Directory

886 CE

Emperor Basil I the Macedonian dies from a fever, contracted after a hunting accident. He is succeeded by the 19-year-old Leo VI, officially Basil's son, but reputedly a son of former emperor Michael III, as sole ruler (basileus) of the Byzantine Empire. After his coronation Leo reburies the remains of his reputed father Michael, with great ceremony in the imperial mausoleum, within the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. Siege of Paris: Count Odo slips through Viking-controlled territory, to ask the king of West Francia Charles the Fat for support. He returns with a relief force, and reaches safety within the walls. Charles arrives later with a large army, and establishes a camp at Montmartre. After negotiations he promises the Vikings tribute (Danegeld) worth 700 Livres (equivalent to 257kg of silver), and allows them to sail up the River Seine, to over-winter in Burgundy. The Glagolitic alphabet, devised by Cyril and Methodius, missionaries from Constantinople, is adopted in the Bulgarian Empire.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Alfred receives the formal submission of all of the citizens of England not under Viking rule, and adopts the title King of the Anglo-Saxons.source

Conflict & Security

  • October – Siege of Paris: Count Odo slips through Viking-controlled territory, to ask the king of West Francia Charles the Fat for support. He returns with a relief force, and reaches safety within the walls. Charles arrives later with a large army, and establishes a camp at Montmartre. After negotiations he promises the Vikings tribute (Danegeld) worth 700 Livres (equivalent to 257kg of silver), and allows them to sail up the River Seine, to over-winter in Burgundy.source

Religion & Belief

  • December – Emperor Leo VI dismisses Patriarch Photius I, who has been his tutor, and replaces him with his own brother Stephen I.source
  • The Glagolitic alphabet, devised by Cyril and Methodius, missionaries from Constantinople, is adopted in the Bulgarian Empire.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • King Alfred the Great of Wessex recaptures London from the Danish Vikings, and renames it Lundenburh. Slightly upstream from London Bridge, he builds a small harbor called Queenhithe. Alfred hands the town over to his son-in-law Æthelred, lord of Mercia. A street system is planned out in the town, with boundaries of 1,100 yards from east to west, and around 330 yards from north to south.source

Crime & Justice

  • March – A wide-ranging conspiracy against Emperor Basil I, led by John Kourkouas, is uncovered.source

Culture & Society

  • Boris I, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, establishes the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools.source

Births

  • Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto, Japanese poet (approximate date)source
  • Yang Wo, emperor of Wu (Ten Kingdoms) (d. 908)source
  • Ibn Muqlah, Muslim official and vizier (or 885)source

Deaths

  • March 9 – Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (b. 787)source
  • August 29 – Basil I, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 811)source
  • August 29 – Emperor Basil I the Macedonian dies from a fever, contracted after a hunting accident. He is succeeded by the 19-year-old Leo VI, officially Basil's son, but reputedly a son of former emperor Michael III, as sole ruler (basileus) of the Byzantine Empire. After his coronation Leo reburies the remains of his reputed father Michael, with great ceremony in the imperial mausoleum, within the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.source
  • Li Sigong, Chinese warlord (approximate date)source
  • Fiachnae mac Ainbítha, king of Ulaidsource
  • Bernard Plantapilosa, Frankish nobleman (b. 841)source
  • Min Xu, governor of the Tang Dynastysource
  • Deorlaf, bishop of Hereford (approximate date)source
  • Henry of Franconia, Frankish generalsource
  • Muhammad I, Muslim emir of Córdoba (b. 823)source
  • Heongang, king of Silla (Korea)source
  • Airemón mac Áedo, king of Ulaid (Ireland)source
  • Adalbert I, Frankish margrave (approximate date)source