Fujiwara no Mototsune had held the office of kampaku (or chancellor) in the beginning of Emperor Uda's reign.

Uda's reign is marked by a prolonged struggle to reassert power by the Imperial Family away from the increasing influence of the Fujiwara, beginning with the death of Mototsune in 891.

Records show that shortly thereafter, Emperor Uda assigned scholars Sukeyo and Kiyoyuki, supporters of Mototsune, to provincial posts in the remote provinces of Mutsu and Higo respectively.

Meanwhile, non-Fujiwara officials mainly from the Minamoto family have been promoted to prominent ranks, while his trusted counselor, Sugawara no Michizane, has rapidly risen in rank within five years to reach the third rank in the court, and supervision of the Crown Prince's household.

Meanwhile, Mototsune's son and heir, Fujiwara no Tokihira, rises in rank, but only just enough to prevent an open power struggle.

Beginning in 894, Uda stops the practice of sending ambassadors to China.

The emperor's decision is informed by what he understands as persuasive counsel from Sugawara Michizane.

Arnulf, according to the Annals of Fulda, had sent an embassy led by margrave Arbo to Moravia sometime during 891 in order to renew the peace between Moravia and Eastern Francia.

A letter written by the margrave had soon announced that the legates were returning from Svatopluk and the Moravians who had agreed "to give themselves in friendship".

Svatopluk, however, had broken his pledges; thus, Arnulf decided to invade Moravia in 891.

First the king met with Braslav, the Slavic dux on the river Sava, next raised an army of Franconians, Bavarians and Alamanni, and also recruited Hungarians to join his campaign.

Because of his desire to bring down Moravia, Arnulf will be accused by Ottonian authors in the late tenth century of unleashing the Hungarians on Europe.

Arnulf's invasion of Moravia had started in July 892, but he had failed to defeat Svatopluk, who has brought the Moravian kingdom to its greatest height.

The war against Moravia seems to have continued until 894, the year of Svatopluk's "most unlucky death" according to the Annals of Fulda, which implies that he met his end in some kind of mishap, the sort that occurs in war.

The exact circumstances of Svatopluk's death, however, are unknown.

Zwentibald, the dux of the Moravians and the source of all treachery, who had disturbed all the lands around him with tricks and cunning and circled around thirsting for human blood, made an unhappy end, exhorting his men at the last that they should not be lovers of peace but rather continue in enmity with their neighbors.-- Annals of Fulda (year 894).

Arnulf ends Moravian assaults by treaty in 894.

The Vikings in England use Benfleet as base for raiding, but in 894 they are defeated in the Battle of Benfleet by the army of King Alfred under the command of his son Edward the Elder and his son-in-law Earl Aethelred of Mercia.

The new pope, Formosus, not trusting the newly crowned co-emperors Guy and Lambert, had sent an embassy in 893 to Omuntesberch, where Arnulf was holding a Diet with Svatopluk, to request Arnulf come and liberate Italy, where he would be crowned in Rome.

Arnulf had met the Primores of the Kingdom of Italy, dismissed them with gifts and promised to enter Italy.

In summer 893, Arnulf had sent his son Zwentibold down the Brenner Pass with a Bavarian army to join Berengar of Friuli in Verona.

The two had marched to Guy’s capital, Pavia, and besieged it unsuccessfully, finally renouncing to the siege: according to Liutprand of Cremona, Zwentibold accepted money from Guy in order to leave, although it is not clear if it was in the form of a personal bribe or a tribute to his father.

Zwentibold's retreat is nonetheless seen as a failure, and on hearing the news of the retreat, Arnulf summons a new army and personally leads it across the Alps early in 894.

Bergamo falls in January 894, and Count Ambrose, Guy’s representative in the city, is hung from a tree by the city’s gate.

Arnulf, conquering all of the territory north of the Po, forces the surrender of Milan, then …

…drives Guy out of Pavia, where Arnulf is crowned King of Italy.

Berengar is recognized as king and a vassal of Arnulf.

Zwentibold returns to Germany, as fever has wreaked havoc on the German armies.

The long-lasting peace with the Empire established by Simeon's father is about to end.

A conflict arises when Emperor Leo VI the Wise, allegedly acting under pressure from his mistress Zoe Zaoutzaina and her father Stylianos Zaoutzes, moves the marketplace for Bulgarian goods from Constantinople to Thessaloniki, where the Bulgarian merchants are heavily taxed.

The Bulgarians seek the protection of Simeon, who in turn complains to Leo.

However, the emperor ignores his embassy.

Forced to take action, Simeon invades the Empire from the north in the autumn of 894, meeting with little opposition due to the concentration of most imperial forces in eastern Anatolia to counter Arab invasions.

Informed of the Bulgarian offensive, the surprised Leo sends an army consisting of guardsmen and other military units from the capital to halt Simeon, but his troops are routed somewhere in the theme of Macedonia.

The Bulgarians take most of the Khazar mercenary guardsmen prisoners and kill many archons, including the army's commander.

However, instead of continuing his advance to the capital, Simeon quickly withdraws his troops to face a Magyar invasion from the north.

Bulgarian historians will later call these events "the first trade war in medieval Europe.”

Arnulf’s march northward through the Alps is interrupted by Rudolph, King of Transjurane Burgundy, and it is only with great difficulty that Arnulf crosses the mountain range.

In retaliation, Arnulf orders his illegitimate son Zwentibold to ravage Burgundy.

Ageltrude travels with her fourteen-year-old son to Rome to receive papal confirmation of Arnulf's imperial succession, while her husband marches north with his troops, but Formosus, who still desires to crown Arnulf, is imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo.

The next point of contention in the troubled Tang dynasty comes in 895 with the death of Wang Chongying, the military governor of Huguo Circuit (headquartered in modern Yuncheng, Shanxi), which precipitates a succession struggle between his nephew Wang Ke (the adoptive son of Wang Chongying's brother and predecessor Wang Chongrong and biological son of another brother, Wang Chongjian, whom the Huguo soldiers supports, and his son Wang Gong the military governor of Baoyi Circuit (headquartered in modern Sanmenxia, Henan), who covets the more prosperous Huguo Circuit.

Li Keyong supports Wang Ke, while Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han support Wang Gong, and all of them submit competing petitions on the behalf of the feuding cousins.

Emperor Zhaozong approves Li Keyong's petition and makes Wang Ke the military governor of Huguo.

In response, Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han march on the capital again, killing the chancellors Wei Zhaodu (who had returned to his position as chancellor after the Xichuan campaign) and Li Xi, whom they perceive to be behind Emperor Zhaozong's decision.

The actions of Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han, in turn, draw a strong reaction from Li Keyong, who launches his army, crosses the Yellow River, and prepares to attack the three of them.

Rumors develop that Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu both want to seize the emperor and take him to their domains.

Emperor Zhaozong, in response, flees into the Qinling Mountains with his officials, and the people of Chang'an follow in droves.

Meanwhile, Li Keyong engages and defeats Wang's and Li Maozhen's troops, then puts Wang's capital Bin Prefecture under siege.

Wang flees and is killed by his own subordinates in flight.

Li Maozhen and Han capitulate, sending apologies and tributes to Emperor Zhaozong.

Emperor Zhaozong, who returns to Chang'an, bestows great honors on Li Keyong and his key subordinates, but hesitates when Li Keyong proposes to attack Li Maozhen, believing that if Li Keyong destroys Li Maozhen, the balance of power will be lost.

He therefore forbids Li Keyong from attacking Li Maozhen.

Li Keyong withdraws to Hedong Circuit, and, owing to his eventual defeats at the hands of Zhu Quanzhong, will not be able to return again.