1010s

January: Fujiwara no Kenshi (second daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga) is married to Crown Prince Okisada, who is the imperial heir - this means, that by this marriage, any other daughter of Michinaga will be empress in the future.

14 February: Death of Fujiwara no Korechika - her daughter, Fujiwara no Chikako becomes a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shoshi.

Emperor Ichijo wants to retire - Michinaga supports Crown Prince Okisada (his son-in-law), but the emperor prefers his eldest son from the late Empress Teishi, Prince Atsuyasu who is raised by Empress Shoshi - The Empress also supports her stepson and this leads to family conflict.

• The Nile River in Egypt freezes over.[1]

• March 8 – Persian poet Ferdowsi finishes writing the Shahnameh (Book of Kings), which will be regarded as the national epic of the greater Iranian culture.
• The Lý dynasty is established in Vietnam (or 1009), and moves the capital to Thăng Long (modern-day Hanoi).
• Second conflict in the Goryeo–Khitan War: The Goryeo king is unseated in a revolt, resulting in an invasion by the Liao dynasty, and the burning of the Korean capital Gaegyeong.
• Song Zhun of Song Dynasty China completes the work of the earlier geographer Lu Duosun, an enormous atlas of China that is written and illustrated in 1,556 chapters, showing maps of each region, city, town, and village (the atlas took 39 years to complete).
• In the Chola dynasty, the first votes are celebrated by adding a ballot in an urn.

• Viking explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni attempts to found a settlement in North America (approximate date).

• The Russian city of Yaroslavl is founded as an outpost of the principality of Rostov Veliky.
• Hisham II the Nephast is restored as Umayyad caliph of the Caliphate of Córdoba, succeeding Muhammad II al-Mahdi.
• Allied to Muslim rebels, Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona sacks Córdoba.[2]
• June 2 - The Battle of Aqbat al-Bakr takes place in the context of the Fitna of al-Andalus resulting in a defeat for the Caliphate of Córdoba.

• The construction of Brihadisvara Temple at Tamil Nadu (modern India) is completed during the Chola dynasty (Early Medieval period).
• Rajaraja I and His Teacher, detail of a wall painting in the Brihadisvara Temple is made during the Chola dynasty, Early Medieval period (approximate date).

• Lady Murasaki writes The Tale of Genji in Japanese (approximate date).
• Beowulf is written anonymously (approximate date).

• Eilmer of Malmesbury attempts flight in a glider of his own construction.

• June 11 – Lombard Revolt: Mahmoud the Fat of Bari rises up against the Lombard rebels, led by Melus, and delivers the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy. Melus is forced to flee to Salerno, and his brother-in-law Dattus escapes to Monte Cassino, but their families are taken captive, and carted off to Constantinople.[3]
• Autumn – Basil Mesardonites visits Guaimar III of Salerno to secure his cooperation. Melus is forced to flee again. Basil proceeds to Monte Cassino – and persuades Abbot Atenulf to expel Dattus. Pope Sergius IV support Dattus with papal troops to garrison the tower on the Garigliano River, a fortified complex in the territory of the Duchy of Gaeta.
• King Henry II enfeoffs Adalbero with Carinthia (including the rule over the March of Verona) after the death of Duke Conrad I
• King Henry II enfeoffs Adalbero with Carinthia (including the rule over the March of Verona) after the death of Duke Conrad I
• The Grand Prince of Kyiv and ruler of Kievan Rus' Vladimir the Great laid the first foundations of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.

• September 29 – Siege of Canterbury: Danish Viking raiders led by Thorkell the Tall pillage Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner.[4]
• Byrhtferth, Benedictine monk of Ramsey Abbey, writes his Manual (Enchiridion) on the divine order of the universe and time.[4]

• Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), an Arab scientist working in Egypt, feigns madness for fear of angering Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and is kept under house arrest. During this time he begins writing his influential Book of Optics.
• Baghdad Manifesto is ordered by Caliph Al-Qadir of the Abbasid Caliphate in response to the growth of the Fatimid-supporting Ismaili sect of Islam within his borders.

• Emperor Ichijō abdicates the throne and dies later after a 25-year reign. He is succeeded by his cousin Sanjō as the 67th emperor of Japan.

