Otto I's wife Adelaide is crowned empress by Pope John XII.
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What Happened in February?
Emperor ascensions, legendary battles, and assassinations. Discover what happened this month in history. Explore pivotal events from February that helped shape the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Pope Leo VIII dies, ending the only reign by a layman in papal history.
Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas is murdered by his wife Theophano and her lover John I Tzimiskes, leading to Tzimiskes' ascent to the throne.
Pope Benedict VII dies after a reign marked by the struggle between the papacy and the Roman nobility.
Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, founding the Capetian dynasty.
Accession of Pope John XV, succeeding Pope John XIV.
Hugh Capet is crowned King of France in Noyon.
Circa 988 CE
Baptism of Kievan Rus' ruler Vladimir the Great, leading to the Christianization of the region. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church both canonized him as Saint Vladimir, around 1240.
Otto III becomes Holy Roman Emperor at the age of 16.
Death of Emperor Taizong of Song, a significant ruler in Chinese history.
999 CE, February 14 - Gerbert of Aurillac becomes Pope Sylvester II.
Death of Pope Gregory V, the first German Pope.
King Sweyn I of Denmark reconquers England.
First known mention of the city of Gundelfingen, Germany.
Byzantine Emperor Basil II conquers Bulgaria after a long campaign.
Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark and King of England dies on February 3, 1014 having ruled England for only five weeks. His son, Cnut the Great, was proclaimed king of England by his troops there, but his older brother, Harald II, became king of Denmark, leaving Cnut to fight for his claim to England.
The English nobility invited the exiled King Æthelred back to the throne, driving Cnut out of England. In 1016, Cnut returned to England and became king and went on to succeeded his brother as King of Denmark in 1019.
Cnut the Great becomes King of England after the death of Edmund II.
Death of Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine Emperor, possibly murdered by his wife Zoe.
Death of Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.