1260 CE

Kublai sends his envoy Hao Jing to negotiate with Song dynasty Chancellor Jia Sidao, after the small force left by Kublai south of the Yangtze River is destroyed, by a Chinese army of the Southern Song dynasty. Chancellor Jia Sidao imprisons the entire embassy of Kublai. This slight will not be forgotten by Kublai, but he is unable to assault the Song, due to the civil war with his rival brother Ariq Böke. Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee: The Egyptians defeat the Mongols, marking their first decisive defeat, and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire. Isa ibn Muhanna is appointed amir al-ʿarab under the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate. The Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France (the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

In the 1260s, the 13th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • May 5 – Kublai Khan becomes a claimant to the Mongol Empire, after the death of Möngke Khan.source

Conflict & Security

  • April – The Japanese Shōgen era ends, and the Bun'ō era begins (to February 1261).source
  • May 21 – Kublai sends his envoy Hao Jing to negotiate with Song dynasty Chancellor Jia Sidao, after the small force left by Kublai south of the Yangtze River is destroyed, by a Chinese army of the Southern Song dynasty. Chancellor Jia Sidao imprisons the entire embassy of Kublai. This slight will not be forgotten by Kublai, but he is unable to assault the Song, due to the civil war with his rival brother Ariq Böke.source
  • July 12 – Battle of Kressenbrunn: King Ottokar II of Bohemia captures Styria from King Béla IV of Hungary.source
  • July 13 – Livonian Crusade: The Baltic Samogitians and Curonians of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania decisively defeat the Livonian Order in the Battle of Durbe. This leads the Estonians of Saaremaa Island to once again rebel against the Livonian Order.source
  • September 3 – Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee: The Egyptians defeat the Mongols, marking their first decisive defeat, and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire. Isa ibn Muhanna is appointed amir al-ʿarab under the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate.source
  • September 4 – Battle of Montaperti: The Sienese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs.source
  • September 20 – Second of the two major Prussian uprisings by the Old Prussian tribe of Balts against the Teutonic Order begins.source
  • The Toluid Civil War begins between Kublai Khan and Ariq Böke, for the title of Great Khan.source
  • War breaks out in the Valais (in modern-day Switzerland), as the Bishopry of Sion defends against an invasion by the County of Savoy.source
  • The Chinese era Jingding begins and ends in 1264 in the Southern Song dynasty of China (last era of Emperor Lizong).source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Croatia is divided into two sub-regions ruled by ban: the Croatian region on the south and Slavonian region on the north, by King Béla IV of Hungary.source

Religion & Belief

  • October 24 – The Cathedral of Chartres is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France (the cathedral is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).source
  • The advent of the Age of the Holy Spirit predicted by Joachim of Fiore, according to his interpretation of the Book of Revelation, chapter 6.source
  • Construction begins on the Dunkeld Cathedral in Perthshire, Scotland.source
  • The newly formed Sukhothai Kingdom of Thailand adopts Theravada Buddhism.source
  • Nicola Pisano sculpts the pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery.source
  • Construction begins on the cathedrals at Meißen and Schwerin.source
  • The Duchy of Saxony is divided into Saxony-Lauenberg and Saxony-Wittenberg, marking the end of the first Saxon state.source
  • The Arba'a Rukun Mosque is completed in Mogadishu. The Arba'a Rukun Mosque (Arabic: أربع ركون), also known as Arba Rucun, is a mosque in the medieval district Shangani, Mogadishu, Somalia.source
  • Grey Abbey in County Kildare was founded by William de Vesci. It was run by Franciscan friars.Irelandsource

Science & Discovery

  • German musical theorist Franco of Cologne publishes Ars Cantus Mensurabilis, in which he advances a new theory of musical notation, in which the length of a musical note is denoted by the shape of that note, a system still used today.source

Crime & Justice

  • The civil servant and bard longing for lost al-Andalus, Ibn al-Abbar, is burnt at the stake by the Marinid ruler.source

Culture & Society

  • The mosaic Christ between the Virgin and St Minias is made on the facade of Florence's Basilica di San Miniato al Monte.source
  • Jacobus de Voragine compiles his work, the Golden Legend, a late medieval best-seller.source

Births

  • May 15 or July 25 – John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos (died 1319)source
  • August 2 – Kyawswa of Pagan, last ruler of the Pagan Kingdom (died 1299)source
  • Matthew III Csák, Hungarian oligarchsource
  • Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (died 1349)source
  • Khutulun, Mongol princess and warrior (died 1306)source
  • Guillaume de Nogaret, keeper of the seal to King Philip IV of France (died 1313)source
  • Meister Eckhart, German theologian, philosopher and mystic (died 1328)source
  • Henry de Cobham, 1st Baron Cobham (died 1339)source
  • Enguerrand de Marigny, minister to King Philip IV of Francesource
  • Maximus Planudes, Byzantine grammarian and theologian (approximate date; d. 1330)source
  • Roger Utlagh, or Roger Outlawe (died 1341) was a leading Irish cleric, judge and statesman of the fourteenth century who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland.Irelandsource

Deaths

  • April 28 – Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francissource
  • April 28 – Blessed Luchesio ModestiniItalysource
  • May – Marie of Brabant, Holy Roman Empress, wife of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (alternative date is June)source
  • August 9 – Walter of Kirkham, Bishop of Durhamsource
  • October 12 – Thorkill, Bishop of Reval.source
  • October 24 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.source
  • October 24 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egyptsource
  • December 4 – Aymer de Valence, Bishop of Winchester (born 1222)source
  • Ibn al-Abbar, Andalusian diplomat and scholar (born 1199)source
  • Sicko Sjaerdema, ruler of Frieslandsource
  • Kitbuqa, Mongol military leader (executed)source
  • probable – Franciscus Accursius, Italian juristsource
  • Battle of Down; defeat and death of Brian O’Neill.Irelandsource
  • Tadhg Mac Conchubair mic Donncaidh I Briain. His death recorded in Mac Carthaigh's Book as "a fortunate event for the Galls".Irelandsource