1153 CE

Taira no Tadamori dies after a career in which he has used his military and diplomatic skills to subdue the pirates menacing commerce in the Seto Inland Sea. He expands trade with China and becomes the first samurai to serve Emperor Konoe as personal bodyguard. He is succeeded by his son Taira no Kiyomori, who assumes control of the Taira Clan. He establishes the first samurai-dominated government in Japan. King David I of Scotland dies after a 29-year reign at Carlisle Castle. He is succeeded by his grandson, the 12-year-old Malcolm IV (Virgo). Malcolm is the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, who is crowned as ruler of Scotland at Scone Priory on May 27. Because of his young age, Donnchad (or Duncan) becomes Malcolm's regent and royal adviser. Pope Eugene III dies after an 8-year pontificate at Tivoli. He is succeeded by Anastasius IV as the 168th pope of the Catholic Church.

In the 1150s, the 12th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • November 6 – The Treaty of Wallingford: Henry of Anjou and Stephen ratify the terms of a permanent peace under the direction of Archbishop Theobald of Bec. Ending the civil war (The Anarchy) – between England and Normandy after 18-years. The treaty grants the throne to Stephen for the duration of his life, but makes Henry the heir apparent.source

Conflict & Security

  • August 19 – Siege of Ascalon: King Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, the last Fatimid fortress in Palestine. The citizens are allowed to leave in peace and return to Egypt.source
  • August – Stephen assemble troops to renew the siege of Wallingford Castle in a final attempt to take the stronghold. Henry of Anjou marches south to relieve the siege, arriving with a small army of mercenaries. He places Stephen's besieging troops under siege themselves. Stephen agrees to make a truce and accepts Henry as heir to the English throne.source
  • Estimation: Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire, becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Merv in the Seljuk Empire.source
  • Spring – The 19-year-old Henry II of England lands with a Norman fleet (some 40 ships) on the south coast of England. He defeats King Stephen (a cousin of his mother, Queen Matilda) with a small army at Malmesbury. Henry travels north through the Midlands, while a temporary truce is accepted. Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, announces his support for the cause. Hoping to dethrone Stephen and replace him with Matilda.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • King Roger II sends a Sicilian expedition under Admiral Philip of Mahdia to conquer Ifriqiya. With the support of Muslim troops, the Siculo-Normans suppress a rebellion on Djerba and invade the Kerkennah Islands.source
  • Confronted with important financial difficulty due to the expenses of the Spanish crusade, the Republic of Genoa has to sell a third of the city of Tortosa (which they had conquered in 1148 during an expedition against the Almoravids) to Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona.source

Religion & Belief

  • Dhovemi, ruler of the Maldives, converts to Islam and adopts the Muslim title of Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdullah.source

Crime & Justice

  • Spring – Andronikos I Komnenos, son of Isaac Komnenos, is imprisoned in the imperial palace for conspiring against his uncle, Emperor Manuel I (Komenenos) at Constantinople.source

Culture & Society

  • Raynald of Châtillon, a French nobleman, marries Constance of Antioch (after given permission by Baldwin III) and becomes Prince of Antioch.source
  • Devorgilla (married to Tiernan O'Rourke) eloped with Dermot McMurrough (the King of Leinster) to Ferns, an act which brought about a feud and McMurrough's eventual exile from Ireland.Irelandsource

Births

  • August 17 – William IX, count of Poitiers (died 1156)source
  • Abu Mohammed Salih, Almohad Sufi leader (died 1234)source
  • Alexios III (Angelos), Byzantine emperor (died 1211)source
  • Aimery of Cyprus (or Amaury), king of Jerusalem (died 1205)source
  • Marco I Sanudo, duke of the Archipelago (died 1227)source
  • Sibylla of Acerra, queen and regent of Sicily (died 1205)source
  • Kamo no Chōmei, Japanese author and poet (died 1216)source
  • Harvey I of Léon, Breton nobleman and knight (died 1203)source
  • Waleran de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Warwick (died 1204)source
  • Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, Irish king (died 1224)source
  • William II (the Good), king of Sicily (died 1189)source
  • Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of Hertford (died 1217)source
  • Nerses of Lambron, Armenian archbishop (died 1198)source
  • Ibn Hammad, Hammadid historian and writer (died 1230)source
  • Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht (died 1224).Irelandsource

Deaths

  • January 28 – Pelagius of Oviedo, Spanish bishopsource
  • February 10 – Taira no Tadamori dies after a career in which he has used his military and diplomatic skills to subdue the pirates menacing commerce in the Seto Inland Sea. He expands trade with China and becomes the first samurai to serve Emperor Konoe as personal bodyguard. He is succeeded by his son Taira no Kiyomori, who assumes control of the Taira Clan. He establishes the first samurai-dominated government in Japan.source
  • April 16 – Piotr Włostowic, Polish nobleman (born 1080)source
  • May 22 – Atto of Pistoia, Portuguese bishop (born 1070)source
  • May 24 – King David I of Scotland dies after a 29-year reign at Carlisle Castle. He is succeeded by his grandson, the 12-year-old Malcolm IV (Virgo). Malcolm is the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, who is crowned as ruler of Scotland at Scone Priory on May 27. Because of his young age, Donnchad (or Duncan) becomes Malcolm's regent and royal adviser.source
  • May 24 – David I, king of Scotland (born 1084)source
  • June 29 – Óláfr Guðrøðarson, king of the Islessource
  • July 8 – Eugene III, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • July 8 – Pope Eugene III dies after an 8-year pontificate at Tivoli. He is succeeded by Anastasius IV as the 168th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • August 17 – Eustace IV, count of Boulogne (born 1130)source
  • August 20 – Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot (born 1090)source
  • October 14 – Henry Murdac, English archbishopsource
  • December 16 – Ranulf de Gernon, Norman nobleman (born 1099)source
  • Anna Komnene, Byzantine princess and historian (born 1083)source