970s

The 970s was a decade that began on 1 January 970, and ended on 31 December 979. It is distinct from the decade known as the 98th decade which began on January 1, 971 and ended on December 31, 980.

• A major volcano erupts in Mashu, Japan.
• A terrible famine begins in France.
• Eric the Victorious becomes the first king of Sweden.

• Leif Ericson, Norse explorer
• Seyyed Razi, important Muslim scholar and writer
• Sitt al-Mulk
• Xu Daoning, Chinese artist

• 30 January – Peter I of Bulgaria
• Magyar leader, Taksány
• Ferdinand II of Castile
• Fujiwara no Saneyori
• García III of Pamplona
• Hatto II, Archbishop of Mainz
• Menahem ben Saruq
• Patriarch Polyeuctus of Constantinople
• Taksony of Hungary

• Kenneth II of Scotland succeeds Culen as King

• Kushyar ibn Labban
• Mahmud of Ghazni
• Emperor Shengzong of Liao
• Prince Shaif

• Abu Jafar Khazeni
• Culen of Scotland
• Ziri ibn Manad

• Otto II marries Theophanu, Byzantine princess
• Battle of Cedynia – Polish duke Mieszko I defeats Germans
• Pope Benedict VI succeeds Pope John XIII as pope
• Boleslaus II the Pious succeeds Boleslav I of Bohemia in Bohemia
• Yaropolk of Kiev succeeds Sviatoslav I in Kiev
• Fatimids enter Egypt, establish the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo
• Buluggin ibn Ziri appointed viceroy in Ifriqiya, start of the Zirid dynasty
• The monastery at the site of Peterborough Cathedral is rebuilt
• Saint Eadburga is canonized
• Emperor John Tzoimisces makes eastern Bulgaria a Byzantine subject
• The city of Satu Mare, Romania is founded

• March 27 – King Robert II of France (d. 1031)
• Al-Mawardi
• Ermesinde of Carcassonne, countess and regent of Barcelona (d. 1057)
• Fujiwara no Yukinari
• Fulk III of Anjou
• Pope Gregory V
• Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
• Renauld I, Count of Nevers

• July 15 – Boleslav I of Bohemia
• September 6 – Pope John XIII
• Liutprand, bishop of Cremona and historian
• Sviatoslav I, Prince of Kiev
• Kuya, Japanese monk of Pure Land Buddhism (b. 903)

• The Fatimids move their capital to Cairo
• Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan
• Otto II becomes Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany
• January 19 – Pope Benedict VI succeeds Pope John XIII as the 134th pope

• September 15 – Al-Biruni, mathematician (d. 1048)
• December 26 – Abu al-Ala al-Ma'ar;ri, poet

• May 7 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
• July 4 – Saint Ulrich of Augsburg (b. 890)

• A great earthquake in England.^[1]
• The Carmathians are defeated in Egypt by Jawhar as-Siqilli
• The Byzantine Empire retakes Syria
• Fuzhou builds new city walls
• October – Pope Benedict VII succeeds Pope Benedict VI as the 135th pope
• Antipope Boniface VII is declared pope

• Pope Benedict VI
• Ratherius of Verona
• Shi Chonggui

• Coronation of King Edward the Martyr
• Emperor Taizu of Song China conquers Hunan province
• Al-Aziz becomes Fatimid Caliph

• Stephen I of Hungary (d.1038)
• Thietmar of Merseburg
• Andre Bertelli Araujo

• Alp Tigin, Turkic general
• July 8 – King Edgar of England
• al-Muizz, Fatimid Caliph
• Gwangjong of Goryeo
• Turketel, abbot of Crowland
• Gu Hongzhong

• January 10 – Basil II becomes Eastern Roman Emperor
• Brian Boru is inaugurated as King of Munster
• Samuil of Bulgaria becomes Tsar
• Yuelu Academy is founded in China

• Emperor Sanjō of Japan

• January 10 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine Emperor
• October 8 – Jelena of Zadar, Queen of Croatia
• November 14 – Emperor Taizu of Song
• Harald Greyhide, King of Norway
• Al-Hakam II, Caliph of Cordoba

• Imam Ali Mosque is built at Najaf

• Kōkei, Japanese Buddhist monk
• Saint Poppo of Deinze

• Hunain ibn Ishaq, Egyptian physician
• Dubrawka, daughter of Duke Boleslav I of Bohemia

• The revolt of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria against Otto II ends
• England's royal mint is located at Guildford

• Princess Zoe of Byzantium, later Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire
• Yaroslav I the Wise, prince of Novgorod and Kiev

• March 18 – King Edward the Martyr of England
• Abraham of Alexandria, Coptic pope
• Li Houzhu, last Chinese emperor of the Southern Tang

• March 24 – The Battle of Pankalia

• August 29 – Abu Taghlib, Emir of Mosul
• Estrid of the Obotrites, future wife of king Olof Skötkonung of Sweden
• Otto, Count of Vermandois

• Iago ab Idwal, King of Gwynedd
• 'Imran