1017

Year 1017 (MXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Europe

 * Summer – Melus of Bari, a Lombard nobleman, revolts and is supported by Norman mercenaries at Capua. He marches into Apulia to catch the Byzantine army off-guard. Melus defeats the Byzantines on the banks of the Fortore River and ravages the territory in Apulia.
 * Winter – Emperor Basil II ("the Bulgar Slayer") replaces Leo Tornikios with the new catapan Basil Boioannes and sends him reinforcements (including a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard) from Constantinople.

England

 * January 6 – Cnut ("the Great") is crowned king of England. In July he marries Emma of Normandy, the widow of Æthelred the Unready, securing his ties with Normandy.
 * Cnut divides England into four earldoms: Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria.

Arabian Empire

 * Summer – Hamza ibn-'Ali ibn-Ahmad publicly declares the founding of the Druze religion, during the reign of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.

Africa

 * The Sunnis of Kairouan (modern Tunisia) revolt against the Shi'ite Zirid dynasty. The city is quickly retaken and sacked.

Asia

 * March – Fujiwara no Michinaga passes the title of regent of Japan (Sesshō) to his eldest son Fujiwara no Yorimichi.
 * September
 * Prince Atsuakira of Japan, eldest son of ex-Emperor Sanjō, having been struck by a skin disease and under intense pressure from Michinaga, resigns the title of Crown Prince in favour of his younger brother, Prince Atsunaga who marries Fujiwara no Kanshi, daughter of Michinaga.
 * Michinaga makes a pilgrimage to the Iwashimizu Shrine in Japan accompanied by many courtiers. The travelers divide themselves amongst 15 boats for a floating trip down the Yotogawa River. One of the vessels overturns and more than 30 people lose their lives.
 * December 24 – Michinaga is granted the honorary title Daijō-daijin of Japan.
 * Rajendra I, ruler of the Chola dynasty (in modern India), conquers Sri Lanka and annexes the island.

Religion

 * Construction of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv is started (approximate date).

Births

 * October 28 – Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
 * Ahimaaz ben Paltiel, Italian-Jewish liturgical poet (d. 1060)
 * Bermudo III (or Vermudo), king of León (approximate date)
 * Floris I, count of Friesland west of the Vlie (approximate date)
 * Ramanuja, Indian Sri Vaishnavism philosopher (d. 1137)
 * Vikramabahu (Kassapa VI), king of Sri Lanka (d. 1041)
 * Zhou Dunyi, Chinese philosopher and cosmologist (d. 1073)

Deaths

 * February 5 – Sancho García, count of Castile
 * June 5 – Sanjō, ex-emperor of Japan (b. 976)
 * June 22 – Leo Passianos, Byzantine general
 * July 6 – Genshin, Japanese Tendai scholar (b. 942)
 * September 18 – Henry of Schweinfurt, German nobleman
 * October 6 – Wang Dan, Chinese Grand Chancellor
 * Eadric Streona, ealdorman of Mercia
 * Eadwig Ætheling, son of Æthelred II
 * Elvira of Castile, queen consort of León
 * Emnilda, duchess consort of Poland
 * Fujiwara no Junshi, Japanese empress (b. 957)
 * Judith of Brittany, duchess of Normandy (b. 982)
 * Ma'mun II, Ma'munid ruler of Khwarezm
 * Ramon Borrell, count of Barcelona (b. 972)
 * Renaud of Vendôme, French nobleman