951 Explained
Year 951 (CMLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
- King Berengar II of Italy seizes Liguria, with help from the feudal lord Oberto I. He reorganizes the territories south of the Po River, dividing them into three new marches (frontier districts), named after their respective margraves: the Marca Aleramica, the Marca Arduinica, and the Marca Obertenga. The last division consists of Lombardy with the cities of Genoa, Luni, Tortona, Parma, and Piacenza. Berengar forces Adelaide, the widow of Lothair II, to marry his son Adalbert. However, she fiercely refuses and Berengar has her imprisoned at Garda Castle. With the help of Count Adalbert Atto of Canossa Adelaide manages to escape.
- Fall - King Otto I crosses the Brenner Pass and takes his army into Italy. He is accompanied by his brothers, Henry I (duke of Bavaria), Bruno I, and Conrad the Red (duke of Lotharingia). Otto faces no opposition and they arrive in Pavia. Berengar II has departed the day before and entrenched himself in San Marino. Otto receives the homage of the Italian nobility, marries Adelaide, and declares himself King of the Lombards.
- Otto I dispatches an embassy to Rome to apply for an imperial coronation with Pope Agapetus II – but Prince Alberic II makes it clear that this is not possible (afraid of Otto's growing power), and opposes the request.[1]
China
Africa
- Abd ar-Rahman III consolidated his grip on North Africa by occupying Tangier in 951.
- Abd ar-Rahman III signs a peace in 951 with the new king of León, Ordoño III, in order to have a free hand against the Fatimids, whose ships are harassing the caliphal fleet in the Mediterranean and had even launched an assault against Almeria. Abd ar-Rahman's force, led by prime minister Ahmad ibn Said, besieges the Fatimid port of Tunis, which purchases its safety through a huge sum.
Births
Deaths
- January 1 - Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia
- January 2
- January 25 - Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu (Ten Kingdoms)
- February 24 - Liu Yun, Chinese governor (jiedushi)
- March 12 - Ælfheah the Bald, bishop of Winchester
- June 7 - Lu Wenji, Chinese chancellor (b. 876)
- June 8 - Zhao Ying, Chinese chancellor (b. 885)
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- Xiao, Chinese Khitan empress dowager
- Zhen, Chinese Khitan empress consort
- October 8 - Xiao Sagezhi, Chinese Khitan empress
- Cadwgan ab Owain, king of Glywysing (Wales)
- Cennétig mac Lorcáin, king of Tuadmumu (Ireland)
- Gofraid mac Sitriuc, Viking king of Dublin (Ireland)
- Wang Chuhui, Chinese chief of staff (shumishi)
- Wang Yanzheng, emperor of Min (approximate date)
Notes and References
- Timothy Reuter (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 250. .