970s

Byzantine Empire

• Emperor John I delegates the war in the Balkans to his brother-in-law, the Domestic of the Schools Bardas Skleros, and to the eunuch general Peter Phokas who begin to gather an Byzantine army in Thrace. At the news of this, a powerful Kievan expeditionary force (30,000 men), along with many Bulgarians and a Pecheneg contingent, is sent south over the Balkan Mountains. After sacking the Bulgarian stronghold of Philippolis (modern-day Plovdiv), they bypass the heavily defended city of Adrianople and turn towards Constantinople.^[1]
• Battle of Arcadiopolis: John I dispatches an elite force (10–12,000 men) to delay the Kievan Rus'. The Byzantines under Bardas Skleros successfully ambush the Kievan-Bulgarian invaders at Arcadiopolis (modern Turkey). The battle turns into a complete rout, killing thousands. Grand Prince Sviatoslav I is driven out of Thrace and withdraws his forces to the fortress city of Silistra.^[2]
• Summer – Bardas Phokas (the Younger) and his family rebel against their own cousin, John I. Bardas is proclaimed 'emperor' by his troops at Caesarea, but the rebellion is extinguished by Bardas Skleros. Phokas and his relatives are captured and exiled to the island of Chios (Aegean Sea).

Europe

• Summer – Byzantine-Imperial truce: Emperor Otto I (the Great) meets with John I at Bari and accepts a permanent peace agreement. Pandulf I (Ironhead) is released from captivity in Constantinople (see 969).
• The oldest preserved document (by Otto I) mentions Leibnitz in Styria (modern Austria).
• Eric the Victorious becomes the first (documented) king of Sweden in Uppland.
• Skagul Toste leads an Viking expedition to England and demands Danegeld.

Africa

• Al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah, Ikhshidid governor of Palestine, is defeated and taken prisoner by General Ja'far ibn Fallah in Syria. Ending the Ikhshidid Dynasty as a ruling power.
• Construction is completed on Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt (the world's oldest Islamic university).

Asia

• A major volcano erupts in Lake Mashū, Japan (approximate date).

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