Song Zhun of Song dynastyChina 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 of southern India, the first votes are celebrated by adding a ballot in an urn.
Emperor Ichijō wants to retire – the influential statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga supports Crown Prince Okisada (now his son-in-law), who will be the successor, but the emperor prefers his eldest son by the late Empress Teishi, Prince Atsuyasu, who has been raised by Empress Shōshi, who also supports her stepson, leading to conflict at court.
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 supports Dattus with papal troops, to garrison the tower on the Garigliano River, a fortified complex in the territory of the Duchy of Gaeta.
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.
February – Fujiwara no Kenshi, daughter of the powerful court official Fujiwara no Michinaga, is elevated to Empress Consort (Chūgū). The Emperor's first wife, Fujiwara no Seishi, is also elevated to Empress (Kōgō) at the same time but Michinaga ensures that court officials do not attend her ceremony.
August 12 – Death of Ōe no Masahira, husband of poet and former palace lady-in-waiting Akazome Emon, who writes a number of mourning poems to him.
Fujiwara no Yorimichi, second son of Fujiwara no Michinaga, marries the daughter of Michinaga's enemy Fujiwara no Kintō, eventually reconciling the families. Another son of Michinaga, Fujiwara no Akinobu, causes scandal by becoming a priest without telling his parents, but they eventually accept his decision.
April 19 – Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury in England, is murdered by his Danish captors at Greenwich (after refusing to pay a ransom of 3,000 pounds for his release).
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.
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]
December – Fujiwara no Masanobu, an officer of the guard of empress consort Kenshi of Japan, is killed by Fujiwara no Korekane and Michinaga orders the assassin imprisoned.[8]
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".
March – King Æthelred the Unready sends ambassadors to England, including his own son Edward to negotiate to reclaim of the throne at the invitation of the English nobles.[12]
Wulfstan, archbishop of York in England, preaches his Latin homily Sermo Lupi ad Anglos ("Wulf's Address to the English"), describing the Danes as "God's judgement on England".[4]
Japanese poet Koshikibu no Naishi (lady-in-waiting to Dowager Empress Shōshi) and her husband Fujiwara no Kiminari (son of Michinaga) have a son, but the couple is not accepted because of the social gap between them.[16]
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.
Prince Atsuakira of Japan, eldest son of ex-Emperor Sanjō, having been struck by a skin disease and under intense pressure from Michinaga, resigns the title of Crown Prince in favour of his younger brother, Prince Atsunaga[19] who marries Fujiwara no Kanshi, daughter of Michinaga.
Michinaga makes a pilgrimage to the Iwashimizu Shrine in Japan accompanied by many courtiers. The travelers divide themselves amongst 15 boats for a floating trip down the Yotogawa River. One of the vessels overturns and more than 30 people lose their lives.[19]
November 26 – 19-year-old Fujiwara no Ishi marries her nephew Go-Ichijō, becoming Empress of Japan (Chugu), the third in succession of the daughters of influential court official Fujiwara no Michinaga to become Empress. Michinaga, who sent her to court in March, holds a banquet in celebration.
Sviatopolk I dies, and is succeeded by his brother Yaroslav I (the Wise). He becomes the Grand Prince of Kiev with the support of the Novgorodians and the help of Varangian (Viking) mercenaries. Yaroslav consolidates the Kievan state, through both cultural and administrative improvements, and military campaigns.[24]
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.
^Emery, Anthony (2006). Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500. Volume 3, Southern England. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-58132-5.