1221 CE

The Jewish population of Erfurt (Duchy of Thuringia) is massacred after a ritual murder libel. A crowd storms the synagogue where the Jews have gathered with the threat of baptism or death. The Jewish quarter, including the synagogue, is razed: many Jews are tortured and killed. Battle of Parwan: Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni recruits an army of Turkic and Afghan warriors numbering some 60,000 men. As soon as news of this reaches Genghis Khan he sends a Mongol army of 30,000 men, led by his stepbrother Shigi Qutuqu. Meanwhile, Jalal al-Din moves to Parwan (modern Afghanistan), where the two armies meet in a narrow valley. Jalal al-Din takes the initiative, ordering his right-wing of Turks to dismount and engage in a skirmish. On the third day, the Mongols are finally defeated by the Khwarezmian forces and are forced to retreat. Shigi Qutuzu is driven off in defeat, losing over half his army. Battle of the Indus: Left with some 20,000 men, Jalal al-Din Mangburni has headed for the Indus River where Genghis catches up with him. In a desperate battle the Khwarezmain forces are destroyed, completing the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, while Jalal al-Din flees across the river and escapes into India.

In the 1220s, the 13th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • May 13 – Emperor Juntoku is forced to abdicate, and is briefly succeeded by his 2-year-old son Chūkyō on the throne of Japan. Ex-Emperor Go-Toba leads the unsuccessful Jōkyū War against the Kamakura shogunate.source

Conflict & Security

  • February – The cities of Merv (perhaps the world's largest up to this date), Herat and Nishapur which have peacefully surrendered rise up in arms. Genghis Khan sends his son Tolui to spend an extra month to subdue the revolts. Contemporary scholars report over a million people are systematically killed in a genocide.source
  • June – Sultan Al-Kamil again offers peace terms to Cardinal Pelagius with the cession of Jerusalem and all Palestine apart from Oultrejordain, together with a 30 years' truce and money compensation for the dismantling of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a German contingent under Louis I of Bavaria arrives at Damietta, with orders from Frederick II not to launch an attack on Cairo until the emperor's arrival. Louis and Pelagius decide to advance into Egypt towards Mansoura, where Al-Kamil has built a fortress to protect Cairo. The Crusaders assemble their armies and tents are set up just up the Nile, on June 29.source
  • July 4 – Pelagius orders a three-days fast in preparation for the advance. King John I of Jerusalem arrives at Damietta to rejoin the Crusade at the command of Honorius III. The Crusader force moves towards Sheremsah, halfway between Faraskur and Mansoura on the east bank of the Nile, occupying the city on July 12. Sources tell of 630 ships of various sizes, 5,000 knights, 4,000 archers, and 40,000 men. A horde of pilgrims march with the army. They are ordered to keep close to the river, to supply the Crusaders with water. Pelagius plans a new offensive and leaves a large garrison at Damietta.source
  • August 28 – Pelagius sues for peace and sends an envoy to Al-Kamil. The terms of surrender are accepted, which includes the retreat from Damietta – leaving Egypt with the remnants of the Crusader army and an 8-year truce. After prisoners are exchanged, Al-Kamil enters Damietta on September 8. The Fifth Crusade ends with nothing gained for the West, with much lost, men, resources and reputations. The Crusaders blame Frederick II for not being there. Pelagius is accused of ineffectual leadership and a misguided view, which has led to rejecting the sultan's peace offerings.source
  • September – Battle of Parwan: Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni recruits an army of Turkic and Afghan warriors numbering some 60,000 men. As soon as news of this reaches Genghis Khan he sends a Mongol army of 30,000 men, led by his stepbrother Shigi Qutuqu. Meanwhile, Jalal al-Din moves to Parwan (modern Afghanistan), where the two armies meet in a narrow valley. Jalal al-Din takes the initiative, ordering his right-wing of Turks to dismount and engage in a skirmish. On the third day, the Mongols are finally defeated by the Khwarezmian forces and are forced to retreat. Shigi Qutuzu is driven off in defeat, losing over half his army.source
  • October – The Mongol army raids Georgia for the second time, and Subutai and Jebe allow their forces to pass through the Caucasus Mountains.source
  • November 24 – Battle of the Indus: Left with some 20,000 men, Jalal al-Din Mangburni has headed for the Indus River where Genghis catches up with him. In a desperate battle the Khwarezmain forces are destroyed, completing the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, while Jalal al-Din flees across the river and escapes into India.source
  • The Maya of the Yucatán revolt against the rulers of Chichen Itza.source
  • Spring – Genghis Khan orders an armed reconnaissance expedition into the Caucasus (consisting of Georgia and Armenia) under the command of Subutai and Jebe ("the Arrow"). The Mongols defeat two Georgian armies around Tbilisi, but lack the will or equipment to besiege the capital city. During the fighting, King George IV of Georgia himself is severely wounded and his elite knights are massacred. Meanwhile in Bamyan, the ruler Genghis Khan leads a Mongol force that besieges and captures the fortified city after fierce resistance; during the fighting, his grandson Mutukan is killed, prompting a brutal massacre of the city’s defenders. The Mongols then return to Azerbaijan and Persia, and burn and pillage a few more cities.source
  • Siege of Tallinn: An Estonian Crusader army tries to conquer the Danish stronghold of Tallinn with the help of Revalians, Harrians and Vironians. They besiege the stronghold for 14 days but finally retreat their forces.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • July 24 – Pelagius moves the Crusader forces near Ashmun al-Rumman, on the opposite bank from Mansoura. Queen-Regent Alice of Cyprus and leaders of the military orders warn Pelagius of a large Muslim army being formed in Syria. Meanwhile, the Egyptian army under Al-Kamil crosses the Nile near Lake Manzaleh and establishes themselves between the Crusader camp and Damietta. In the Ushmum canal at Sheremsah, Al-Kamil's ships sail down the Nile and block the Crusaders' line of communications to Damietta. In August, Pelagius orders a retreat, but the route is cut off by Egyptians.source

