Editing 869 (section)

== Events ==
<onlyinclude>

=== By place ===

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* Summer &ndash; Emperor [[Basil I]] allies with the [[Francia|Frankish]] emperor [[Louis II of Italy|Louis II]] against the [[Saracen]]s. He sends a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] fleet of 400 ships (according to the ''[[Annales Bertiniani]]''), under the command of Admiral [[Niketas Ooryphas]], to support Louis (who is [[Siege|besieging]] the city port of [[Bari]]) and to clear the [[Adriatic Sea]] of [[Arab Muslims|Muslim]] raiders.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kreutz|first=Barbara M.|title=Before the Normans: Southern Italy in the ninth and tenth centuries|location=Philadelphia|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|year=1991|isbn=0812231015|page=43}}</ref>
* The [[Hagia Sophia]] [[Basilica]] ([[Church (building)|church]]) in [[Constantinople]] suffers great damage during an [[earthquake]], which makes the eastern half-dome collapse. Basil I orders it to be repaired.

==== Europe ====
* [[August 8]] &ndash; [[Lothair II]], King of Middle Francia ([[Lotharingia]]), dies at [[Piacenza]], on his way home from meeting [[Pope Adrian II]] at [[Rome]], to get assent for a divorce. Lotharingia is subsequently divided between Lothair's uncles, [[Charles the Bald]] of France and [[Louis the German]].

==== Britain ====
* The [[Denmark|Danes]], led by Viking chieftain [[Ivar the Boneless]], 'make peace' with the [[Mercia]]ns (by  accepting [[Danegeld]]). Ivar leaves [[Nottingham]] on horseback, and returns to [[York]].<ref name=VW>{{cite book|first=Paul|last=Hill|year=2009|title=The Viking Wars of Alfred the Great|pages=32–6|publisher=Westholme |isbn=978-1-59416-087-5}}</ref>
* Autumn &ndash;The [[Great Heathen Army]], led by Ivar the Boneless and [[Ubba]], invades the [[Kingdom of East Anglia]] and plunders [[Peterborough]]. The Vikings take up winter quarters at [[Thetford]].
* [[November 20]] &ndash; Vikings conquer East Anglia, killing King [[Edmund the Martyr]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Antonia|last=Gransden|publisher=Oxford University Press|encyclopedia=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]|title=Edmund [St Edmund] (d. 869)|year=2004|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-8500|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/8500|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 }} {{ODNBsub}}</ref>

==== Arabian Empire ====
* The [[Zanj Rebellion]]: The [[Zanj]] (black [[Slavery|slaves]] from [[East Africa]]), provoked by mercilessly harsh labor conditions in [[Salt pan (geology)|salt flats]], and on the sugar and  [[Plantation|cotton plantation]]s of southwestern [[Persia]], revolt.
* Summer &ndash; Caliph [[Al-Mu'tazz]] is murdered by mutinous Muslim troops, after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by [[Al-Muhtadi]] (a grandson of the late [[Al-Mu'tasim]]), as ruler of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]].

==== Japan ====
* [[July 9]] &ndash; The [[869 Sanriku earthquake]] and associated tsunami devastate a large part of the [[Sanriku]] coast on the northeastern side of the island of [[Honshu]].
* The first [[Gion Festival]] is held in order to combat an epidemic thought to be caused by an angry deity.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Holiday Symbols and Customs|last=Jones|first=Keith|publisher=Omnigraphics Incorporated|year=2015|location=Detroit|pages=345}}</ref>

==== Mesoamerica ====
* The last monument ever erected at [[Tikal]], [[Stela]] 11, is dedicated by ruler (''[[ajaw]]'') [[Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil II]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Simon|author-link1=Simon Martin (Mayanist)|author-link2=Nikolai Grube|first2=Nikolai|last2=Grube|year=2000|title=Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya|location=London; New York|publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]]|isbn=0-500-05103-8|oclc=47358325|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleofmayak00mart}}</ref>

=== By topic ===

==== Religion ====
* [[October 5]] &ndash; The [[Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic)|Fourth Council of Constantinople]], called by Basil I and [[Pope Adrian II]], opens. The council will condemn [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photius I]] and depose him as [[patriarch]], reinstating his predecessor [[Ignatios of Constantinople|Ignatios]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Karl|last=Rahner|year=2004|title=Encyclopedia of Theology|page=389|publisher=A&C Black |isbn=0-86012-006-6}}</ref></onlyinclude>