969

969 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	969; CMLXIX
Ab urbe condita	1722
Armenian calendar	418; ԹՎ ՆԺԸ
Assyrian calendar	5719
Balinese saka calendar	890–891
Bengali calendar	376
Berber calendar	1919
Buddhist calendar	1513
Burmese calendar	331
Byzantine calendar	6477–6478
Chinese calendar	戊辰年 (Earth Dragon); 3666 or 3459; — to —; 己巳年 (Earth Snake); 3667 or 3460
Coptic calendar	685–686
Discordian calendar	2135
Ethiopian calendar	961–962
Hebrew calendar	4729–4730
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1025–1026
- Shaka Samvat	890–891
- Kali Yuga	4069–4070
Holocene calendar	10969
Iranian calendar	347–348
Islamic calendar	358–359
Japanese calendar	Anna 2; (安和２年)
Javanese calendar	870–871
Julian calendar	969; CMLXIX
Korean calendar	3302
Minguo calendar	943 before ROC; 民前943年
Nanakshahi calendar	−499
Seleucid era	1280/1281 AG
Thai solar calendar	1511–1512
Tibetan calendar	阳土龙年; (male Earth-Dragon); 1095 or 714 or −58; — to —; 阴土蛇年; (female Earth-Snake); 1096 or 715 or −57

Millennium:	1st millennium
Centuries:	9th century; 10th century ; 11th century;
Decades:	940s; 950s; 960s ; 970s; 980s;
Years:	966; 967; 968; 969 ; 970; 971; 972;

Year 969 (CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th year of the 10th century, and the 10th and last year of the 960s decade.

Events

October 28 – Siege of Antioch: Byzantine general Michael Bourtzes (during a night attack) seizes part of Antioch's fortifications. The capture of the city from the Hamdanids is completed three days later, when reinforcements under the stratopedarches Peter Phokas arrive. The Byzantine army then moves deeper into Syrian territory — besieging and taking the city of Aleppo.
December 11 – Emperor Nikephoros II is murdered in the royal palace of Boukoleon at Constantinople after a 6-year reign. Former friends have acted on the instructions of his wife Theophano.^[1] Nikephoros is succeeded by his nephew John I Tzimiskes, who becomes co-emperor and regent. He sends Theophano into exile to the island of Prinkipo (Prince Islands).

Peter I, emperor (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, suffers a stroke and abdicates the throne in favour of his eldest son Boris II. He arrives (after being an honorary hostage at Constantinople) in Preslav and is proclaimed as the new ruler. Boris regains lost territory from the Kievan Rus' and recaptures Pereyaslavets, an important trade city at the mouth of the Danube.^[2]
Summer – Grand Prince Sviatoslav I invades Bulgaria at the head of a Kievan army, which includes Pecheneg and Hungarian auxiliary forces. He defeats the Bulgarians in a major battle and retakes Pereyaslavets. Boris II capitulates and impales 300 Bulgarian boyars for disloyalty. Sviatoslav assigns garrisons to the conquered fortresses in Northern Bulgaria.^[3]
Pandulf Ironhead, duke of Benevento and Capua, leads the siege of Bovino. He is captured by the Byzantines and taken in chains to Bari, and jailed in Constantinople. Neapolitan forces under Marinus II, duke of Naples, invade Benevento-Capua, capture the city of Avellino and then lay siege to Capua.^[4]
Otto I 'the Great', Holy Roman Emperor, assembles a large expeditionary force at Pavia, joined by Spoletan troops. He counter-attacks, relieves the siege of Capua and devastates the area around Naples. Otto enters Benevento, where he is received as 'liberator' by Landulf IV and in the cities of Apulia (Southern Italy).

February 6–July 9 – Fatimid conquest of Egypt: Caliph Al-Mu'izz's army under General Jawhar invades Egypt. Jawhar occupies the lands around the Nile from the Ikhshidids after a siege at Giza and the capitulation of Fustat.^[5]

September 27 – Emperor Reizei abdicates the throne of Japan (due to a mental illness) after a 2-year reign. He is succeeded by his 10-year-old brother En'yū, who becomes the 64th emperor.

Summer – Pope John XIII convenes a synod at Rome. He raises the bishopric of Benevento to Archbishopric of Benevento. The city is made a metropolitan see over 10 bishoprics in Byzantine Capitanata (Southern Italy).

^ Reuter, Timothy (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 863. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
^ Fine, John V. A. Jr. (1991) [1983]. The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 184. ISBN 0-472-08149-7..
^ Reuter, Timothy (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 584. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
^ Gay, Jules (1904). L'Italie méridionale et l'empire Byzantin: Livre II. New York: Burt Franklin.
^ Brett, Michael (2002). "The Fatimid Revolution (861-973) and its aftermath in North Africa". The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 2 ed. J. D. Fage; Roland Anthony Oliver. Cambridge University Press. p. 622.