Muslim forces raid the Italian peninsula.

846

Muslim raiders sack Rome, including St Peter’s Cathedral.

853

Byzantine raids in Egypt.

878

Egyptian forces under Shia leader Ahmad ibn Tulun capture Jerusalem from the Abbasid caliphate.

888

Muslims establish a base in Provence for raiding throughout the region.

904

Sunni Abbasids regain control of Jerusalem.

961

Byzantines regain control of Crete.

969

Fatimids (Shia Muslims) conquer Jerusalem from the Abbasids a second time; establish Fatimid caliphate in Cairo.

965

Byzantines re-establish a presence on Cyprus.

997

Muslim raiders pillage the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain.

1009

Fatimid caliph al-Hakim orders the destruction of all churches and synagogues in his realm; destruction includes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

1030

Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir authorises the rebuilding of a church on the site of Christ’s tomb; the second Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built with funding from Byzantium.

1034

Pisans launch a raid against Muslim North Africa.

1061

Norman conquest of Sicily begins.

1066

14 October

Battle of Hastings; Normans establish their rule in England.

1071

26 August

Seljuks, recent converts to Islam, decisively defeat the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert; Normans end Byzantine rule in Italy with the capture of Bari.

1073

Seljuks under Emir Atsiz ibn Uvaq capture Jerusalem from the Fatimids.