Emperor Romanos III Argyros decides to retaliate upon the incursions of the Muslims on the eastern frontier. He leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (20,000 men) to secure Antioch. The Mirdasid emir Shibl al-Dawla Nasr of Aleppo sues for peace, but Romanos refuses to negotiate and leads his army against Aleppo, against the advice of his generals. The Byzantine army encamps near Azaz, where they are encircled by the Mirdasids' Bedouin troops, who cut off the Byzantines from food and water.
10 August – Romanos orders a retreat to Antioch. As the army is exhausted from the heat and the lack of supplies, the retreat soon turns into a flight in panic. Romanos returns to Constantinople in humiliation but his generals on the eastern frontier manage to salvage the situation: a Fatimid attack on Maraclea is repulsed, and Azaz itself is captured in December after a brief siege. In April/May 1031, Emir Nasr of Aleppo agreed to vassal and tributary status with Byzantium.[1]
Europe
June – Emperor Conrad II (the Elder) leads an invasion into Hungary. He plunders the lands west of the River Rába, but suffers from consequences of the scorched earth tactics used by the Hungarians. Conrad, threatened by starvation, is forced to retreat back to Germany. King Stephen I pursues his forces, which are defeated and captured by the Hungarians at Vienna.
July 29 – Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II Haraldsson (St. Olaf) attempts to reconquer Norway with help from King Anund Jakob of Sweden. He is defeated by a superior Norwegian peasant and Danish army (14,000 men). Olaf is killed in the battle, he is later canonized and becomes the patron saint of Norway and Rex perpetuum Norvegiae ('the eternal king of Norway').
The first mention is made of Tartu, Estonia, as Grand Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) of Novgorod and Kiev defeats the Estonians, and founds a fort named Yuryev (modern-day Tartu).[2] The Rus' will hold the fortress for the next 30 or 31 years.
The first mention is made of Thalwil, Switzerland, which is derived from Tellewilare, and indicates the early medieval origins of Thalwil as an Alemannic farmstead.
Henry I revolts against his father King Robert II (the Pious) in a civil war over power and property. Robert's army is defeated, and he retreats to Beaugency.
July 20 – King Robert II (the Pious) dies at Melun, after a 35-year reign. He is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Henry I, who becomes the sole ruler of France. Henry's mother, Queen dowager Constance of Arles, prefers her third son, Robert, as heir to the throne and, with the help of Count Odo II, begins a war against Henry.[3]
The Caliphate of Córdoba collapses after years of infighting; the caliphate fractures into a number of independent Muslim taifa (kingdoms). The last Umayyad ruler, Caliph Hisham III, tries to consolidate the caliphate, but his raising of taxes (to pay for mosques) leads to heavy opposition and he is imprisoned by his rivals.[4]
King Mieszko II is forced to escape Poland after an attack of Grand Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) of Kiev, who installs Mieszko's half-brother Bezprym onto the Polish throne.
Odo II, count of Champagne, invades Burgundy and seizes most of the kingdom for himself.[7] With the assistance of Humbert I of Savoy, Queen-dowager Ermengarde (Rudolph III's widow) flees to the safety of Zürich.
Winter – Conrad II marches with his army into Champagne and devastates the land – forcing Odo II to sue for peace and swear to abandon Burgundy. The bishops prevent Conrad from seizing control of Burgundy.[7]
December 5 – A major earthquake in the Jordan Valley devastates multiple cities across the Palestine region, killing many people and triggering a tsunami.[9]
Treaty of Merseburg: Conrad II attends a Hoftag at Merseburg and signs an agreement with King Mieszko II. He divides Poland in three parts with Mieszko designated as supreme ruler, in exchange for Conrad's support.
By topic
Religion
Panic spreads throughout Europe that the end of the universe may be near,[11][12][13] on the 1,000th anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ, due to some unusually harsh spring weather. The Book of Revelation (Chapter 20) predicts the end of the earth after a 1,000 year period after the second return of Jesus Christ.[14][15][16]
May – King Mieszko II dies after a 6-year reign (probably killed as a result of a conspiracy) and is succeeded by his 17-year-old son Casimir I (the Restorer). A violent revolt spreads throughout Poland.
In Al-Andalus, benefiting from the weakening of the Muslim central authority, the count of Portugal, Gonçalo Maia, conquers Montemor-o-Velho (approximate date).
c. July 3 – 8-year-old William I becomes duke of Normandy after his father Robert I ("the Magnificent") dies on a pilgrimage at Nicaea (modern Turkey). Robert's death leads to a period of instability in Normandy, as William is too young to take his father's place. The Norman nobles in the region take the opportunity to settle old feuds and to increase their private wealth.[21]
Winter – Harthacnut is unable to travel to his coronation in England because his Danish kingdom is under threat of an invasion by King Magnus I of Norway and King Anund Jacob of Sweden.
Spring – A revolt in northern Italy is started by Archbishop Aribert of Milan. King Henry III (eldest son of Emperor Conrad II) travels south of the Alps to quell it.
May – Conrad II, with Pavian assistance, lays siege to Milan at the Porta Romana side, but the city holds out. In Rome, Pope Benedict IX deposes Aribert as archbishop.
Summer – A Byzantine expeditionary force under George Maniakes lands at Sicily, and defeats the Zirids. Maniakes begins his campaign to reconquer the island.
Duke John II drives his brother Manso II and his mother Maria out of Amalfi. He has Manso blinded and exiled to the island of Sirenuse. John reconciles with Maria, and allows her to remain as co-ruler of Amalfi.
Duke Casimir I the Restorer returns to Poland, and makes great efforts to rebuild the war-ruined country. He establishes his residence at Kraków (which becomes Poland's capital until 1596).[29]
^Halm, Heinz (2003). Die Kalifen von Kairo: Die Fatimiden in Ägypten, 973–1074 [The Caliphs of Cairo: The Fatimids in Egypt, 973–1074] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. pp. 341–343. ISBN3-406-48654-1.
^Norwich, John (1991). Byzantium: the Apogee, pp. 279–80. London: Penguin. ISBN0-670-80252-2.
^Richard Brzezinski (1998). History of Poland: Old Poland, the Piast Dynasty, p. 18. ISBN83-7212-019-6.
^Black's Picturesque Tourist of Scotland, Adam and Charles Black. Published 1861, Scotland.
^Meynier, Gilbert (2010). L'Algérie cœur du Maghreb classique: De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (658-1518). Paris: La Découverte. p. 50.
^The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumièges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni, Ed. & Trans. Elizabeth M.C. van Houts, Vol. I (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992), pp. 80-85.
^Benvenuti, Gino (1985). Le Repubbliche Marinare. Amalfi, Pisa, Genova e Venezia. Rome: Newton & Compton Editori. p. 42. ISBN88-8289-529-7.
^Meynier, Gilbert (2010). L'Algérie, cœur du Maghreb classique: De l'ouverture islamo-arabe au repli (658-1518). Paris: La Découverte. p. 50.