1445 CE

At West Java in what is now Indonesia, the Sultanate of Cirebon establishes its capital at Dukuh Alang-alang and Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang is designated as the Sultan. The Battle of Suzdal takes place 120 mi from Moscow when Ulugh Muhammad of the Khanate of Kazan attacks Nizhny Novgorod, part of the Grand Principality of Moscow. The Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow is captured in battle as a prisoner of war and held for ransom until the payment of 200,000 rubles is completed in November. In Normandy, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York of England's House of Plantagenet, completes his five-year term as Lieutenant-general of British-occupied France and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset takes his place. He returns to England on October 20.

In the 1440s, the 15th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 13 – King Henry VI of England summons the English Parliament for the first time in almost three years, directing the Lords and the members of the House of Commons to assemble at Westminster on February 25.source
  • February 25 – The English Parliament is opened by King Henry VI. On the first day, the House of Commons elects William Burley as its Speaker.source
  • April 9 – The 14th Parliament of King Henry VI (23 H. 6) closes and royal assent is given to new laws, including the Labourers Act (requiring that "A servant in husbandry purporting to depart from his master must give him half a year's warning, or else shall serve him the year following.") and the Exportation Act ("Whoever shall pack or ship thrums or threads to pass beyond the seas, during the three years next coming, shall forfeit the same, or the value.")source
  • July 16 – In Germany, Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and his brother William III, Duke of Luxembourg, agree to negotiate the Division of Altenburg, in hopes of peacefully splitting lands in Thuringia which they had inherited from their father's cousin, Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia.source
  • September 17 – Đurađ Branković, Despot of Serbia, and his sons Grgur, Stefan and Lazar sign a charter confirming the sovereignty and privileges of the Republic of Ragusa, located in what is now Croatia.source
  • Rai Sahra becomes the first Sultan of Multan as Qutb-ud-Din Mahmud.source
  • Stephen II remains sole ruler of Moldavia.source

Conflict & Security

  • April 7 – In southern Germany, the number of Duchies of Bavaria is reduced from three to two when Bavaria-Ingolstadt is reunited with Bavaria-Landshut, under the rule of Heinrich the Rich following the death of Ludwig the Hunchback of Ingolstadt. The Duchy of Bavaria-Munich, ruled by Albert III the Pious remains the only other duchy in Bavaria.source
  • April 8 – At West Java in what is now Indonesia, the Sultanate of Cirebon establishes its capital at Dukuh Alang-alang and Ki Gedeng Alang-Alang is designated as the Sultan.source
  • June 1 – In Hungary, the deadline passes for King Vladislaus I (who is also King Wladyslaw III of Poland), to return from the Crusade against the Ottoman Empire and to resume rule, and the 5-year-old Ladislaus the Posthumous is recognized as King of Hungary by the legislators of the Országgyűlés. To administer the kingdom of Hungary during the minority of Ladislaus, the Hungarian nobles elect seven "Captains in Chief"–John Hunyadi, Michael Ország, George Rozgonyi, Pongrác Szentmiklósi, Janos Jiskra, Miklos Újlaki and Emeric Bebek – to administer the kingdom Confirmation is made later that King Vladislaus had been killed almost seven months earlier at the November 10 Battle of Varna.source
  • July 7 – The Battle of Suzdal takes place 120 mi from Moscow when Ulugh Muhammad of the Khanate of Kazan attacks Nizhny Novgorod, part of the Grand Principality of Moscow. The Grand Prince Vasily II of Moscow is captured in battle as a prisoner of war and held for ransom until the payment of 200,000 rubles is completed in November.source
  • September 5 – In Switzerland, troops from the Canton of Zürich launch a new attack on Brugg in the Canton of Aargau, but their raid is detected before they can reach the city and the Zurich troops are repelled. The troops then pillage surrounding villages.source
  • September 26 – Negotiations between the Saxon brothers Frederick and William on the division of Thuringia break down after Frederick asserts that he will claim western Thuringia and will only allow William to inherit the Margraviate of Meissen.source
  • September 29 – In Normandy, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York of England's House of Plantagenet, completes his five-year term as Lieutenant-general of British-occupied France and Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset takes his place. He returns to England on October 20.source
  • October 6 – A battle is fought at Erlenbach in Switzerland as troops from the canton of Zurich defeat a group of wine thieves. The battle takes place a year after the first battle of Erlenbach that had been waged on October 13, 1444.source
  • 20 October - Richard, Duke of York returns to England after five years as the English commander in France during the Hundred Years WarFrancesource
  • November 3 – (3rd waxing of Nadaw 807 ME) In the city of Bhamo (now in Myanmar), Chinese troops invade and proceed toward Inwa, the fortified capital of the Kingdom of Ava in pursuit of Thonganbwa, the ruler of the independent state of Mogaung, who had led numerous raids into China's Yunnan Province. King Narapati I of Ava, who had captured Thonganbwa in 1442, negotiates an agreement to hand Thonganbwa over to the Chinese in return for assistance in helping Ava conquer rebels in Yamethin. Before he can be turned over to China for execution, Thonganbwa commits suicide, but China accepts his corpse as a recognition of Ava's submission.source
  • December 25 – In northeastern Africa, the Battle of Gomit is fought between the Ethiopian Empire (whose troops are led by the Emperor Zara Yaqob ) and the Adal Sultanate, whose invading army is led by the Sultan Badlay ibn Sa'ad ad-Din. The Sultan charges toward the Emperor, who kills him with his spear. The Adal troops flee and many are killed by the pursuing Ethiopian troops. Badlay's son, Muhammad ibn Badlay, survives and becomes the new Sultan.source
  • Vlad II Dracul, aided by a crusaders' fleet from Burgundy, attacks Giurgiu, and massacres the Ottoman garrison after their surrender.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Portuguese explorer Dinis Dias discovers the Cap-Vert, on the western coast of Africa.source
  • The Portuguese set up their first trading post (Feitoria) in Africa, on the island of Arguin.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 1 – In northern India, Ala-ud-Din Alam Shah becomes the new Sultan of Delhi upon the death of his father, Muhammad Shah IV.source
  • January 19 – In Poland, the Duchy of Oświęcim, ruled jointly since 1434 by the three sons of the late Duke Casimir of the Piast dynasty, is divided between the three brothers. Wenceslaus I, the eldest, receives the Duchy of Zator, Przemysław becomes ruler of Toszek and Jan IV, the youngest of the brothers, receives the capital, Oświęcim, along with the towns of Kęty and Żywiec.source
  • April 23 – King Henry VI of England marries Margaret of Anjou, daughter of René of Anjou, the former King of Naples, at a ceremony at Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire.source
  • May 29 – Stjepan Tomaš Kotromanić of the House of Kotromanić is granted recognition by the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Eugene IV as King Tomaš of Bosnia.source
  • May 30 – At a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the coronation of Margaret of Anjou as Queen consort of England takes place before John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury.source
  • August 7 – A papal bull is issued by Pope Eugene IV declaring that the Chaldean Christians and the Maronites of Cyprus are in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.source
  • December 11 – At a monastery in Neuwerk in Halle, with the mediation of the Landgrave Louis II of Hesse, the Archbishop Frederick III of Magdeburg, and the Margrave Frederick II of Brandenburg, William III, Duke of Luxembourg and his brother Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, the two surviving sons of Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, make a final attempt to agree on the division of lands in Thuringia which they had inherited from their father's cousin, Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia. Despite the mediation, Frederick of Saxony and William of Luxembourg are not able to agree and the Saxon Fratricidal War begins a few months later.source

