View source for 10th century

{{Short description|One hundred years, from 901 to 1000}}
{{Centurybox|10}}
[[Image:East-Hem 900ad.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Hemisphere at the beginning of the 10th century]]

The '''10th century''' was the period from [[901]] (represented by the [[Roman numerals]] CMI) through [[AD 1000|1000]] (M) in accordance with the [[Julian calendar]], and the last century of the [[1st millennium]]. 

In China, the [[Song dynasty]] was established, with most of China reuniting after the fall of the [[Tang dynasty]] and the following [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]]. The [[Muslim World]] experienced a [[Islamic Golden Age|cultural zenith]], especially in [[al-Andalus]] under the [[Caliphate of Córdoba]] and in the [[Samanid Empire]] under [[Ismail Samani]]. The [[Abbasid Caliphate]] continued to exist but with reduced central authority. Additionally, there was a cultural flourishing for the [[Byzantine Empire]], which also reconquered some lost territories, and the [[First Bulgarian Empire]], as well as the [[Holy Roman Empire]] during the [[Ottonian Renaissance]]. The historian [[Lynn Townsend White, Jr|Lynn White]] mentions of the period that "to the modern eye, it is very nearly the darkest of the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]] ... if it was dark, it was the darkness of the womb".<ref>Quoted in ''The Tenth Century: How Dark the Dark Ages?'', edited by Robert Sabatino Lopez. Holt, Rinehart and Winston: 1959.</ref> [[Caesar Baronius]] famously described it as the Iron Century, because it was 'iron in its harshness and in its sterility of goodness', while [[Lorenzo Valla]] gave it the similar name "Age of Lead and Iron".<ref>Barrow, Julia. "Authority and Reform. Historiographical Frameworks for Understanding Tenth and Eleventh-Century Bishops." ''The Medieval Low Countries'' 6 (2019): 9-25.</ref>{{rp|2}}

==Events==
* c. [[950]]: The beginning of the [[Medieval Warm Period]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=E. Mann |first=Michael |date=2009 |title=Global Signatures and Dynamical Origins of the Little Ice Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly |url=https://www.geo.umass.edu/climate/papers2/Mann2009.pdf|access-date=26 August 2022 |journal=Science |volume=326 |issue=5957 |page=1257|doi=10.1126/science.1177303 |pmid=19965474 |bibcode=2009Sci...326.1256M }}</ref>

===Africa===
* The Christian [[Nubia]]n kingdom reaches its peak of prosperity and military power (see [[Early history of Sudan]]).
* c. [[909]]: The [[Fatimid Caliphate]] arises in [[Kabylie]], [[Kutama]] Tribe.
* c. [[948]]: The [[Nri Kingdom]] in what is now Southeastern [[Nigeria]] starts.
* [[969]]: Cairo is founded near Fustat by the [[Fatimid]] dynasty.
* c. [[980]]: [[Al-Azhar University]] is established in [[Cairo]] by the [[Fatimid]] dynasty.
* c. [[980]]: Queen [[Gudit]] leads her rebellion against the Aksumite dynasty of Abyssinia.

===Americas===
* Collapse of the central lowland [[Maya civilization]]. Post-Classic Maya period begins. [[Chichen Itza]] becomes a regional capital on the [[Yucatán Peninsula]]
* Rise of the [[Toltec]]s in [[Mexico]]
* Golden age of the [[Ancestral Puebloans]] ([[Pueblo II Era]])
* The [[Mississippian culture]] begins in present-day [[Southern United States]]
* [[987]]: Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu unified [[Uxmal]], [[Mayapan]], and [[Chichen Itza]] founding The [[League of Mayapan]].

