987

By place

Byzantine Empire

• February 7 - Bardas Phokas and Bardas Skleros, two members of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. They overrun Anatolia, and Phokas declares himself Emperor. Basil applies for military assistance from Prince Vladimir the Great, ruler of Kievan Rus', who agrees to help him and sends a Varangian army.

  Europe

• May 21 - King Louis V dies during a hunting accident in the Forest of Halatte near the town of Senlis. His death at age 20 ends the Carolingian Dynasty founded by Charlemagne . The late King's uncle, Charles, lays claim to the throne. Being a vassal of King Otto III, the Frankish nobles balk at the prospect of his ascension.
• July 3 - Hugh Capet, Count of Paris, is elected and crowned King of France at Noyon, by Adalbero. He becomes the first monarch of the Capetian Dynasty, who rules the kingdom until 1328. Empress-regent Theophanu leads an expedition to Lower Lorraine, to ensure it remains as part of the Holy Roman Empire.
• Al-Mansur, the de facto ruler of Al-Andalus, occupies the city of Coimbra. The domination of the Andalusian authorities in the north of Gharb al-Andalus, leads to the submission of the Counts of Portugal to the Caliphate of Córdoba. But it also illustrates the limited ability of the Muslims to repopulate, or at least govern directly, these remote areas.
• December - The 15-year-old Robert is crowned co-ruler of France around Christmas at Orléans.
• The population of Bari revolts against the Byzantine Empire.

  Africa

• The Zirid Dynasty fails to reconquer the western part of the Maghreb, which they have recently lost to the Umayyad Caliphate.

  By topic

Art

• An extension of the Prayer Hall, Great Mosque of Córdoba at Córdoba, is made.