956

956 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	956; CMLVI
Ab urbe condita	1709
Armenian calendar	405; ԹՎ ՆԵ
Assyrian calendar	5706
Balinese saka calendar	877–878
Bengali calendar	363
Berber calendar	1906
Buddhist calendar	1500
Burmese calendar	318
Byzantine calendar	6464–6465
Chinese calendar	乙卯年 (Wood Rabbit); 3653 or 3446; — to —; 丙辰年 (Fire Dragon); 3654 or 3447
Coptic calendar	672–673
Discordian calendar	2122
Ethiopian calendar	948–949
Hebrew calendar	4716–4717
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1012–1013
- Shaka Samvat	877–878
- Kali Yuga	4056–4057
Holocene calendar	10956
Iranian calendar	334–335
Islamic calendar	344–345
Japanese calendar	Tenryaku 10; (天暦１０年)
Javanese calendar	856–857
Julian calendar	956; CMLVI
Korean calendar	3289
Minguo calendar	956 before ROC; 民前956年
Nanakshahi calendar	−512
Seleucid era	1267/1268 AG
Thai solar calendar	1498–1499
Tibetan calendar	阴木兔年; (female Wood-Rabbit); 1082 or 701 or −71; — to —; 阳火龙年; (male Fire-Dragon); 1083 or 702 or −70

Millennium:	1st millennium
Centuries:	9th century; 10th century ; 11th century;
Decades:	930s; 940s; 950s ; 960s; 970s;
Years:	953; 954; 955; 956 ; 957; 958; 959;

Year 956 (CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of the Byzantine field army (Domestic of the Schools) in the East. He gives him order to prepare a campaign against the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla. Constantine makes treaties with neighbouring rulers, to seek military aid.^[1]
September - October – A Byzantine fleet under Basil Hexamilites deals a crushing defeat to the Hamdanid fleet at Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey).

Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I (the Great), reconciles with his father and asks again for installation as duke of Swabia. Otto refuses, but at the instigation of his uncle Bruno I (duke of Lotharingia) allows Liudolf to lead an expedition to Italy to bring the vassal Berengar of Ivrea to heel.
Berengar of Ivrea dispatches a Lombard army under his son Adalbert II to counter Liudolf, while he guards Pavia himself. In two battles Liudolf defeats the Lombard forces and enters Pavia, there to receive the homage of the Italian nobles and clergy on behalf of Otto I.
June 16 – Hugh the Great, count of Paris, dies at Dourdan. He is succeeded by his eldest son Hugh Capet, who is recognized as Duke of the Franks by his cousin Lothair III, king of the West Frankish Kingdom.^[2]
King Ordoño III dies at Zamora after a 5-year reign. He is succeeded by his half-brother Sancho I as ruler of León (modern Spain).

Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, is sent into exile by King Eadwig. He takes refuge in Flanders (modern Belgium), where Count Arnulf I gives him shelter in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.^[3]

Siegfried II, count of Stade (d. 1037)
probable
- Adalbert of Prague, Bohemian bishop (approximate date)
- Sampiro, Spanish bishop (approximate date)

February 15 – Su Yugui, Chinese chancellor (b. 895)
February 27 – Theophylact, Byzantine patriarch (b. 917)
April 8 – Gilbert, duke of Burgundy
April 15 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
May 19 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
June 4 – Muhammad II of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
June 16 – Hugh the Great, Frankish nobleman (b. 898)
July/August – Fulbert of Cambrai, bishop^[4]
August – Ordoño III, king of León^[5]
August 29 – Fu (the Elder), Chinese empress consort
September/October – Al-Masudi, Muslim historian and geographer^[6]
December 21 – Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellor
December 26 – Wulfstan, archbishop of York^[7]
date unknown
- Ahmad al-Muhajir, Muslim scholar and imam (b. 873)
- Congalach Cnogba, High King of Ireland
- Gandaraditya, ruler of Chola Kingdom
- Zhao Hongyin, Chinese general

^ Timothy Reuter (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 591. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
^ Timothy Reuter (1999). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III, p. 386. ISBN 978-0-521-36447-8.
^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Dunstan" Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ H. Platelle, "Fulbert, évêque de Cambrai", Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. 19 (Paris, 1981), 332-333.
^ H. E. L. Mellersh; Neville Williams (1999). Chronology of World History. ABC-CLIO. p. 276. ISBN 978-1-57607-155-7.
^ Encyclopedia of World Biography. Gale Research. 1998. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-7876-2550-4.
^ E. B. Pryde; D. E. Greenway; S. Porter; I. Roy (February 23, 1996). Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge University Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-521-56350-5.

Gregorian calendar	956 CMLVI
Ab urbe condita	1709
Armenian calendar	405 ԹՎ ՆԵ
Assyrian calendar	5706
Balinese saka calendar	877–878
Bengali calendar	363
Berber calendar	1906
Buddhist calendar	1500
Burmese calendar	318
Byzantine calendar	6464–6465
Chinese calendar	乙卯年 (Wood Rabbit) 3653 or 3446 — to — 丙辰年 (Fire Dragon) 3654 or 3447
Coptic calendar	672–673
Discordian calendar	2122
Ethiopian calendar	948–949
Hebrew calendar	4716–4717
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1012–1013
- Shaka Samvat	877–878
- Kali Yuga	4056–4057
Holocene calendar	10956
Iranian calendar	334–335
Islamic calendar	344–345
Japanese calendar	Tenryaku 10 (天暦１０年)
Javanese calendar	856–857
Julian calendar	956 CMLVI
Korean calendar	3289
Minguo calendar	956 before ROC 民前956年
Nanakshahi calendar	−512
Seleucid era	1267/1268 AG
Thai solar calendar	1498–1499
Tibetan calendar	阴木兔年 (female Wood-Rabbit) 1082 or 701 or −71 — to — 阳火龙年 (male Fire-Dragon) 1083 or 702 or −70