=== Asia ===
[[Image:Yogini Goddess from Tamil Nadu.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This statue of a [[yoga|yogini]] goddess was created in Kaveripakkam in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]], during the 10th century.]]
* [[Buddhist]] temple construction commences at [[Bagan]], [[Burma]]
* Seafarers and merchants from [[Champa]] had contacts with Brunei and [[Ma-i]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.maritimeasia.ws/topic/chronology.html|title=Asian maritime & trade chronology to 1700 CE|website= Maritime Asia}}</ref>
* [[907]]: [[Zhu Quanzhong]] deposes [[Emperor Ai of Tang]] and establishes a new [[Later Liang (Five Dynasties)|Later Liang]] dynasty.
* 907: [[Mount Sumbing|Sumbing volcano]] erupts, according to Rukam inscription.[[Image:Five Dynasties Ten Kingdoms 923 CE.png|thumb|200px|China in 923, during the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]]]]
* 907: King [[Balitung]] creates the [[Mantyasih inscription]] containing the list of [[Mataram Kingdom|Mataram]] kings, moves the capital from Mamratipura to Poh Pitu, and expands Prambanan temple.
* [[910]]: [[Parantaka I]] of the [[Chola dynasty]] drives out the [[Pandyan Kingdom|Pandyan]] from southern [[India]] into Lanka (now [[Sri Lanka]]), which he also eventually conquers.
* [[914]]: The [[Warmadewa dynasty]] rules [[Bali]].<ref name="Soekmono, R 1973, p.52">Soekmono, R, Drs., Pengantar Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia 2, 2nd ed. Penerbit Kanisius, Yogyakarta, 1973, 5th reprint edition in 1988 p.52</ref>
* [[919]]: the first use of [[gunpowder]] in battle occurs with the Chinese [[Battle of Langshan Jiang]] (Wolf Mountain River), where the [[Wuyue]] naval fleet under [[Qian Yuanguan]] defeats the [[Wu (Ten Kingdoms)|Wu]] fleet. Qian had used [[flamethrower]]s ignited by gunpowder fuses to burn the Wu fleet.
* [[928]]: [[Ziyarid dynasty]] is established in northern Iran.
* 928: During the reign of [[Wawa of Mataram|King Wawa]], the capital of [[Mataram Kingdom]] in [[Kewu Plain]] is devastated, probably by the massive eruption of [[Mount Merapi]].
* [[929]]: [[Mpu Sindok]] moves the seat of power of the Mataram Kingdom from Kewu Plain in [[Central Java]] to Tamwlang in [[East Java]] and establishes [[Isyana dynasty]]. The shift is probably as a result of the eruption of Mount Merapi and/or invasion from [[Srivijaya]].<ref name="survey">{{Cite book
  | last =  Spuler 
  | first = Bertold 
  |author2=  F.R.C. Bagley
  | title = The Muslim world : a historical survey, Part 4
  | date = 31 December 1981 
 | publisher = Brill Archive
  | pages = 252
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VNgUAAAAIAAJ
  | isbn=978-90-04-06196-5 }}</ref>
* [[930s]]: [[Persia]]n [[Shia]] [[Buyid dynasty]] establishes and controls central and western part of [[Iran]] as well as most of [[Iraq]].
* [[936]]: [[Goryeo dynasty]] unifies [[Later Three Kingdoms of Korea]].
* [[937]]: [[Mpu Sindok]] moves the capital again from Tamwlang to Watugaluh, both near bank of [[Brantas River]] in modern [[Jombang Regency|Jombang]] in [[East Java]].
* [[960]]: [[Zhao Kuangyin]] establishes [[Song dynasty]].
* 960: [[Seljuks]] convert to Islam.
* [[965]]: [[Khazaria|Khazar kingdom]] is attacked and defeated by [[Kievan Rus]].
* [[971]]: [[Song dynasty]] recorded the ancient sovereign state of [[Ma-i]] on the list of states conducting trade in the south seas and the government's efforts to regulate and tax this "luxurious" trade.
* [[975]]: [[Ghaznavids]] dynasty, as the first [[Turkic peoples|Turk]] [[Sultanate]], was established in [[Central Asia]].
* [[979]]: Song dynasty reunites China.
* [[980]]: Dynastic marriage between princess [[Mahendradatta]] of Javanese [[Isyana Dynasty|Isyanas]] and king [[Udayana Warmadewa|Udayana]] of Balinese [[Warmadewa Dynasty|Warmadewas]].
* Coastal cities on the [[Malay Peninsula]] are the seed for the first recorded [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] [[monarchy|kingdoms]].
* [[990]]: King [[Dharmawangsa]] of Mataram kingdom launches a naval invasion on [[Palembang]] in an unsuccessful attempt to conquer Srivijaya. (to 1006)
* 990: [[Airlangga]], son of King Udayana and Queen Mahendradatta was born in Bali.
* [[996]]: Dharmawangsa commissioned the translation of the [[Mahabharata]] into [[Old Javanese]].<ref>Soekmono, R, Drs., Pengantar Sejarah Kebudayaan Indonesia 2, 2nd ed. Penerbit Kanisius, Yogyakarta, 1973, 5th reprint edition in 1988 p.51</ref>
* [[AD 999|999]]: [[Samanid dynasty]] was defeated and conquered by [[Ghaznavids]].