Fujiwara no Yorimichi (second son of Fujiwara no Michinaga) marry the daughter of Fujiwara no Kinto - Kinto and Michinaga were enemies before but eventually Kinto support Michinaga

Son of Michinaga, Fujiwara no Akinobu cause a big scandal by becoming a priest without telling his parents - Firstly, Michinaga is not happy about this but later both parents accept his decision

February: Fujiwara no Kenshi is elevated to Empress (Chugu) - The first wife, Fujiwara no Seishi is also elevated to Empress (Kogo), but the court officials attend on the ceremony of Kenshi because of her powerful father, Michinaga

12 August: Death of Oe no Masahira - He was the husband of Lady Akazome Emon, the former senior lady-in-waiting of the palace and famous poet - after his death, Emon write a lot of poem about her mourn

• April 12 – Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia, deposes his brother Jaromír who flees to Poland. Oldřich recognises the suzerainty of King Henry II of Germany over Bohemia. He secures his rule by suppressing the Vršovci insurgents.

• April – King Æthelred II "the Unready" resumes the payment of Danegeld (48,000 pounds of silver) in an attempt to buy off Viking raiders.[5]

• Máel Mórda mac Murchada starts a rebellion against High King Brian Boru in Ireland, which ends in 1014 at the Battle of Clontarf.

• King Malcolm II of Scotland reputedly defeats a Danish army at Cruden Bay.

• Summer – The climax of the Bedouin anti-Fatimid rebellion in Palestine is reached. Abu'l-Futuh al-Hasan ibn Ja'far is acclaimed as anti-Caliph with the title of al-Rashid bi-llah ("Righteous with God").[6]

• The Tepanec tribe settles on the western region of Lake Texcoco. The lineage starts when the Chichimeca chieftain Acolhua marries Cuetlaxochitzin, daughter of Xolotl, another Chichimeca chieftain.

• April 19 – Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered by his Danish captors at Greenwich (after refusing to pay a ransom of 3,000 pounds for his release).
• May 12 – Pope Sergius IV dies after a 3-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by Benedict VIII as the 143rd pope of the Catholic Church.
• Approximate date – Camaldolese order established by Romuald in Tuscany.

15 August: Empress Kenshi give birth to Princess Teishi but everyone expected the birth of a prince which didn’t happen - at now, the son of the other empress is the heir apparent

September: Emperor Sanjo visit the home of Michinaga

December: Fujiwara no Masanobu, an officer of Empress Kenshi’s guard, was killed by Fujiwara no Korekane; and Michinaga ordered the assassin imprisoned

• King Henry II of Germany signs a peace treaty at Merseburg with Duke Bolesław I (the Brave) of Poland. As part of the treaty, Bolesław pays homage and recognizes Henry as his overlord in exchange for receiving the March of Lusatia (including the town of Bautzen) and the March of Meissen as fiefs. To seal their peace, Bolesław's son Mieszko II marries Richeza of Lotharingia (granddaughter of the late Emperor Otto II).
• Sulayman ibn al-Hakam reconquers the Caliphate of Córdoba in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and deposes Hisham II. Sulayman becomes the fifth Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (until 1016).
• Winter – Henry II (anxious to be crowned as Holy Roman Emperor) mobilises a German expeditionary army at Augsburg, to begin his second Italian military campaign.

• Summer – Danish Viking raiders led by Sweyn Forkbeard (accompanied by his son Cnut) sail from Denmark to attack England. Again London defends itself and the Vikings move elsewhere, plundering Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria. King Æthelred II (the Unready) sends his sons Edward and Alfred to Normandy. Æthelred retreats to the Isle of Wight and follows them later into exile.[4]
• December 25 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England in London. Some of the English provinces refuse to pay homage to Sweyn, who has no dynastic right to claim the throne.[4][7]

• The Four Great Books of Song, the Song Dynasty Chinese encyclopedia Prime Tortoise of the Record Bureau (which had been compiled since 1005), is completed in 1,000 volumes of 9.4 million written Chinese characters.
• Kaifeng, capital of China, becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Córdoba in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).[8][9]

• Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (called father of surgery) dies. He writes Al-Tasrif (The Method of Medicine), a 30-part medical encyclopedia in Arabic. Introducing his collection of over 200 surgical instruments.

• Æthelred II appoints Lyfing as archbishop of Canterbury. He restores Canterbury Cathedral, adding porticus towers and a massive westwork.[10]
• Beauvais changes from a county to a bishopric (approximate date).

- The emperor has eye illness - Michinaga proposes to pass the throne (Michinaga want to put on the throne his grandson, Prince Atsuhira, while officially the son of Emperor Sanjo is the heir)

• Summer – Battle of Thessalonica: Emperor Basil II launches a raiding expedition against Bulgaria. From Western Thrace via Serres he reaches the valley of the Strymon River, near Thessaloniki (modern Greece); the local Byzantine governor Theophylact Botaneiates defeats the Bulgarians.
• July 29 – Battle of Kleidion: Basil II defeats the Bulgarian forces, between the mountains of Belasitsa and Ograzhden, near the town of Kleidon. By order of Basil, almost 15,000 prisoners are blinded; Tsar Samuel survives the battle, but dies of shock. Basil earns the nickname "Bulgar-Slayer".

