Europe

• Otto III
  Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
  Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...
  
   retakes the city of Rome
  Rome
  Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
  
   and reinstates his cousin, Pope Gregory V
  Pope Gregory V
  Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia , Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great . Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV , when only twenty-four years of age...
  
  , after mutilating and blinding his rival, Antipope John XVI
  Antipope John XVI
  John XVI , born , , was an antipope from 997 to 998.-Life:He was born of Greek descent and was a native of Rossano in Calabria, southern Italy. At the time the region was a territory of the Byzantine Empire and John was the chaplain of Theophanu, the Empress consort of Emperor Otto II , who had...
  
  .
• St. Volodimir of Rus founds (or, according to some documents, gives his name to) the city of Volodimir of Wolyn, future capital of the kingdom of Ruthenia Minor (Halych-Wolyn Rus)

Religion

• A Benedictine
  Benedictine
  Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
  
   abbey is founded at Sherborne
  Sherborne Abbey
  The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin at Sherborne in the English county of Dorset, is usually called Sherborne Abbey. It has been a Saxon cathedral , a Benedictine abbey and is now a parish church.- Cathedral :...
  
  .
• St. Volodimir, Prince of Kiev Rus (modern Ukraine
  Ukraine
  Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
  
  , Russia
  Russia
  Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
  
   and el

Deaths

• Abu'l-Wafa, Iranian mathematician
• Damian Dalassenos
  Damian Dalassenos (duke of Antioch)
  Damian Dalassenos was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, who served as the doux of Antioch in 995/6–998.Damian is the first attested member of the distinguished Dalassenos clan. As a holder of the high title of magistros, he succeeded the disgraced Michael Bourtzes as governor of Antioch in...
  
  , Byzantine duke of Antioch