1253 CE

King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat") dies and is succeeded by his son Hugh II, who is only a few months old. His mother, Queen Plaisance of Antioch, claims the regency of Cyprus and the titular regency of Jerusalem. The High Court of Cyprus confirms her position, but the barons of Outremer require her attendance in person before they will recognize her. John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa, remains as bailli, and Plaisance contemplates marrying John's youthful son Balian. Meanwhile, King Louis IX of France ("the Saint"), still staying at Acre, continues to administer the government. Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist monk, declares his intent to preach the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō as the true Buddhism, thus founding Nichiren Buddhism. William II, count of Holland, defeats the Flemish forces under Guy of Dampierre at Westkapelle. He forced him and his mother, Margaret II, to respect the division of Flanders and Hainaut.

In the 1250s, the 13th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • July 4 – William II, count of Holland, defeats the Flemish forces under Guy of Dampierre at Westkapelle. He forced him and his mother, Margaret II, to respect the division of Flanders and Hainaut.source
  • Mongol forces under Kublai Khan conquer the Dali Kingdom (modern-day Yunnan). The population migrates to Siam (modern Thailand).source

Conflict & Security

  • April – An-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, cedes Palestine, together with Jerusalem, Nablus and the coastline of Al-Sham to Aybak, Mamluk sultan of Egypt.source
  • August 6 – King Henry III leads an expedition to Gascony, to repel a rumoured invasion from Castile. Meanwhile, Simon de Montfort returns from Gascony where he allies himself with the barons who oppose Henry.source
  • October 10 – German imperial forces under King Conrad IV suppress the Sicilian rebellion and recapture Naples.source
  • Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan begin a campaign against the Nizari Ismaili State. An advance guard (12,000 men) under Kitbuqa captures several fortresses in Quhistan.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • May – Louis IX of France ("the Saint") dispatches William of Rubruck from Constantinople on a missionary journey to Karakorum to seek an alliance against Syrian and Egyptian Muslims.source

Religion & Belief

  • April 28 – Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist monk, declares his intent to preach the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō as the true Buddhism, thus founding Nichiren Buddhism.source
  • October – Pope Innocent IV returns to Rome, after being deposed for 9 years by former Emperor Frederick II, whose clash forms an important chapter in the conflict between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • Innocent IV offers the crown of Sicily, which he controls, to Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou, both of whom refuse, and later to the 8-year-old Edmund, son of Henry III of England.source
  • Sligo Abbey, a Dominican monastery, is founded by Maurice FitzGerald, Norman chief governor of Ireland.source
  • The upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, the earliest important structure of Italian Gothic architecture, is completed in Assisi.source
  • Summer – The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia becomes a vassal state to the expanding Mongol Empire. Prince Daniel of Galicia is crowned king of Ruthenia (rex Russiae) and becomes officially an Orthodox subject of the Papal States.source

Culture & Society

  • July 6 – Mindaugas and his wife Morta are crowned as king and queen of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects.source
  • Henry III meets with the nobles and church leaders to reaffirm the validity of Magna Carta in exchange for taxation.source
  • Kublai Khan introduces the baisha xiyue song and dance suite to the music of Yunnan.source
  • Matthew Paris, English Benedictine chronicler, completes the major part of his Chronica Majora, a chronicle of English history.source

Births

  • March 1 – Mattia de Nazarei, Italian abbess and saint (died 1319)source
  • March 20 – Wareru, founder of the Martaban Kingdom (assassinated 1307)source
  • September 11 – Dmitry Borisovich, Russian nobleman and prince of Rostov (died 1294)source
  • October 17 – Ivo of Kermartin, Breton priest and saint (died 1303)source
  • November 25 – Katherine of England, English princess (died 1257)source
  • Blanche of France, daughter of Louis IX ("the Saint") (died 1323)source
  • Eufemia of Greater Poland, Polish princess and nun (died 1298)source
  • Everhardt I, count of Limburg and Hohenlimburg (died 1308)source
  • John II ("the One-Eyed"), count of Holstein-Kiel (died 1321)source
  • Berengaria of Castile, Spanish princess and regent (died 1300)source
  • Anna of Greater Poland, Polish princess and abbess (died 1295)source
  • Eschiva of Ibelin, Outremer noblewoman and regent (died 1312)source
  • Amir Khusrau, Indian Sufi musician, poet and scholar (died 1325)source
  • Hugh II (de Lusignan), Cypriot ruler and regent (died 1267)source

Deaths

  • January 18 – King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat") dies and is succeeded by his son Hugh II, who is only a few months old. His mother, Queen Plaisance of Antioch, claims the regency of Cyprus and the titular regency of Jerusalem. The High Court of Cyprus confirms her position, but the barons of Outremer require her attendance in person before they will recognize her. John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa, remains as bailli, and Plaisance contemplates marrying John's youthful son Balian. Meanwhile, King Louis IX of France ("the Saint"), still staying at Acre, continues to administer the government.source
  • January 18 – Henry I ("the Fat"), king of Cyprus (born 1217)source
  • April 3 – Richard of Chichester, English bishop (born 1197)source
  • April 22 – Elias of Cortona, Italian friar and vicar generalsource
  • June 11 – Amadeus IV, Italian nobleman and knight (born 1197)source
  • June 12 – Boniface II ("the Giant"), king of Thessalonica (born 1201)source
  • July 8 – Theobald I, French nobleman and trouvère (born 1201)source
  • July 22 – Albert IV, German nobleman and knight (born 1180)source
  • August 11 – Clare of Assisi, Italian nun and saint (born 1194)source
  • September 22 – Dōgen, Japanese Buddhist priest (born 1200)source
  • September 23 – Wenceslaus I, king of Bohemia (born 1205)source
  • October 9 – Robert Grosseteste, English bishop (born 1168)source
  • November 16 – Agnes of Assisi, Italian abbess and saintsource
  • November 29 – Otto II, German count palatine (born 1206)source