• February 14 – King Henry II arrives at Rome and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor together with his wife Cunigunde by Pope Benedict VIII in the St. Peter's Basilica. Henry establishes the Diocese of Bobbio (Northern Italy) and returns to Germany.

• February 3 – King Sweyn Forkbeard dies at Gainsborough after a reign of five weeks. He is succeeded by Harald II who becomes king of Denmark, while Cnut is elected by the Vikings of the Danelaw as king of England.[7]
• March – King Æthelred II (the Unready) sends ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward to negotiate about the reclaim of the throne at the invitation of the English nobles.[11]

• Hammad ibn Buluggin adopts Sunni Islam and declares his independence from the Zirid Dynasty (modern Algeria). He recognizes the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad as being the rightful caliphs and becomes the first ruler of the Hammadid Dynasty (until 1028).

• The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Symbol of the Faith is used for the first time during the Roman Mass, after Henry II, the newly crowned Holy Roman Emperor, ask the Pope to add it – together with the filioque clause. Prior to this date, the Creed has not been used at all during the liturgy.
• Wulfstan, archbishop of York, preaches his Latin homily Sermo Lupi ad Anglos ("Wulf's Address to the English"), describing the Danes as "God's judgement on England".[4]

Peacocks arrive from Chinese Song Empire to the Fujiwara Mansion

October: Fujiwara no Michinaga is appointed to be Associated Regent - Michinaga's 50th birthday is celebrated

November: the newly constructed imperial residence has burnt down - it’s a sign for the emperor to retire

• Emperor Henry II launches a German expedition against Duke Bolesław I (the Brave). He invades Poland but is stopped by Bolesław's forces at Krosno on the Oder River.
• July 15 – Vladimir I (the Great) dies at Berestove after a 35-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Sviatopolk I as Grand Prince of Kiev.
• Summer – King Cnut the Great of Denmark launches an invasion of Mercia and Northumbria in England.[7]
• Earl Eric Haakonsson outlaws berserkers in Norway.
• Olaf Haraldsson declares himself King of Norway.

Koshikibu no Naishi (lady-in-waiting to Empress Dowager Shoshi, daughter of the poet Izumi Shikibu) give birth to a son whose father is Fujiwara no Norimichi, the son of Michinaga - the couple is not accepted because of the social gap between them

29 January: Emperor Go-Ichijo ascends the throne

10 March: Michinaga is appointed Regent

6 September: Death of Fujiwara no Bokushi (mother-in-law to Michinaga, grandmother of Empress Dowager Shoshi, great-grandmother of Emperor Go-Ichijo)

• March 25 – Battle of Nesjar (off the coast of Norway): Olaf Haraldsson is victorious over former co-regent Sweyn Haakonsson, confirming his status as king of Norway.
• April 23 – Æthelred II (the Unready), king of England, dies after a 38-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Edmund II (Ironside).[7]
• Summer – Battle of Brentford (near London): Edmund II defeats the Danes under King Cnut the Great.[4]
• July 6 – Battle of Pontlevoy: French forces of Fulk III and Herbert I defeat Odo II which determines the balance of power in the Loire Valley.[12]
• October 18 – Battle of Assandun: Cnut the Great defeats Edmund II, leaving the latter as king of Wessex.[7]
• November 30 – Edmund II dies and Cnut the Great takes control of the whole of the Kingdom of England.[7]
• The Pisan and the Genoese republics launch a naval offensive against the Muslim strongholds of Sardinia, in particular Porto Torres, and defeat the fleet of the taifa king of Dénia, Mujāhid al-ʿĀmirī.[13]
• Melus of Bari makes a second attempt against Byzantine-held Southern Italy. To support his cause, he hires Norman mercenaries, unwittingly triggering the rise of Norman rule over southern Italy.[14]
• Georgius Tzul, ruler of Khazaria, is captured by a combined Byzantine Empire–Kievan Rus' force, which effectively ends Khazaria's existence.

• January 7 – Fath al-Qal'i, governor of the Citadel of Aleppo, revolts against Emir Mansur ibn Lu'lu', forcing him to flee. Fath accepts an agreement with Salih ibn Mirdas and takes control of Aleppo.

• March 10 – Emperor Sanjō abdicates the throne after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old cousin Go-Ichijō as the 68th emperor of Japan.

