1161 CE
Battle of Oslo: King Inge I of Norway ("the Hunchback") is defeated and killed while fighting the forces of Haakon II ("the Broadshouldered") who succeeds Inge, with 5-year-old Magnus V as co-ruler, but not without challenges to his sovereignty. Theobald of Bec, archbishop of Canterbury in England dies after an illness. King Henry II is informed and expresses the wish to have his friend Thomas Becket elected as the successor. Wanyan Liang, Chinese prince of Hailing, is assassinated while on campaign. He is succeeded by Emperor Shizong of Jin (until 1189).
In the 1160s, the 12th century.
Conflict & Security
- February 3 – Battle of Oslo: King Inge I of Norway ("the Hunchback") is defeated and killed while fighting the forces of Haakon II ("the Broadshouldered") who succeeds Inge, with 5-year-old Magnus V as co-ruler, but not without challenges to his sovereignty.source
- An Almoravid offensive against the Kingdom of Portugal reaches the city of Almada, located on the Tagus river.source
- Jin–Song Wars: The Battle of Tangdao (November 16) and Battle of Caishi (November 26–27) on the Yangtze River, between the Jin dynasty and the Song dynasty in China result in two pivotal Song naval victories.source
Religion & Belief
- January 5 – Canonization of Edward the Confessor (died 1066) in England.source
- The Cross of Saint Euphrosyne, commissioned by Euphrosyne of Polotsk in Belarus, is created by craftsman Lazar Bohsha. (It goes missing during World War II, and is not recovered subsequently).source
- late summer/early autumn – Géza II of Hungary and the envoys of Pope Alexander III conclude the Concordat of 1161, by which Géza agrees to support the Pope in exchange for concessions.source
- after April 18 – Bartholomew is consecrated as bishop of Exeter in England (until 1184).source
Culture & Society
- December 24 – The widowed Emperor Manuel I Komnenos marries Maria of Antioch, aged 16, at Hagia Sophia.source
Births
- February 22 – Innocent III, pope of the Catholic Church (died 1216)source
- September 20 – Takakura, emperor of Japan (died 1181)source
- Guðmundur Arason, Icelandic bishop (died 1237)source
- Sasaki Yoshikiyo, Japanese nobleman (died 1242)source
- Baldwin IV ("the Leper"), king of Jerusalem (died 1185)source
- Sancho, Count of Provence (or Sanche), Spanish nobleman (died 1223)source
- Belgutei, half-brother of Genghis Khan (died 1271)source
- Satō Tadanobu, Japanese samurai (died 1186)source
- Beatrice of Albon, duchess of Burgundy (died 1228)source
- Constance, duchess of Brittany (approximate date)source
- Börte, wife of Genghis Khan (approximate date)source
- Alfonso Téllez de Meneses, Spanish nobleman (died 1230)source
- Eleanor of England, queen of Castile (died 1214)source
- Tsangpa Gyare, Tibetan Buddhist leader (died 1211)source
Deaths
- February 3 – Inge I ("the Hunchback"), king of Norway (born 1135)source
- April 18 – Theobald of Bec, archbishop of Canterbury (born 1090)source
- April 18 – Theobald of Bec, archbishop of Canterbury in England dies after an illness. King Henry II is informed and expresses the wish to have his friend Thomas Becket elected as the successor.source
- May 12 – Fergus of Galloway, Scottish noblemansource
- June 14 – Qinzong, Chinese emperor (born 1100)source
- September 10 – Tala'i ibn Ruzzik, Fatimid viziersource
- September 11 – Melisende, queen of Jerusalem (born 1105)source
- October 12 – Henry V, duke of Carinthia (House of Sponheim)source
- October 28 – Imar of Tusculum, French abbot and bishopsource
- November 21 – William III, count of Nevers and Auxerresource
- November 23 – Adam of Ebrach, German monk and abbotsource
- December 15 – Wanyan Liang, Chinese emperor (born 1122)source
- December 15 – Wanyan Liang, Chinese prince of Hailing, is assassinated while on campaign. He is succeeded by Emperor Shizong of Jin (until 1189).source
- Magnus Henriksson, pretender to the throne of Sweden, is murdered by Charles VII, who becomes king of Sweden until 1167.source
- Archbishop Gregory, Archbishop of DublinIrelandsource