1000–1099 (A.D.) World History

c. 1000–1300

Classic Pueblo period of Anasazi culture; cliff dwellings.

c. 1000

Hungary and Scandinavia converted to Christianity. Viking raider Leif Eriksson discovers North America, calls it Vinland. Beowulf, Old English epic.

c. 1008

Murasaki Shikibu finishes The Tale of Genji, the world's first novel.

1009

Muslims destroy Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

1013

Danes control England. Canute takes throne (1016), conquers Norway (1028), dies (1035); kingdom divided among his sons: Harold Harefoot (England), Sweyn (Norway), Hardecanute (Denmark).

1040

Macbeth murders Duncan, king of Scotland.

1053

Robert Guiscard, Norman invader, establishes kingdom in Italy, conquers Sicily (1072).

1054

Final separation between Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Roman) churches.

1055

Seljuk Turks, Asian nomads, move west, capture Baghdad, Armenia (1064), Syria, and Palestine (1075).

1066

William of Normandy invades England, defeats last Saxon king, Harold II, at Battle of Hastings, crowned William I of England (“the Conqueror”).

1068

Construction on the cathedral in Pisa, Italy, begins.

1073

Emergence of strong papacy when Gregory VII is elected. Conflict with English and French kings and German emperors will continue throughout medieval period.

1095

At Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II calls for a holy war to wrest control of Jerusalem from Muslims, which launches the First Crusade (1096), one of at least 8 European military campaigns between 1095 and 1291 to regain the Holy Land. (For detailed chronology, see The Crusades.)

Mesa VerdeCliff Dwellings(c. 1000–1300) Pete Maio Cathedral and Tower at Pisa Tasha Vincent