Pope Gregory VI resigns as pope amid the scandal of simony (selling of church offices).
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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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Abdication of Empress Theodora, ending the Macedonian dynasty in the Byzantine Empire.
The first stone of the Tower of London is thought to have been laid.
Battle of Manzikert: Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Empire, leading to the loss of Anatolia.
Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy.
Construction of Rochester Castle in England begins.
Alexios I Komnenos becomes Byzantine Emperor after the death of Nikephoros III.
Alfonso VI of Castile captures the city of Toledo, Spain, from the Moors.
Death of William the Conqueror, King of England.
The Barbary Crusade: Norman forces under Roger I of Sicily capture the city of Palermo.
Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont.
First known reference to the village of Potten End, England.
Henry I of England marries Matilda of Scotland, securing a crucial alliance.
Duke Welf I is assassinated, possibly on orders from Emperor Henry IV.
King Baldwin I of Jerusalem captures Acre from the Fatimids.
Magnus III of Norway becomes King of Norway.
Death of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
Death of Edgar, King of Scotland.
Death of Edgar Ætheling, the last male member of the Anglo-Saxon royal family of England.
Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.