943

File:Rus Caspian.png

Map showing major Rus' raids (blue dates) in mid-9th to mid-11th century, around the Caspian Sea.

Year 943 (CMXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Spring – Allied with the Rus', a Hungarian army raids Moesia and Thrace. Emperor Romanos I buys peace, and accepts to pay a yearly tribute (protection money) to the Hungarians. His frontiers now 'protected' on the Balkan Peninsula, Romanos sends a Byzantine expeditionary force (80,000 men) led by general John Kourkouas (his commander-in-chief) to invade northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).

Europe

• Caspian expeditions of the Rus': The Rus' under the Varangian prince Igor I of Kiev sail up the Kura River, deep into the Caucasus, and defeat the forces of the Sallarid ruler Marzuban ibn Muhammad. They capture the fortress city of Barda (modern Azerbaijan).
• Battle of Wels: A joint Bavarian–Carantanian army led by Bertold (duke of Bavaria) defeats the Hungarians near Wels (Upper Austria), who are attacked at a crossing of the Enns River at Ennsburg.

England

• King Edmund I ravages Strathclyde and defeats the Scottish king Constantine II, who has reigned as king of Alba since 900. Constantine, ruler of the 'Picts and Scots', abdicates to enter a monastery and yields control of his realm to his cousin Malcolm I.
• The Trinity Bridge at Crowland, Lincolnshire is described, in the 'Charter of Eadred'.

Births

• Dayang Jingxuan, Chinese Zen Buddhist monk (d. 1027)
• Edgar I (the Peaceful), king of England (approximate date)
• Emma of Paris, duchess consort of Normandy (d. 968)
• Ibn Zur'a, Abbasid physician and philosopher (d. 1008)
• Matilda, queen consort of Burgundy (approximate date)

Deaths

• February 23
  • David I, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)
  • Herbert II, Frankish nobleman
• February 26 – Muirchertach mac Néill, king of Ailech (Ireland)
• March 16 – Pi Guangye, chancellor of Wuyue (b. 877)
• March 30 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)
• April 6
  • Liu Churang, Chinese general (b. 881)
  • Nasr II, Samanid emir (b. 906)
• April 10 – Landulf I, prince of Benevento and Capua (Italy)
• April 15 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
• April 18 – Fujiwara no Atsutada, Japanese nobleman (b. 906)
• July 4 – Wang Kon, founder of Goryeo (Korea) (b. 877)
• July 26 – Motoyoshi, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 890)
• November 8 – Liu, empress of Qi (Ten Kingdoms) (b. 877)
• Cao Zhongda, official and chancellor of Wuyue (b. 882)
• Gagik I of Vaspurakan, Armenian king (or 936)
• Liu Honggao, chancellor of Southern Han (b. 923)
• Sinan ibn Thabit, Persian physician (b. 880)
• Urchadh mac Murchadh, king of Maigh Seóla (Ireland)
• Xu Jie, Chinese officer and chancellor (b. 868)
• Zhang Yuxian, Chinese rebel leader (approximate date)