997

997 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	997 CMXCVII
Ab urbe condita	1750
Armenian calendar	446 ԹՎ ՆԽԶ
Assyrian calendar	5747
Balinese saka calendar	918–919
Bengali calendar	403–404
Berber calendar	1947
Buddhist calendar	1541
Burmese calendar	359
Byzantine calendar	6505–6506
Chinese calendar	丙申年 (Fire Monkey) 3694 or 3487 — to — 丁酉年 (Fire Rooster) 3695 or 3488
Coptic calendar	713–714
Discordian calendar	2163
Ethiopian calendar	989–990
Hebrew calendar	4757–4758
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1053–1054
- Shaka Samvat	918–919
- Kali Yuga	4097–4098
Holocene calendar	10997
Iranian calendar	375–376
Islamic calendar	386–387
Japanese calendar	Chōtoku 3 (長徳３年)
Javanese calendar	898–899
Julian calendar	997 CMXCVII
Korean calendar	3330
Minguo calendar	915 before ROC 民前915年
Nanakshahi calendar	−471
Seleucid era	1308/1309 AG
Thai solar calendar	1539–1540
Tibetan calendar	མེ་ཕོ་སྤྲེ་ལོ་ (male Fire-Monkey) 1123 or 742 or −30 — to — མེ་མོ་བྱ་ལོ་ (female Fire-Bird) 1124 or 743 or −29

Events

1 February: Empress Teishi gives birth to Princess Shushi - she is the first child of the emperor, but because of the power struggle between Michinaga and Korechika, the empress is not allowed to go to the palace.

18 May: The imperial court decides to pardon Korechika and Takaie, under the illness of Teishi.

July 16 – Battle of Spercheios: Byzantine forces, under General Nikephoros Ouranos, defeat the Bulgarians at the Spercheios River in Greece. During a night battle, the Bulgarian co-ruler Samuel is wounded; he and his son Gavril Radomir evade capture, by feigning death among the bodies of their slain soldiers. Samuel sets off to Bulgaria, and retreats with the remnants of his army, into the Pindus Mountains. Ouranos returns to Constantinople, with 1,000 heads of Bulgarian soldiers and 12,000 captives.^[1]

Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, assaults and partially destroys the city of Santiago de Compostella. He is accompanied in his raid by Christian Portuguese lords, who all receive a share of the booty. On their way, they sack the cities of Zamora and León.^[2]
Summer – Roman of Bulgaria dies in captivity in Constantinople. He is succeeded by his brother Samuel (a member of the Cometopuli dynasty) who takes the Bulgarian title of tsar. He possibly receives his 'imperial crown' from Gregory V (approximate date).
King Stephen Držislav of Croatia dies after a 28-year reign. His three sons, Svetoslav, Krešimir III and Gojslav, open a violent contest for the throne, weakening the kingdom and allowing Samuel to encroach on the Croatian possessions along the Adriatic.
Winter – Emperor Otto III travels to Italy, leaving the government of the Holy Roman Empire in the hands of his aunt, Matilda of Quedlinburg. He is accompanied by Bishop Gilbert of Aurillac, his teacher and advisor.
Trondheim is founded by King Olav Tryggvason.^[3] This will function as the main city and capital of Norway, until Bergen is founded in 1070.

King Constantine III dies after a 2-year reign, possibly murdered by a dynastic conflict between two rival lines of royalty. He is succeeded by Kenneth III as sole ruler of Alba (Scotland).

Sabuktigin, founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, dies after a 20-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Ismail as emir of Ghazna. But many in the court favor his elder brother Mahmud.

May 8 – Emperor Tai Zong (Zhao Jiong) dies at Kaifeng after a 21-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Zhen Zong as the third ruler of the Song dynasty.

Spring – Pope Gregory V is exiled during a rebellion led by Crescentius II (the Younger), patrician (the de facto ruler) of Rome. The Crescentii family appoints Giovanni Filagato (former tutor of Otto III) as an antipope under the name John XVI (or XVII), until 998.
April 23 – Adalbert, exiled bishop of Prague, organises a mission to convert the Old Prussians in north-east Poland. On his way, Adalbert is murdered by pagans on the Baltic coast. His body is bought back for its weight in gold by Duke Bolesław I (the Brave).^[4]
The first documented reference of Gdańsk is made by Adalbert. During his mission he baptises the inhabitants of the city called Gyddannyzc.

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Events