of Rostov, Kievan missionary and bishopsource
  • Richard fitz Gilbert, Norman noblemansource
  • William of Poitiers, French priest and chronicler (b. c.1020)source
  • Guo Xi, Chinese landscape paintersource
  • Osbern of Canterbury, English hagiographersource