Parantaka II’s last days appear to have…

"A great host of Muslims" arrived in Hungary, according to the Gesta Hungarorum, "from the land of Bular" during the reign of Taksony.

The contemporaneous Abraham ben Jacob also recorded the presence of Muslim merchants from Hungary in Prague in 965.

Anonymous also writes of the arrival of Pechenegs during Taksony's reign; he granted them "a land to dwell in the region of Kemej as far as the Tisza.” The only sign of a Hungarian connection with Western Europe under Taksony is a report by Liutprand of Cremona.

He writes about Zacheus, whom Pope John XII had consecrated bishop and "sent to the Hungarians in order to preach that they should attack" the Germans in 963.

However, there is no evidence that Zacheus ever arrived in Hungary.

A characteristically Ottonian art form begins to coalesce distinct from the Carolingian tradition, particularly in painting, ivory carving, and sculpture, as animation increases significantly.

This more expressionistic style shows an evolving technical virtuosity that conveys spiritual intensity, emotionalism, and naturalism.

Ivory carving continues to be produced for liturgical purposes; as can be seen in scenes from the ivory plaques of the “Magdeburg Antependium” from around 970, carvings have a characteristic restraint and the narrative is conveyed through simple gestures and enlivened by an original kind of decoration such as that in the strongly patterned background.

Nikephoros' brother Leo had been named kouropalates in 963, his and assumed the post of logothetes tou dromou, remaining his brother's chief minister until the overthrow and murder of Nikephoros by Tzimiskes in 969.

In 970, Leo unsuccessfully tries to rebel against Tzimiskes, and is exiled to Lesbos.

As Emperor John I, Tzimiskes marries Theodora, sister of Constantine VIII Porphyrogenitus, the legitimate claimant to the throne, to offset challenges to his rule at home.

Coupling diplomatic skill with military strength, Tzimiskes strengthens the imperial position.

Boris II is unable to stem the Kievan advance, and finds himself forced to accept Sviatoslav of Kiev as his ally and puppet-master, turning against the Greeks.

Bardas Skleros leads twelve thousand skilled soldiers in overcoming thirty thousand Russian invaders at Arcadiopolis near Adrianople, Bardas and his brother first triumphing in single combat.

Only a few Russians escape the battle, in which, according to a Greek historian, only twenty-five imperial soldiers had been killed.

Emperor John I Tzimiskes advances northwards.

Failing to secure the defense of the Balkan passes, …

…Sviatoslav allows the imperial forces to penetrate into Moesia and lay siege to the Bulgarian capital Preslav.

Although Bulgarians and Ruses join in defending the city, the Greeks manage to set afire the wooden structures and roofs by missiles, and take the fortress.

Boris II now becomes a captive of John I Tzimiskes, who continues to pursue the Kievan Army, besieging Sviatoslav in Drăstăr (Silistra), while claiming to act as Boris' ally and protector, and treating the Bulgarian monarch with due respect.

The general Bardas Phokas, nephew of the murdered Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, is a scion of the Phokas family, the empire’s most prominent aristocratic clan in the tenth century.

His father Leo Phokas the Younger had been a curopalates and brother to Nikephoros.

Even as a young man, Bardas had gained a reputation for his great expertise in the science of war, but if his military career had been quick to peak, it is even quicker to collapse.

He is proclaimed Emperor by troops stationed at Caesarea, but their rebellion is extinguished by another skilled commander, Bardas Skleros.

Phokas and his relatives are captured and exiled to the island of Chios, where he will spend the following seven years.

The Fatimids had occupied Palestine after their conquest of Egypt, but Syria could not be overcome, following a defeat at Damascus at the hands of the Qarmatians, an extremist Isma'ili Muslim sect centered in eastern Arabia.

When the Qarmatians overrun Egypt, Jawhar is able to defeat them north of Cairo on December 22, 970, although the struggle will continue until 974.

To secure the southern border of Egypt, a legation is sent to the Nubian Christian kingdom of Makuria.

After the Battle of Bovino, Otto I had ordered that a fortress be built in the area of present Basilicata to protect against Greek incursions.

The castle-fortress is completed in 969 on a site chosen for its defensive advantages.

The constructors of the fortress, being from Venosa, dedicate the fortress to their protector-saint, Saint Felix (San Felice).

Pandulf had been captured in the Battle of Bovino (969) by the Greek forces and jailed in Constantinople.

In 970, during his absence, Constantinople’s army in Italy besieges Capua and Marinus II of Naples ravages the countryside.

Pandulf will be released later in the deal in which the Greek emperor John Tzimisces gives Theophanu in marriage to Otto's son Otto II.

During his absence, the great principality had been administered by Landulf I, Archbishop of Benevento, and the young Landulf, with help from his mother, Pandulf's wife, Aloara.

Benevento had been made an archdiocese in 969.