1207 CE
John still refuses to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop; Innocent III threatens to place England under an Interdict. In response, John confiscates church property. Many of the English bishops of the great churches in the country flee abroad to the Continent. Leeds, a market town in West Yorkshire, receives its first charter (approximate date). Hōnen and his followers of the Pure Land sect are persecuted and exiled to remote parts of Japan, while a few are executed, for what the government considers heretical Buddhist teachings.
In the 1200s, the 13th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
Conflict & Security
- September 4 – Battle of Messinopolis: Latin forces under Boniface of Montferrat are ambushed and defeated at Messinopolis. Boniface is killed and his head is sent to Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire. Seeking to take advantage of the situation, Kaloyan besieges Thessalonica. In October, he dies under mysterious circumstances.source
- Prince Mstislav Mstislavich ("the Daring") clashes with his uncle Rurik Rostislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, and is forced to surrender the town of Torchesk (a major centre of resistance against Polovtsian raids).source
- In Vietnam, the Lý dynasty witnessed the political crisis under king Lý Cao Tông. The barbarians in Tản Viên mountain rebelled against the emperor. They continued to rule Tản Viên mountain independently until the beginning of the Trần dynasty. In March, two chieftains Đoàn Thượng, Đoàn Chủ in Hồng Châu (present day Hải Dương and Hải Phòng) rebelled and declared themselves kings. Their rebellions lasted for 2 years, contributing to the fall of the Ly dynasty.source
- Spring – Siege of Attalia: Seljuk forces led by Sultan Kaykhusraw I besiege the city port of Attalia (modern-day Antalya) with siege machines. After a siege of more than 2 months, the city is captured, Kaykhusraw allows his forces 3 days of looting and slaughtering. The capture of the port gives the Seljuk Turks a major path into the Mediterranean.source
- Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, subjugates people of the Siberian forest (taiga); the Uriankhai, the Oirats, the Barga, the Khakas, the Buryats, and the Tuvans, extending the northern border of the Mongol Empire.source
Religion & Belief
- February 2 – Terra Mariana (or Medieval Livonia), comprising modern-day Estonia and Latvia, is established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. During its existence there is a constant struggle over supremacy between the lands ruled by the Teutonic Order, the secular German nobility, and the citizens of the Hanseatic towns of Riga and Reval.source
- May 24 – John still refuses to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop; Innocent III threatens to place England under an Interdict. In response, John confiscates church property. Many of the English bishops of the great churches in the country flee abroad to the Continent.source
- June 17 – Stephen Langton is consecrated as archbishop of Canterbury in England by Innocent III at Viterbo.source
- Pope Innocent III declares for King Philip of Swabia as Holy Roman Emperor, a reversal of his previous support for Philip's rival Otto IV.source
- John, King of England ("Lackland") introduces the first income tax. One-thirteenth of income from rents and moveable property has to be paid. Collected locally by sheriffs and administered by the Exchequer, the tax is unpopular with the English nobility and especially in the churches and monasteries, but does raise a lot of money for John, doubling his annual income for the year.source
- Before 1207 – Kosho writes Kuya Preaching, during the Kamakura period (it is later kept at Rokuharamitsu-ji Temple in Kyoto).source
- Hugh de Lacy destroyed Clones Abbey and the town of ClonesIrelandsource
Economy & Finance
- The first documentary evidence of forced loans in Venice. This technique becomes the staple of public finance in Europe, until the 16th century.source
Technology & Infrastructure
Crime & Justice
Culture & Society
Births
- July 7 – Elizabeth of Hungary, Hungarian princess (died 1231)source
- August 13 – Malik ibn al-Murahhal, Moroccan poet (died 1299)source
- September 30 – Rumi, Persian scholar and mystic (died 1273)source
- October 1 – Henry III (of Winchester), English king (died 1272)source
- John of Scotland, Scottish nobleman and knight (died 1237)source
- Philip I, Count of Savoy, French nobleman (died 1285)source
- Gilbert Marshal, English nobleman and knight (died 1241)source
- Fujiwara no Akiuji, Japanese nobleman and poet (died 1274)source
- Margaret of Louvain, Flemish servant and saint (died 1237)source
- Ottone Visconti, Italian nobleman and archbishop (died 1295)source
- Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, Persian philosopher (died 1274)source
- Henry II, Duke of Brabant, Dutch nobleman (House of Reginar) (died 1248)source
- Adelasia of Torres, Italian noblewoman and judge (died 1259)source
- Raymond II Trencavel (or Raimond), French nobleman (died 1263)source
Deaths
- March 1 – Fernando Afonso, Portuguese Grand Mastersource
- May 3 – Fujiwara no Kanezane, Japanese noblemansource
- May 7 – Abdul Razzaq Gilani, Persian jurist (born 1134)source
- June 6 – Gerardo dei Tintori, Italian mystic (born 1134)source
- June 13 – Xie, Chinese empress consort (born 1135)source
- June 19 – Ubaldo Lanfranchi, Italian archbishopsource
- August 21 – Simon of Wells, bishop of Chichestersource
- September 4 – Boniface I of Montferrat, Italian noblemansource
- September 4 – Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, French troubadoursource
- October 3 – Xin Qiji, Chinese general and poet (born 1140)source
- October – Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empiresource
- November 3 – Hartwig II, German archbishopsource
- November 24 – Han Tuozhou, Chinese statesman (born 1152)source
- Hōnen and his followers of the Pure Land sect are persecuted and exiled to remote parts of Japan, while a few are executed, for what the government considers heretical Buddhist teachings.source