Crime & Justice

  • June 16 – The Jewish population of Erfurt (Duchy of Thuringia) is massacred after a ritual murder libel. A crowd storms the synagogue where the Jews have gathered with the threat of baptism or death. The Jewish quarter, including the synagogue, is razed: many Jews are tortured and killed.source

Culture & Society

  • June 21 – 10-year-old Joan of England, eldest daughter of the late King John, marries the 21-year-old King Alexander II of Scotland at York Minster.source
  • July 29 – The 9-year-old Go-Horikawa ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan. He is a grandson of the late Emperor Takakura and a nephew of the exiled Go-Toba.source

Births

  • May 13 – Alexander Nevsky, Kievan Grand Prince (died 1263)source
  • June 4 – Przemysł I, Polish nobleman and knight (died 1257)source
  • October 9 – Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler (died 1290)source
  • November 2 – Saif al-Din Qutuz, Egyptian military leader (died 1260)source
  • November 23 – Alfonso X ("the Wise"), king of Castile (died 1284)source
  • Hugh XI of Lusignan, French nobleman and knight (died 1250)source
  • Bonaventure, Italian theologian and philosopher (died 1274)source
  • Barisone III, Sardinian judge of Logudoro (or Torres) (died 1236)source
  • Nisshō, Japanese Buddhist priest and teacher (died 1323)source
  • Theobald II, Count of Bar, French nobleman and knight (died 1291)source
  • Margaret of Provence, queen consort of France (died 1295)source
  • William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and knight (died 1268)source
  • Walter Devereux, Anglo-Norman nobleman and knight (died 1292)source

Deaths

  • January 17 – Walter de Clifford, English nobleman (born 1160)source
  • February 18 – Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen (born 1162)source
  • March 27 – Berengaria of Portugal, queen consort of Denmark (born 1198)source
  • April 25 – Baruch ben Samuel of Mainz, German rabbisource
  • July 7 – Peter of Cornwall, English priest and writer (born 1140)source
  • August 6 – Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, canonized (born 1170)source
  • October 4 – William IV of Ponthieu (Talvas), Norman nobleman (born 1179)source
  • October 21 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (or Alis), Breton noblewoman (born 1200)source
  • October 31 – Ulrich II, Bishop of Passau, German abbot and prince-bishopsource
  • November – Emperor Theodore I Laskaris dies after a 16-year reign and is succeeded by his son-in-law John III Doukas Vatatzes. John fends off Theodore's brothers, who believe that they have the better claim for the throne of the Empire of Nicaea. In December, he becomes the sole ruler, and during his reign, the Empire becomes the most powerful of the Byzantine successor states and the frontrunner in the race to recover Constantinople from the Latin Empire. John also cultivates a close relationship with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, and negotiates with Pope Honorius III about the possibility of reuniting the Church.source
  • November – Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea (born 1175)source
  • December – Roger of San Severino, archbishop of Beneventosource
  • Spring – Mutukan commander of Mongol Empiresource
  • Adam of Perseigne, French Cistercian abbot (born 1145)source
  • Maelruanaidh Ó Dubhda, King of Uí Fiachrach MuaidheIrelandsource