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The 1150s

305 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 12th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

1150 CE42 entries

  • February 8 – Battle of Flochberg: German forces under Henry VI defeat the army of the House of Welf at Bopfingen. At the same time, King Conrad III besieges Welf forces at Braunschweig in Saxony, but he lifts the siege when confronted by Henry the Lion.
  • November 10 – Dryburgh Abbey located in the Scottish Borders is founded by Lord Hugh de Morville.
  • The University of Paris (known as the Sorbonne) is founded. The first doctorate degree is awarded in Paris.

1151 CE13 entries

  • Confronted with internal strife, the commune of Bologna is the first Italian republic to turn to the rule of a podestà, Guido di Ranieri da Sasso (it ends in 1155).
  • Anping Bridge is completed in China's Fujian province. Its total length will not be exceeded until 1846.
  • The first plague and fire insurance policy is issued in Iceland.

1152 CE37 entries

  • February 15 – King Conrad III dies after a 14-year reign at Bamberg. He is succeeded by his 29-year-old nephew Frederick I (Barbarossa), duke of Swabia, who is crowned as King of the Germans at Aachen several days later, on March 9. Frederick becomes sole ruler of Germany and receives the royal insignia, despite the fact that Conrad has a 6-year-old son, Frederick IV, who becomes duke of Swabia.
  • March 21 – King Louis VII repudiates his marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine and has it annulled on grounds of misconduct and consanguinity – returning her lands and titles. Within 6 weeks, Eleanor re-marries Henry of Anjou, who had claimed the counties of Anjou and Maine, and the province of Touraine upon the death of his father Geoffrey Plantagenet (the Fair), the previous year. With the addition of Eleanor's lands, he now controls territory stretching unbroken, from Cherbourg to Bayonne.
  • April 6 – King Stephen has his nobles swear fealty to his son Eustace, as the rightful heir of the English throne. Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and other bishops refuse to crown Eustace favouring Henry of Anjou to claim the throne instead. Stephen confiscates their property and Theobald is forced into exile in Flanders.

1153 CE38 entries

  • May 24 – King David I of Scotland dies after a 29-year reign at Carlisle Castle. He is succeeded by his grandson, the 12-year-old Malcolm IV (Virgo). Malcolm is the eldest son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, who is crowned as ruler of Scotland at Scone Priory on May 27. Because of his young age, Donnchad (or Duncan) becomes Malcolm's regent and royal adviser.
  • July 8 – Pope Eugene III dies after an 8-year pontificate at Tivoli. He is succeeded by Anastasius IV as the 168th pope of the Catholic Church.
  • August 19 – Siege of Ascalon: King Baldwin III of Jerusalem captures Ascalon, the last Fatimid fortress in Palestine. The citizens are allowed to leave in peace and return to Egypt.

1154 CE34 entries

  • January 15 – Muhammad al-Idrisi, Arab geographer and cartographer, completes his atlas of the world, the Tabula Rogeriana, which will remain one of the most accurate maps until the Age of Discovery.
  • April 18 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, encamps before Damascus and overthrows Mujir al-Din by force with support of the Jewish citizens, who open the eastern gate to the bulk of his army. Mujir flees to the citadel, but capitulates after only a few hours. He is offered his life and the Emirate of Homs. A few weeks later Mujir is suspected of plotting with old friends in Damascus and is exiled to Baghdad. Damascus is annexed to Zangid territory and all of Syria is unified under the authority of Nur al-Din, from Edessa in the north to the Hauran to the south.
  • December 3 – Pope Anastasius IV dies after a 17-month pontificate. He is succeeded by Adrian IV (the only English pope in history) as the 169th pope of the Catholic Church.

1155 CE38 entries

  • April 18 – Siege of Tortona: German forces capture the citadel of Tortona (after a two-month siege). The city is razed to the ground, including the graves.
  • June 18 – King Frederick Barbarossa is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
  • August 22 – The 16-year-old Emperor Konoe dies after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Go-Shirakawa as the 77th emperor of Japan.

1156 CE34 entries

  • January 20 – Freeholder Lalli slays the English missionary-bishop Henry with an axe, on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland (according to legend).
  • July 28 – The Hōgen rebellion, a dispute between Emperor Go-Shirakawa and his half-brother retired-Emperor Sutoku, erupts in Japan.
  • December 25 – King Sverker I (the Elder) is murdered on his way to church. He is succeeded by his rival, Eric IX (the Holy), as ruler of Sweden.

1157 CE21 entries

  • January 12–March 16 – Caliph Al-Muqtafi successfully defends Baghdad against the coalition forces of Sultan Muhammad of Hamadan, and Atabeg Qutb-adin of Mosul.
  • June 11 – Albert the Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first Margrave.
  • July – Henry II launches a campaign against Owain Gwynedd in north Wales. Although Owain defeats him at the Battle of Ewloe he eventually submits to Henry and pays homage.

1158 CE39 entries

  • January 11 – Vladislav II becomes king of Bohemia. He is crowned by Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, with a diadem (called by the chroniclers a diadema or circulus). Vladislaus is also invested with Upper Lusatia, and accompanies Frederick to Milan to suppress the rebellion in Lombardy (northern Italy).
  • August 31 – King Sancho III ("the Desired") dies after a 1-year reign. He is succeeded as ruler of Castile by his 2-year-old son Alfonso VIII ("the Noble"). The noble houses of Lara and Castro claim the regency, as the boy's uncle, Ferdinand II (ruler of León and Galicia).
  • September 5 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan abdicates the throne after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by his 15-year-old son Nijō as the 77th emperor. Go-Shirakawa retains power, and gives Kiyomori Taira a higher position to lead a samurai-dominated government.

1159 CE9 entries

  • September 7 – Pope Alexander III succeeds Pope Adrian IV, as the 170th pope.
  • Tunis is reconquered from the Normans, by the Almohad caliphs.
  • Taira no Kiyomori leaves Kyōto on a personal pilgrimage, giving Fujiwara no Nobuyori and his Minamoto allies the perfect chance to stage an uprising.