Duke Otto becomes an enemy of King…

Henry had in the late 1060s demonstrated his determination to reduce any opposition and to enlarge the national boundaries.

He has led expeditions against the Lutici and the margrave of a district east of Saxony.

Much more serious is Henry's struggle with Otto of Nordheim, duke of Bavaria.

Otto belongs to the rich and influential Saxon family of the counts of Northeim, and having distinguished himself in war and peace alike, in 1061 had received the Stem Duchy of Bavaria from the Dowager Empress Agnes of Poitou, widow of Emperor Henry III and mother of the child Emperor Henry IV.

In 1062, he had assisted Archbishop Anno II of Cologne to seize Henry IV at Kaiserswerth in order to deprive his mother of power.

Otto had led a successful expedition into Hungary in 1063 and had taken a prominent part in the Empire's government during the King's minority.

In 1064, he had gone to Italy to settle a papal schism and had been largely instrumental in securing the banishment from court of Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen-Hamburg.

He had crossed the Alps in the royal interests on two other occasions and in 1069 had shared in two expeditions to the east of Germany.

Otto is in 1070 accused by a certain Egeno von Konradsburg of being privy to a plot to murder the king, and it is decided he should submit to trial by combat with his accuser at Goslar.

The duke smells treason and asks for a safe-conduct to and from the place of meeting.

When this is refused, he declines to appear and is consequently placed under the imperial ban and deprived of Bavaria, while his Saxon estates are plundered.

Alp-Arslan regroups for a new drive into Eastern Roman Anatolia, where, in 1070, he defeats the imperial forces at Sebasteia.

Nikephoros Melissenos was probably born circa 1045 at Dorylaeum, where his family had extensive estates.

Through both his father and his mother, he is of aristocratic descent: his father belongs to the Bourtzes line, while his mother to the illustrious Melissenos family, which dates back to the eighth century and has produced several distinguished generals.

Sometime before 1067, Nikephoros had married Eudokia Komnene, the second daughter of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassene and sister of the future Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

They have at least one known son, who is named John Komnenos.

Melissenos had held the rank of magistros and the post of governor (doux) of Triaditza (modern Sofia) for some time during the 1060s.

In 1070, he joins the field army commanded by his eldest brother-in-law, the protostrator Manuel Komnenos, in a campaign against the Seljuq Turks.

The campaign ends in defeat near Sebasteia (modern Sivas), and Melissenos along with Manuel Komnenos are captured by a Turkish chieftain whom the Greeks called Chrysoskoulos.

Manuel, however, quickly persuades the Turk to enter into imperial service, and their captivity ends.

Somesvara’s successor, his eldest son Somesvara II, feuds with his younger brother, Vikramaditya VI, an ambitious warrior who had initially been governor of Gangavadi in the southern Deccan.

Married to a Chola princess (a daughter of Virarajendra Chola), Vikramaditya VI maintains a friendly alliance with them.

After the death of the Chola king in 1070, Vikramaditya VI invades the Tamil kingdom and installs his brother-in-law, Adhirajendra, on the throne, creating conflict with Kulothunga Chola I, the powerful ruler of Vengi, who seeks the Chola throne for himself.

The taifa of Toledo and the taifa of Seville both aim to annex the former capital of Córdoba to their lands; this ends with the city being captured by Seville in 1070.

Lucca’s Cathedral of San Martino, the repository of a famous crucifix, is consecrated in 1070.

Yusuf is an effective general and administrator, as evidenced by his ability to organize and maintain the loyalty of the hardened desert warriors and the territory of Abu Bakr, as well as his ability to expand the empire, crossing the Atlas Mountains onto the plains of Morocco, reaching the Mediterranean and capturing Fez in 1075.

The city had been contested in the tenth century by the Caliphate of Córdoba and the Fatimids of Tunisia, who ruled the city through a host of Zenata clients.

The Fatimids had taken the city in 927 and expelled the Idrissids, after which their Miknasa were installed there.

The Miknasa had been driven out of Fes in 980 by the Maghrawa, their fellow Zenata, allies of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

It was in this period that the great Andalusian ruler Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir had commissioned the Maghrawa to rebuild and refurnish the Al-Kairouan mosque, giving it much of its current appearance.

