1017
# 1017

Year 1017 (MXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

## Events

### Europe

* Summer – Melus of Bari, a Lombard nobleman, revolts and is supported by Norman mercenaries at Capua. He marches into Apulia to catch the Byzantine army off-guard. Melus defeats the Byzantines on the banks of the Fortore River and ravages the territory in Apulia.
* Winter – Emperor Basil II ("the Bulgar Slayer") replaces Leo Tornikios with the new catapan Basil Boioannes and sends him reinforcements (including a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard) from Constantinople.

### England

* January 6 – Cnut ("the Great") is crowned king of England. In July he marries Emma of Normandy, the widow of Æthelred the Unready, securing his ties with Normandy.
* Cnut divides England into four earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.

### Arabian Empire

* Summer – Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad publicly declares the founding of the Druze religion, during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.

### Africa

* The Sunnis of Kairouan (modern Tunisia) revolt against the Shi'ite Zirid dynasty. The city is quickly retaken and sacked.

### Asia

* March – Fujiwara no Michinaga passes the title of regent of Japan (Sesshō) to his eldest son Fujiwara no Yorimichi.
* September
   * Prince Atsuakira of Japan, eldest son of ex-Emperor Sanjō, having been struck by a skin disease and under intense pressure from Michinaga, resigns the title of Crown Prince in favour of his younger brother, Prince Atsunaga who marries Fujiwara no Kanshi, daughter of Michinaga.
   * Michinaga makes a pilgrimage to the Iwashimizu Shrine in Japan accompanied by many courtiers. The travelers divide themselves amongst 15 boats for a floating trip down the Yotogawa River. One of the vessels overturns and more than 30 people lose their lives.
* December 24 – Michinaga is granted the honorary title Daijō-daijin of Japan.
* Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola dynasty (in modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.

### By topic

**Religion**

* Construction of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv is started (approximate date).

## Births

* October 28 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
* Ahimaaz ben Paltiel, Italian-Jewish liturgical poet (d. 1060)
* Bermudo III (or Vermudo), king of León (approximate date)
* Floris I, count of Friesland west of the Vlie (approximate date)
* Ramanuja, Indian Sri Vaishnavism philosopher (d. 1137)
* Vikramabahu (Kassapa VI), king of Sri Lanka (d. 1041)
* Zhou Dunyi, Chinese philosopher and cosmologist (d. 1073)

## Deaths

* February 5 – Sancho García, count of Castile
* June 5 – Sanjō, ex-emperor of Japan (b. 976)
* June 22 – Leo Passianos, Byzantine general
* July 6 – Genshin, Japanese Tendai scholar (b. 942)
* September 18 – Henry of Schweinfurt, German nobleman
* October 6 – Wang Dan, Chinese Grand Chancellor
* Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia
* Eadwig Ætheling, son of Æthelred II
* Elvira of Castile, queen consort of León
* Emnilda, duchess consort of Poland
* Fujiwara no Junshi, Japanese empress (b. 957)
* Judith of Brittany, duchess of Normandy (b. 982)
* Ma'mun II, Ma'munid ruler of Khwarezm
* Ramon Borrell, count of Barcelona (b. 972)
* Renaud of Vendôme, French nobleman