Culture & Society

  • September 12 – In a royal wedding at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, King Christoffer III of Denmark (who also rules Sweden and Norway) marries Dorothea of Brandenburg, daughter of John the Alchemist, Margrave of Brandenburg. After King Christoffer's death in 1448, Dorothea marries King Christian I of Denmark in 1449.source
  • September 14 – Queen consort Dorothea is crowned as "Queen of the Union of the Three Kingdoms" (kronet som unionsdronning af de tre kongeriger) in a ceremony at Copenhagen two days after her marriage to King Christoffer, who levies a series of taxes to pay for the expense.source

Births

  • March 16 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss-born priest (died 1510)source
  • April 4 – Wiguleus Fröschl of Marzoll, Bishop of Passau (1500–1517) (died 1517)source
  • October 25 – Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin, English baron (died 1479)source
  • October 31 – Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (died 1511)source
  • December 11 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (died 1496)source
  • probable – Nicolas Chuquet, French mathematiciansource
  • approximate – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (died 1510)source
  • date unknown – Albert Brudzewski, Polish astronomer (died 1497)source
  • Unknown - Guillaume Briçonnet, cardinal (died 1514)Francesource

Deaths

  • January 19 – Antonio Correr, Venetian cardinal (born 1359)source
  • February 19 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (born 1402)source
  • March 8 – The Amir Isfahan of Baghdad (born Ispend bin Yusuf) dies after a reign of 12 years and is succeeded by Fulad Mirza. The ruler of the adjacent Qara Qoyunlu Empire, Jahan Shah, then mobilizes an army at Tabriz to invade and take control of Baghdad.source
  • April 7 – Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria, German noble (born 1403)source
  • May 15 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (born 1392)source
  • June 5 – Leonel Power, English composersource
  • June 24 – Annibale I Bentivoglio, the ruler of the semi-independent Lordship of Bologna since 1443, is assassinated by the rival Canneschi family, with the support of Pope Eugene IV.source
  • July 15 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotlandsource
  • August 2 – Oswald von Wolkenstein, Austrian composer (born 1377)source
  • August 16 – Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France, daughter of the late King James I of Scotland and wife of the Dauphin Louis, son of King Charles VII of France, dies from an illness contracted a week earlier. On her deathbed, she accuses a court official, Jamet de Tillay, of having slandered her reputation and causing her death.source
  • 16 August - Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (born 1424)Francesource
  • 16 August - Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France, the Scottish Princess and wife of the future Louis XI diesFrancesource
  • date unknown – Olug Moxammat of Kazan, Khan of Kazansource