According to the Rawd al-Qirtas and other Marinid era sources, the Maghrawi emir Dunas Al-Maghrawi filled up the open spaces between the two medinas and the banks of the river dividing them with new constructions.

Thus, the two cities had grown into each other, being now only separated by their city walls and the river flowing through them.

His sons have fortified the city to a great extent.

This does not keep the Almoravid emir Yusuf bn Tashfin from conquering the city in 1070, after more than a decade of battling the Zenata warriors in the area and constant besieging of the city.

Madinat Fas and Al-'Aliya are united in 1070 by the Almoravids: the walls dividing them are destroyed, bridges connecting the two parts are built and connecting walls are constructed that unify the medinas.

The Meghrawa, a tribe of Zenata Berbers, had been one of the first Berber tribes to submit to Islam in the seventh century.

They supported Uqba ibn Nafi in his campaign to the Atlantic in 683.

They had defected from Sunni Islam and became Kharijite Muslims from the eighth century, and allied first with the Shia Muslim Idrisids, and, from the tenth century, with the Andalusian Umayyads of Córdoba.

As a result, they had been caught up in the Umayyad-Fatimid conflict in Morocco and Algeria.

Although they had won a victory over the allies of the Fatimids in 924, they soon became allied with them themselves.

When they switched back to the side of Córdoba, they had been driven out of central Morocco by the Zirids, who ruled on behalf of the Fatimids.

In 980, however, they had been able to drive the Miknasa Berbers out of Sijilmasa.

Under Ziri ibn Atiyya (to 1001), the Meghrawa had achieved supremacy in Fez under Umayyad suzerainty and expanded their territory at the expense of the Banu Ifran.

A revolt against the Andalusian Umayyads had been put down by Al-Mansur (Abi Amir), although the Meghrawa had been able to regain power in Fez.

Under the succeeding rulers al-Muizz (1001-1026), Hamman (1026-1039) and Dunas (1039) they had consolidated their rule in northern and central Morocco.

However, internal power struggles after 1060 enable the Almoravids to conquer them in 1070 and put an end to their rule.

The Almoravids make Marrakech their capital in 1070.

The Revolt of Le Mans and the Restoration of Maine (1069–1070)

In 1069, the citizens of Le Mans rose in revolt against Norman rule, expelling their occupiers and restoring local control over the County of Maine. By 1070, the Normans had been fully driven out, and young Hugh V was proclaimed Count of Maine, ending William of Normandy’s brief control over the region.

The Revolt Against Norman Rule (1069)

• Norman forces had occupied Maine since William’s conquest of the county in 1063–1064, but their rule was deeply unpopular.
• In 1069, the citizens of Le Mans initiated an uprising, challenging Norman authority.
• Their rebellion quickly gained support from local barons, most notably Geoffrey of Mayenne, a key figure in Maine’s anti-Norman resistance.
• The Normans struggled to contain the insurrection, and by 1070, they were expelled from the county.

Hugh V Becomes Count of Maine

• Following the expulsion of the Normans, the Manceaux proclaimed Hugh V as the new Count of Maine.
• Hugh was the son of Azzo d’Este, an Italian nobleman, and Gersendis of Maine, a sister of the late Count Hugh IV.
• Despite his son’s new title, Azzo d’Este returned to Italy, leaving Gersendis to govern the county.

The Rise of Geoffrey of Mayenne

• In practice, the real power in Maine did not rest with Gersendis but with Geoffrey of Mayenne, a leading baron who had played a major role in the revolt.
• Geoffrey essentially ruled in all but name, securing Maine’s independence from Normandy and acting as the de facto leader of the county.

Consequences and the Future of Maine

• The expulsion of the Normans from Maine in 1070 marked a temporary reversal of William’s territorial expansion.
• Geoffrey of Mayenne’s control over the region ensured that Maine remained independent for now, though the Normans would return in later years.
• This revolt weakened Norman influence in northern France, as William now had to focus on consolidating his rule in England, leaving Maine’s political fate uncertain.

The 1069–1070 revolt in Maine proved that Norman rule was not unchallenged, and while Hugh V was proclaimed count, the real power remained with local barons like Geoffrey of Mayenne, setting the stage for further struggles between Maine and Normandy.