1196 CE

King Alfonso II of Aragon ("the Chaste") dies after a 32-year reign at Perpignan. He leaves a will that divides his realm (Aragon loses Provence) and is succeeded by his 21-year-old son Peter II (the Catholic). Emperor Alexios III Angelos is threatened by Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who demands 5,000 pounds of gold or the Byzantines will face an invasion, this due to a convoluted system of dynastic claims of Henry gaining control of Alexios' daughter Irene Doukaina. The amount is negotiated down to 1,600 pounds of gold – with Alexios plundering the imperial tombs within the Church of the Holy Apostles – as well as levying a heavy and unpopular tax, known as the Alamanikon (or German Tax). Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn, a Korean general, massacres his rivals and restores unity. After a coup d'état, he takes full power and becomes prime-minister of the Korean state Goryeo (until 1219).

In the 1190s, the 12th century.

Conflict & Security

  • December – Emperor Alexios III Angelos is threatened by Emperor Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who demands 5,000 pounds of gold or the Byzantines will face an invasion, this due to a convoluted system of dynastic claims of Henry gaining control of Alexios' daughter Irene Doukaina. The amount is negotiated down to 1,600 pounds of gold – with Alexios plundering the imperial tombs within the Church of the Holy Apostles – as well as levying a heavy and unpopular tax, known as the Alamanikon (or German Tax).source
  • Battle of Serres: Bulgarian forces under Tsar Ivan Asen I defeat the Byzantine army near Serres. During the winter Ivan continues his campaign in Central Macedonia and captures many Byzantine fortresses.source
  • Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn, a Korean general, massacres his rivals and restores unity. After a coup d'état, he takes full power and becomes prime-minister of the Korean state Goryeo (until 1219).source
  • Spring – William Fitz Osbert, a rebel leader, leads an uprising of the poor against the rich in London. He gathers over 52,000 supporters, stocks of weapons are cached throughout the city by breaking into the houses of the rich. Finally, the riots are suppressed and William is hanged, drawn and quartered by orders of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury.source

Religion & Belief

  • Spring – Henry VI persuades a diet at Würzburg. He manages to convince the majority of the German nobles and clergy to recognize his 2-year-old son, Frederick II, as king of the Romans and heir to the imperial throne. However, Archbishop Adolf of Cologne thwarts the will of the diet and arouses the resistance of several Saxon and Thuringian nobles against Henry, who realizes that he is unable to establish a hereditary monarchy (his Erbreichsplan) in the Holy Roman Empire without resistance.source

Crime & Justice

  • Ivan Asen I is stabbed to death by Ivanko, a Bulgarian boyar (aristocrat), who is accused of having an affair with Ivan's wife's sister. He is succeeded by his brother Kaloyan as co-ruler of the Bulgarian Empire.source

Climate & Environment

  • England is struck by pestilence and a resulting famine.source

Births

  • January 3 – Tsuchimikado, emperor of Japan (died 1231)source
  • March 27 – Sviatoslav III, Kievan Grand Prince (died 1252)source
  • William II of Dampierre, French nobleman (died 1231)source
  • Henry II the Pious, High Duke of Poland (died 1241)source
  • Aurembiaix, Spanish countess (House of Urgell) (died 1231)source
  • Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili, Almohad scholar (died 1258)source
  • Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine ("the Younger"), German nobleman (died 1214)source
  • Prince Dōjonyūdō, Japanese nobleman and waka poet (died 1249)source
  • Pedro Alfonso de León, Spanish nobleman (died 1226)source
  • Alberico II, Italian troubadour and statesman (died 1260)source

Deaths

  • January 6 – Burchard du Puiset, Norman archdeaconsource
  • April 23 – Béla III of Hungary dies after a 23-year reign in which he has supported the former Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelos against the invading Bulgarians. Having made the Hungarian court one of the most brilliant in Europe and made his hereditary monarchy. Béla is succeeded by his 22-year-old son Emeric as ruler of Hungary, Croatia and Dalmatia (until 1204).source
  • April 23 – Béla III, king of Hungary and Croatia (born 1148)source
  • April 25 – Alfonso II ("the Chaste"), king of Aragon (born 1157)source
  • April 25 – King Alfonso II of Aragon ("the Chaste") dies after a 32-year reign at Perpignan. He leaves a will that divides his realm (Aragon loses Provence) and is succeeded by his 21-year-old son Peter II (the Catholic).source
  • April 30 – Baldwin II van Holland, bishop of Utrechtsource
  • July 12 – Maurice II de Craon, Norman noblemansource
  • August 14 – Henry IV ("the Blind"), count of Luxembourgsource
  • August 15 – Conrad II, Duke of Swabia, German nobleman (born 1172)source
  • September 11 – Maurice de Sully, bishop of Parissource
  • November 30 – Richard of Acerra, Norman noblemansource
  • Ibn Mada', Andalusian scholar and polymath (born 1116)source
  • Canute I (Eriksson), king of Sweden (approximate date)source
  • Ivan Asen I, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empiresource
  • Mathghamhain mac Conchobar Maenmaige Ua Conchobair, Prince of ConnachtIrelandsource