1000
Leif Erikson makes landfall in Vinland
Blown off course from Greenland, the Norse captain stepped ashore on a wooded coast where wild grapes hung thick enough to name the place.
Murasaki Shikibu begins the Tale of Genji
Inside the Heian court's lattice of silk screens and perfumed poetry, a lady-in-waiting dipped her brush and began a prose narrative that would run…
Stephen crowned first King of Hungary
On Christmas Day, the Magyar chieftain Vajk was anointed with a crown sent by Pope Sylvester II and reborn as Istvan.
Polynesians settle the last Pacific islands
Double-hulled canoes carrying pigs, taro cuttings, and star-lore reached the outer edges of the great triangle.
Iron smelting spreads across sub-Saharan Africa
From Great Zimbabwe's precursors to Bantu farming communities pushing south of the Congo, bloomery furnaces were turning laterite into tools and spearheads.
Buyid dynasty controls Baghdad
The Shia Buyid emirs from the Caspian highlands held the Abbasid caliph as a virtual prisoner in his own palace…
Cahokia begins its great expansion
On the Mississippi floodplain near present-day St. Louis, a farming village swelled into a planned ceremonial center with rising earthen pyramids.
Song Dynasty advances in rice cultivation
Gerbert of Aurillac reigns as Sylvester II
Toltec Tula emerges in central Mexico
Chaco Canyon great houses rise
Olaf Tryggvason falls at Svolder
Great Zimbabwe precursor settlements
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1000?
Saeculum lists 13 events from 1000. The most significant is Leif Erikson makes landfall in Vinland: Blown off course from Greenland, the Norse captain stepped ashore on a wooded coast where wild grapes hung thick enough to name the place.
What era was 1000 part of?
1000 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1000?
The events from 1000 span North America, East Asia, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Middle East.