1165 CE

Closeted Emperor Go-Shirakawa holds an opening ceremony for the Sanjūsangen-dō, a temple built by Taira no Kiyomori in Japan. Battle of Fahs al-Jullab: Almohad forces defeat Ibn Mardanish, ruler of the Taifa of Murcia. His army is routed at a place called the "merchant field" near Alhama, in the valley of the Guadalentín. King Malcolm IV of Scotland dies at Jedburgh after a 12-year reign and is succeeded by his brother William the Lion as ruler of Scotland (until 1214).

In the 1160s, the 12th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • August 3 – Emperor Nijō of Japan abdicates the throne, dying soon after following a 7-year reign. He is succeeded by his 1-year-old son Rokujō as 79th emperor.source
  • In China the Jin dynasty ("Great Jin") and the Song dynasty make a lasting peace (until 1205).source

Conflict & Security

  • October 15 – Battle of Fahs al-Jullab: Almohad forces defeat Ibn Mardanish, ruler of the Taifa of Murcia. His army is routed at a place called the "merchant field" near Alhama, in the valley of the Guadalentín.source
  • c. August – Battle of Crogen: Owain Gwynedd (Owain Fawr), ruler of the Kingdom of Gwynedd in north Wales, having formed an alliance with his nephew Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth, to challenge English rule, defeats King Henry II of England and drives his army out of Wales.source
  • Reconquista – Gerald the Fearless, Portuguese warrior and adventurer, seizes the city of Évora by surprise. The same year (or soon after), he takes Cáceres, Trujillo, Montánchez, Moura, Monsaraz and Alconchel from the Almohads.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Benjamin of Tudela, Spanish Jewish traveler, sets out on his journey from the northeast Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain), on a pilgrimage to the land of Israel and beyond.source
  • Otto II, Margrave of Meissen, grants Leipzig city and market privileges. The city is located at the crossways of the Via Regia and Via Imperii trade routes.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 30 – Closeted Emperor Go-Shirakawa holds an opening ceremony for the Sanjūsangen-dō, a temple built by Taira no Kiyomori in Japan.source
  • Approximate date – Hildegard of Bingen, German Benedictine abbess, founds Eibingen Abbey near Rüdesheim am Rhein.source
  • The construction of Liuhe Pagoda ("Six Harmonies Pagoda") in Hangzhou is completed in Song dynasty China.source
  • Eskil, Danish archbishop of Lund, appoints Fulco as the first Bishop of Estonia, marking the early beginning of the introduction of Christianity to the country. He will visit Estonia for the first time in 1169 or 1170.source
  • Spring – Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos makes an alliance with Venice against Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who takes an oath at the Diet of Würzburg to support Antipope Paschal III against Pope Alexander III.source

Crime & Justice

  • Andronikos I Komnenos, a cousin of Manuel I, escapes from prison at Constantinople. After passing through many dangers, he reaches Kiev and seeks refuge at the court of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl.source

Culture & Society

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen consort of England, spends most of the year in Anjou. Her husband, Henry II, begins an affair with "the Fair" Rosamund Clifford.source

Births

  • July 28 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian philosopher (died 1240)source
  • August 21 – Philip II, king of France (died 1223)source
  • October – Joan of England, queen consort of Sicily (died 1199)source
  • November – Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1197)source
  • Albert, German-born bishop of Riga (died 1229)source
  • Renaud I, Count of Dammartin (Reginald of Boulogne), French nobleman (died 1227)source
  • Henry I ("the Brave"), duke of Brabant (died 1235)source
  • Jean de Montmirail, French nobleman and Cistercian monk (died 1217)source
  • Lady Shizuka Gozen, Japanese court dancer (died 1211)source
  • Henry the Bearded, High Duke of Poland (died 1238)source
  • Waleran III (or Walram), duke of Limburg (died 1226)source
  • Hermann von Salza, German nobleman, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (died 1239)source
  • Theobald Walter, 1st Chief Butler of Ireland, Anglo-Norman High Sheriff (died 1206)source
  • Albéric Clément, 1st Marshal of France (died 1191)source

Deaths

  • January 24 – William of Ypres, Flemish nobleman (born 1090)source
  • February 7 – Stephen of Armenia, Armenian nobleman (born 1111)source
  • March 27 – Awn al-Din ibn Hubayra, Abbasid vizier (born 1105)source
  • April 11 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (born 1133)source
  • April 11 – Ibn al-Tilmidh, Arab physician and calligrapher (born 1074)source
  • July 22 – John Marshal (or FitzGilbert), Marshal of England (born 1105)source
  • September 5 – Nijō, emperor of Japan (born 1143)source
  • December 9 – King Malcolm IV of Scotland (born 1141)source
  • December 9 – King Malcolm IV of Scotland dies at Jedburgh after a 12-year reign and is succeeded by his brother William the Lion as ruler of Scotland (until 1214).source
  • Rostislav Glebovich, Kievan prince of Minsksource
  • Muhammad al-Idrisi, Arab geographer (born 1100)source
  • Sibylla of Anjou, countess consort of Flanders (born 1112)source
  • Adalgott of Disentis, German abbot and bishopsource
  • Gottfried of Admont, German Benedictine abbotsource
  • Domnall Ua Gilla-Patraic (descendant), king of North Ossory, and Conchobar Ua Broighte, king of Cenn-caille, were killed by Ma[c] Craith Ua Mordhai and by the Laichsi for evil causes.Irelandsource
  • Diarmait Mac Artain, chief of Clann-FogartaighIrelandsource