- March: Fujiwara no Michinaga passes the regent title to Yorimichi

- May: Death of retired Emperor Sanjo

- August: Following the death of Retired Emperor Sanjo, his son resigns from the crown prince post (to Prince Atsunaga, younger brother of Emperor Go-Ichijo) and marry Fujiwara no Kanshi, daughter of Michinaga

- September: Michinaga made a pilgrimage to the Iwashimizu Shrine accompanied by many courtiers. The travelers divided themselves amongst 15 boats for a floating trip down the Yotogawa River. One of the vessels overturned, and more than 30 people lost their lives

- 24 December: Michinaga is granted the title Dajo Daijin (it is an honorary title because he pass his regent title to his son)

• Summer – Melus of Bari, a Lombard nobleman, revolts and is supported by Norman mercenaries at Capua. He marches into Apulia to catch the Byzantine army off-guard. Melus defeats the Byzantines on the banks of the Fortore River and ravages the territory in Apulia.
• Winter – Emperor Basil II (the Bulgar Slayer) replaces Leo Tornikios with the new catapan Basil Boioannes and sends him reinforcements (including a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard) from Constantinople.

• January 6 - Cnut the Great is crowned king of England. In July he marries Emma of Normandy, the widow of Æthelred II (the Unready). Cnut secures his ties with Normandy.[4]
• Cnut the Great divides England into four earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.[4]

• Summer – Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad publicly declares the founding of the Druze religion, during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.

• The Sunnis of Kairouan (modern Tunisia) revolt against the Shi'ite Zirid Dynasty. The city is quickly retaken and sacked.[15]

• Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola Dynasty (modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.[16]

• Construction of Saint Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev is started (approximate date).

22 January: The emperor celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony

March: Fujiwara no Michinaga send his third daughter, Ishi to the court (she is going to be the third empress in the family)

26 November: Fujiwara no Ishi is elevated to Empress - Michinaga hold a banquett for celebration

• January 30 – The Peace of Bautzen: Emperor Henry II signs a peace treaty with Bolesław I (the Brave), Duke of Poland, ending the German–Polish War. Poland keeps Lusatia – the Holy Roman Empire keeps Bohemia. With this peace agreement, Bolesław redirects his forces on an offensive against the Kievan Rus'.
• July 22–23 – Battle of the River Bug: Polish forces under Bolesław I defeat Yaroslav the Wise near the River Bug. Yaroslav retreats to Novgorod, abandoning Kiev.
• July 29 – Battle of Vlaardingen: Henry II sends an army towards Holland to subdue the rebellious Count Dirk III. The Imperial forces are defeated near Vlaardingen.
• August – Ivats, Bulgarian nobleman and rebel leader, is blinded and captured by strategos Eustathios Daphnomeles, confirming Bulgaria's position as part of the Byzantine Empire.
• August 14 – Bolesław I accepts the surrender of Kiev by the Pechenegs. He reinstates Sviatopolk I as Grand Prince of Kiev.
• Battle of Cannae: The Lombard adventurer Melus of Bari and his Norman mercenaries are decisively defeated by the Byzantine army, led by the Catepan Basil Boioannes.[14]
• October 1 – Battle of Carham: King Malcolm II of Scotland and Owain Foel (the Bald) are victorious over either Uhtred the Bold or Eadwulf Cudel, rulers of Bamburgh. The battle confirms Scottish dominance over Lothian.
• Cnut the Great travels to Denmark to succeed his brother Harald II on the Danish throne.[7]

• December – Goryeo–Khitan War: Khitan forces of the Liao Dynasty invade Goryeo (North Korea). Goryeo forces led by General Gang Gam-chan annihilates the Khitan army at Kusong.

• Buckfast Abbey (located near Buckfastleigh) is founded as a Benedictine monastery in England.[17]

• Sviatopolk I dies, and is succeeded by his brother Yaroslav I (the Wise). He becomes, with the support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian (Viking) mercenaries, the Grand Prince of Kiev. Yaroslav consolidates the Kievan state, through both cultural and administrative improvements, and military campaigns.[18]

• The Azdâji conquest puts an end to the Kingdom of Nekor, in Morocco.

• March 10 – Battle of Gwiju: Korean forces, led by General Gang Gam-chan, gain a decisive victory over the Khitan Liao Dynasty at modern-day Kusong, ending the Third Goryeo-Khitan War.
• Toi invasion: Jurchen pirates, from the Khitan Liao Dynasty in modern-day Manchuria, sail with about 50 ships to invade Kyūshū in Japan. They assault the islands Tsushima and Iki. In April the pirates raid Matsuura but are defeated by the Japanese army.
• Japanese statesman and regent Fujiwara no Michinaga retires from public life, installing his son Yorimichi as regent. Michinaga, however, continues to direct affairs of state from his retirement, and remains the de facto ruler of Japan, until his death in 1028.