=== Europe ===
[[Image:Skylitzes Simeon at Anchialos 917.jpg|thumb|260x260px|The Bulgarian victory at [[Battle of Acheloos|Anchialos]].]]
* [[Viking]] groups settle in northern France.
* [[907]]: Three German armies led by [[Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria|Luitpold]], Margrave of Bavaria, which entered the Hungarian territory in order to expel the Hungarians from the Carpathian Basin, is annihilated by the Hungarian army at the [[Battle of Pressburg]]. 
* Foundation of [[Cluny]], first federated [[monasticism|monastic]] order.
* Emperor [[Simeon the Great]] solidifies the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] as one of the most powerful states in Europe.
* Incursions of [[Magyars|Magyar]] (Hungarian) cavalry throughout Western Europe (47 expeditions in [[Germany]], [[Italy]] and [[France]], [[899]]–[[970]]).
* Collapse of [[Great Moravia]].
* [[European lion|Lion]]s become extinct in Europe by this date, with the last dying in [[Caucasus]].
* [[907]]: Loire Vikings overrun [[Brittany]]; Breton court flees to the [[England]] of [[Edward the Elder]].
* [[AD 911|911]]: The Viking [[Rollo]] granted [[County of Rouen]] by [[France]]: official foundation of [[Normandy]].
* [[917]]: (20 August 917) the [[Bulgarians]] destroyed the Byzantine army in the [[Battle of Acheloos|Battle of Anchialus]], one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages.
* [[927]]: official recognition of the first independent national Church in Europe, the [[Bulgarian Patriarchate]].[[File:British Isles 10th century.svg|thumb|285x285px|Political divisions within England, 10th century.]]
* 927: [[Kingdom of England]] becomes a unified state.
* c. [[936]]: [[Gorm the Old]] becomes the first recognized king of [[Denmark]], and thus the Danish Monarchy is founded.
* 936: [[Alan II, Duke of Brittany|Alan II]], with support from [[Æthelstan]], commences the reconquest of [[Brittany]].
* [[955]]: [[Battle of Lechfeld (955)|The Battle of Lechfeld]] (10 August 955) sees a decisive victory for [[Otto I]] the Great, King of the Germans, over the Hungarian [[Horka (title)|harka]] [[Bulcsú (chieftain)|Bulcsú]] and the chieftains [[Lehel|Lél (Lehel)]] and [[Súr (chieftain)|Súr]].
* [[966]]: [[Mieszko I]], first duke of [[Poland]], baptised a Christian.
*[[968]]: [[Battle of Silistra]] between Kievan Rus and Bulgars.
* [[985]]–[[986]]: The [[Norseman]] [[Erik the Red]] begins the colonisation of [[Greenland]].
* [[925]]: The medieval Croatian state becomes a [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|unified kingdom]] under King [[Tomislav of Croatia|Tomislav]]
* [[988]]: [[Vladimir I of Kiev|Vladimir I]], Prince of [[Kievan Rus']], baptised a Christian
*c. [[AD 1000|1000]]: Establishment of the [[Eastern Settlement]] and [[Western Settlement]] in [[Greenland]].
* 1000: [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] conquers [[Norway]].
* Second half of the 10th century: Page with David the Psalmist, from the [[Paris Psalter]], is made. It is now kept at [[Bibliothéque Nationale]], [[Paris]].
* Late 10th or early 11th century: The [[Archangel michael|Archangel Michael]] icon, is made. It is now kept at the [[St Mark's Basilica|Treasury of the Cathedral of Saint Mark]], [[Venice]].

===Oceania===
* c. 950: Formation of the [[Tu'i Tonga Empire]] and of the [[Tuʻi Tonga]] dynasty in [[Tonga]].

==Inventions, discoveries, introductions==
{{Main|Timeline of historic inventions#10th century}}
[[Image:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Earliest known representation of a gun (a [[fire lance]]) and a [[grenade]] (upper right), from the cave murals of [[Dunhuang]], China, 10th century.]]
* 10th century–12th century: Seated Guaryin [[Bodhisattva]], is made during the [[Liao dynasty]]. It is now kept at The [[Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art]], [[Kansas City, Missouri]].
* Construction begins on the [[Brihadeeswarar Temple]] of [[India]], during the reign of [[Rajaraja Chola I]].
* The first [[pound lock]] is invented by the Chinese engineer [[Technology of the Song dynasty|Qiao Weiyo]], improving the [[Lock (water transport)|canal lock]] system.
* [[Fire arrow]]s are invented by the Chinese.
* Earliest known occurrence in [[Mexico]] of [[Lost-wax casting]].
* Three of the ''[[Four Great Books of Song]]'' are published (the last one in [[1013]]), which were enormous Chinese [[encyclopedia]]s having millions of written [[Chinese character]]s each.
* [[Hops]] first mentioned in connection with [[beer]] brewing.
* [[Zhang Sixun]] of [[China]] uses for the first time liquid [[mercury (element)]] instead of water to power the [[escapement]] mechanism rotating an [[armillary sphere]], since liquid mercury does not freeze easily like water during winter, and does not rust metal parts.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[Heinrich Fichtenau]]: ''Living in the Tenth century: Mentalities and Social Orders'' (transl. [[Patrick J. Geary]]; Chicago cool London: 1991).

* [[Raita Steyn]]. (2019). ''Gudit, a Jewish Queen of Aksum? Some Considerations on the Sources and Modern Scholarship, and the Use of Legends.'' Journal for Semitics. 28. 10.25159/2663-6573/6003. 

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