1236 CE

King Henry III marries the 14-year-old Eleanor of Provence, one of the four daughters of Raimond Berenguer, count of Provence. The ceremony takes place at Canterbury Cathedral, with Simon de Montfort, as Lord High Steward, takes care of the banquet and kitchen arrangements. Eleanor is crowned queen at Westminster Abbey shortly afterward. Battle of Saule: The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword at Šiauliai in Lithuania. Razia Sultana, daughter of Mamluk Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, becomes the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian subcontinent, deposing her half-brother, Ruknuddin Firuz, as sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.

In the 1230s, the 13th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • June 20 – Treaty of Kremmen: Duke Wartislaw III recognizes the seignory of Henry Borwin III, lord of Rostock, after his successful expedition against Wartislaw, in which he has conquered Circipania, including the cities of Gnoien and Kalen. Meanwhile, Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania ("the Great") conquers Schlawe and Stolp, the eastern part of Pomerania. To ease the tensions with Brandenburg, Wartislaw signs the Kremmen agreement.source
  • Kouroukan Fouga, the constitution of the Mali Empire, is created by an assembly of nobles of the Mandinka clan.source

Conflict & Security

  • June 29 – Siege of Córdoba: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") capture Muslim Córdoba from Emir Ibn Hud as part of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.source
  • September 22 – Battle of Saule: The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword at Šiauliai in Lithuania.source
  • Autumn – Siege of Bilär: The Mongols under Batu Khan capture the capital city of Bilär after a siege that lasts for 45 days. The Volga Bulgars are defeated within the year, as are the Kipchaks and Alans.source
  • Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan penetrate deep into the Southern Song. The important city of Xiangyang, gateway to the Yangtze plain, capitulates to them.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • King Kalinga Magha ("the Tyrant") is expelled from Polonnaruwa to Jaffna, capital of the Jaffna Kingdom (located in modern Sri Lanka).source
  • The Mongols under Batu Khan, eldest of Jochi, sweep across Central Asia. They settle in the Russian steppe, curtailing the power of the Kievan Rus', extracting tribute from their neighbors, and disrupting their relationship with the Byzantine Empire.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 14 – King Henry III marries the 14-year-old Eleanor of Provence, one of the four daughters of Raimond Berenguer, count of Provence. The ceremony takes place at Canterbury Cathedral, with Simon de Montfort, as Lord High Steward, takes care of the banquet and kitchen arrangements. Eleanor is crowned queen at Westminster Abbey shortly afterward.source
  • October 10 – Razia Sultana, daughter of Mamluk Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, becomes the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian subcontinent, deposing her half-brother, Ruknuddin Firuz, as sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.source
  • A tournament at Tickhill turns into a battle between northerners and southerners, but peace is restored by papal legate Otto of Tonengo.source
  • Pope Gregory IX condemns the links that both the Knights Templer and Knights Hospitaller have with the Assassin fighters in the Middle East. He issues a bull (a formal papal proclamation) preventing further contact with the Assassins.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • Spring – A fleet consisting of ships from the republics of Venice, Genoa and Pisa arrive at Constantinople. It is headed by Geoffrey II of Villehardouin, ruler of Achaea, who brings 100 of his own knights, 300 cross-bowman, and 500 archers. Geoffrey, formally a vassal of Emperor John I of Constantinople, breaks the blockade of the city, sinks 15 Byzantine ships and enters the Golden Horn. A treaty is signed for two years after the intervention of Angelo Sanudo, duke of Archipelago.source

Culture & Society

  • June – The 16-year-old Alexander Nevsky is elected by the Novgorodians as prince (knyaz) of Novgorod, beseeching the young noble to take charge of the city's military affairs.source
  • July – At a diet (princely convention) in Piacenza, Emperor Frederick II proclaims his wish to recover all Italy for the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • The Goryeo court in Korea orders the preparation of another set of woodblocks for printing the Buddhist Tripiṭaka ("Triple Basket") – which is intended both to gain protection against the Mongol invaders and to replace the earlier 11th century set that was destroyed by the Mongols in 1232.source

Births

  • January 1 – Baldwin de Redvers, English nobleman (died 1262)source
  • June 6 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese poet and politician (died 1283)source
  • June 8 – Violant of Aragon, queen consort of Castile (died 1301)source
  • October – Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, Persian polymath and poet (died 1311)source
  • November 8 – Lu Xiufu, Chinese general and politician (died 1279)source
  • after October – Alice de Lusignan (or Angoulême), French-born English countess (died 1290)source
  • Stephen the Posthumous, Hungarian pretender (died 1271)source
  • Elizabeth of Hungary, duchess consort of Bavaria (died 1271)source
  • Olivier II de Clisson, Breton nobleman and knight (died 1307)source
  • Bayan of the Baarin (or Boyan), Mongol general (died 1295)source
  • Henry II of Rodez, French nobleman and troubadour (died 1304)source
  • Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ("the Great"), German nobleman and regent (died 1279)source

Deaths

  • January 14 – Sava ("the Enlightener"), Serbian archbishopsource
  • March 15 – Mu'in al-Din Chishti, Persian preacher (born 1143)source
  • April 11 – Walter II de Beauchamp, English sheriff (born 1192)source
  • May 1 – William d'Aubigny (or d'Albini), English noblemansource
  • May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English Benedictine monk and chronicler, dies at St Albans Abbey. His chronicle is continued by Matthew Paris.source
  • May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English monk and chroniclersource
  • May 7 – Agnellus of Pisa, Italian Franciscan friar (born 1195)source
  • June 10 – Diana degli Andalò, Italian nun and saint (born 1201)source
  • July 18 – Valdemar of Denmark, Danish bishop and statesman (born 1158)source
  • July 29 – Ingeborg of Denmark, queen consort of France (born 1174)source
  • August 17 – William de Blois, English bishop and sheriffsource
  • September 12 – Thomas of Marlborough, English abbotsource
  • November 15 – Lope Díaz II, Castilian nobleman (born 1170)source
  • November 26 – Al-Aziz Muhammad, Ayyubid ruler (born 1213)source