Directory

944 CE

The "Holy Mandylion" (a cloth with the face of Jesus) is conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrives on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. A triumphal entry is staged for the relic in the capital. Emperor Romanos I is arrested and deposed after a 14-year reign by his own sons, the co-emperors Stephen and Constantine. He is carried off to the Prince Islands and forced to become a monk. The cities of Algiers and Miliana are re-founded by the Zirid ruler (emir) Buluggin ibn Ziri.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • King Hugh of Provence dispatches an embassy to King Otto I of the East Frankish Kingdom, offering a large sum of cash if he promises not to provide assistance to Berengar of Ivrea. Otto refuses this offer.source
  • In Tĩnh Hải quân, after the demise of Ngô Quyền, Dương Tam Kha forced Ngô Xương Ngập, Kha's nephew-in-law, to abdicate and installed himself as king, calling himself Dương Bình Vương (King Ping of Yang).source
  • King Edmund I regains (with the help of Danish settlers) the territory he ceded to Olaf Guthfrithson. He conquers Northumbria and cedes Cumberland to Malcolm I, king of the 'Picts and Scots'.source

Conflict & Security

  • Arab–Byzantine War: Byzantine forces are defeated by Sayf al-Dawla. He captures the city of Aleppo, and extends his control over the Al-Jazira–Upper Mesopotamia region. Al-Dawla's rule is recognized by the Ikhshidids. With the recovery of Edessa, the Greeks also obtain the fabled Image of Edessa.source
  • The cities of Algiers and Miliana are re-founded by the Zirid ruler (emir) Buluggin ibn Ziri.source
  • Abu Yazid, a Kharijite Berber leader, launches a rebellion in the Aurès Mountains (modern Algeria) against the Fatamids, seeking aid from the Caliphate of Córdoba in Al-Andalus.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Raymond III (or Pons I), count of Toulouse, travels to Nevers (southeast of Paris) to declare his fidelity to king Louis IV ("d'Outremer"). He is granted the title 'prince of the Aquitanians' by the king.source

Religion & Belief

  • August 15 – The "Holy Mandylion" (a cloth with the face of Jesus) is conveyed to Constantinople, where it arrives on the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. A triumphal entry is staged for the relic in the capital.source
  • The Al-Askari Mosque is built in Samarra (modern Iraq).source

Health & Medicine

  • The largest recorded epidemic of ergotism, also known as "Saint Anthony's Fire, kills 40,000 people in France.source

Crime & Justice

  • December 16 – Emperor Romanos I is arrested and deposed after a 14-year reign by his own sons, the co-emperors Stephen and Constantine. He is carried off to the Prince Islands and forced to become a monk.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • A great storm sweeps across Wessex and many houses are destroyed, 1,500 in London alone (a significant proportion of the town).source

Births

  • Fujiwara no Akimitsu, Japanese bureaucrat (d. 1021)source
  • Ibn Juljul, Muslim physician (approximate date)source
  • Abd al-Malik I, Samanid emir (d. 961)source
  • Otto (or Odo), duke of Burgundy (d. 965)source
  • Fujiwara no Sukemasa, Japanese statesman (d. 998)source
  • Al-Mu'ayyad Ahmad, Muslim imam (d. 1020)source
  • John VIII bar Abdoun, patriarch of Antioch (d. 1033)source

Deaths

  • February 25 – Lin Ding, Chinese official and chancellorsource
  • April 8 – Wang Yanxi, emperor of Min (Ten Kingdoms)source
  • April 23 – Wichmann the Elder, Frankish noblemansource
  • Ch'oe Ŏn-wi, Korean minister and calligrapher (b. 868)source
  • Duan Siping, ruler of Dali (approximate date)source
  • Mahipala I, Gurjara-Pratihara kingsource
  • Li, empress of Min (Ten Kingdoms)source
  • Fang Gao, Chinese official and chief of staffsource
  • Liu Hongchang, Chinese chancellorsource
  • Abu Tahir al-Jannabi, Qarmatian ruler (b. 906)source
  • Abu Mansur al-Maturidi, Muslim theologian (b. 853)source
  • Flaithbertach mac Inmainén, Irish abbotsource
  • Donnchad Donn, High King of Irelandsource
  • Harshavarman II, Angkorian kingsource