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The 1280s

428 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 13th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

1280 CE19 entries

  • June 18 – Battle of al-Jassora: Syria attempts to secede from the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, but Al Mansur Qalawun defeats the rebels and keeps Syria within the Egyptian sultanate.
  • June 23 – Reconquista: Battle of Moclín – Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeat those of the Kingdom of Castile and Kingdom of León.
  • September 27 – King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden founds a Swedish nobility by enacting a law accepting a contribution of a cavalry member in lieu of ordinary tax payments.

1281 CE43 entries

  • July 3 – Treaty of Orvieto: Charles I, Giovanni Dandolo, doge of Venice, and Philip I, Latin emperor, make an agreement to recover the Latin Empire. The treaty is signed in the Papal Palace, which Martin IV has moved to Orvieto after Viterbo is placed under an interdict for imprisoning two cardinals.
  • September – Two Mongol armies (some 50,000 men) advance into Syria. One is commanded by Abaqa Khan, who attacks the Mamluk fortresses along the Euphrates frontier. The second, led by his brother Möngke Temür makes contact with Leo III, king of Cilician Armenia, and then marches down through Aintab and Aleppo into the Orontes valley, where he is joined by Knights Hospitallerr and some French mercenaries. Meanwhile, Sultan Qalawun assembles his Mamluk forces at Damascus.
  • October 18 – Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos is excommunicated by Pope Martin IV without any warning or provocation. Martin authorizes Charles I, king of Sicily, to make a Crusade against Michael, who has re-established his rule in Constantinople. Charles prepares an expedition in Sicily and assembles a fleet of 100 ships, and 300 more in Naples, Provence, and the Greek territories, which carry some 8,000 cavalrymen.

1282 CE55 entries

  • March 30 – War of the Sicilian Vespers: A group of Sicilian conspirators begins an uprising against the rule of King Charles I of Sicily; over the next six weeks, thousands of French are killed. The rebellion forces Charles to abandon the planned crusade against the Byzantines, while still en route to the target city of Constantinople, and allows King Peter III of Aragon ("the Great") to take over rule of the island from Charles (which in turn leads to Peter's excommunication by Pope Martin IV).
  • June 26 – King Denis of Portugal ("the Poet King") marries the 11-year-old Elizabeth of Aragon, daughter of Peter III, in Trancoso. Elizabeth receives the towns of Óbidos, Abrantes and Porto de Mós as part of her dowry. Denis, known for his poetry, writes several poems and books, with topics of administration and hunting. During his reign, Lisbon becomes one of Europe's centers of art and culture.
  • August – Castilian forces under Sancho lay siege to Badajoz, but eventually retreat as the combined armies of Alfonso X relieve the city. Shortly after, Alfonso marches to Córdoba and demands the key of the city. This is refused by Diego López V de Haro, speaking on behalf of the magnates. Meanwhile, the Marinids plunder the Guadalquivir valley.

1283 CE46 entries

  • January 2 – Most of Dublin, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, is burned in a fire.
  • June 28 – A parliament of England summoned by Edward I to assemble at Shrewsbury Abbey to decide the fate of the Welsh prince Dafydd ap Gruffydd (captured on June 22) is the first to include commoners.
  • October 3 – The last ruler of an independent Wales, Dafydd ap Gruffydd (David), Prince of Wales, is executed in Shrewsbury, the first prominent person in history to be hanged, drawn and quartered, as capital punishment for the newly created crime of high treason (against Edward I of England).

1284 CE37 entries

  • March 3 – Statute of Rhuddlan: King Edward I of England brings Wales under direct rule after the Welsh Wars (1277–1283). He appoints sheriffs and bailiffs for the northern territories while the southern areas are left under the control of the Marcher Lords. English law is introduced in criminal cases, though the Welsh are allowed to maintain their customary laws in some cases of property disputes. He arranges a Round Table (tournament) at Nefyn in Wales and promises the Welsh that he will provide them with a Prince of Wales. On April 25, his son, the future Edward II of England, is born at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.
  • May 18 – Jönköping in Sweden is granted town privileges by King Magnus Ladulås.
  • August 5–6 – Battle of Meloria: A Genoese fleet (some 90 galleys) led by Admiral Oberto Doria defeats the Pisan ships in the Ligurian Sea. This marks the decline of the maritime power of Pisa in the Mediterranean.

1285 CE53 entries

  • January 6 – Archbishop Jakub Świnka organizes a synod in Łęczyca. During the meeting, he orders all priests who are subject to his bishopric to deliver their sermons in Polish rather than German. This further unifies the Catholic Church in Poland and fosters a national identity.
  • March 25 – Pope Martin IV dies after a 4-year pontificate in Perugia. He is succeeded by Honorius IV, who becomes the 190th pope of the Catholic Church.
  • April – Marinid forces under Sultan Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq cross the straits from Alcácer Seguir to Tarifa. From there they advance to Jerez de la Frontera, where they besiege the city. Marinids detachments are dispatched to devastate a broad area from Medina-Sidonia to Carmona, Vejer de la Frontera, Écija and Seville, cutting down trees, orchards, and vineyards, destroying villages, and killing or capturing many inhabitants.

1286 CE41 entries

  • January 6 – The 17-year-old Philip IV (the Fair) is crowned king of France at Reims. He settles the Aragonese conflict, and intensifies his predecessors' efforts to reform and rationalize the administration of the realm. Philip persists in reforms, which strengthen the monarchy's position in Europe. The gabelle – a tax on salt in the form of a state monopoly – will become immensely unpopular and grossly unequal, but persist until 1790.
  • March 19 – King Alexander III dies in a fall from his horse at Kinghorn in Fife, leaving Queen Yolande of Dreux's unborn child and the 3-year-old Margaret (Maid of Norway) as heirs to the throne. After Alexander's death, Scotland is governed by the nobility and clergy, known collectively as the Guardians of Scotland. This sets the stage for the First War of Scottish Independence.
  • June – King Edward I (Longshanks) and Queen Eleanor of Castile travel to France. There they pay homage to Philip IV (the Fair) and attend to other matters. Edward travels around in the duchy of Gascony and orders the rebuilding of fortifications in the region (between 1286 and 1289).

1287 CE53 entries

  • June 8 – Welsh forces led by Rhys ap Maredudd revolt in Wales against King Edward I (Longshanks). Although Maredudd has assisted the English in the past, he accuses Edward of treating him unfairly over taxes. The rebels burn several towns, including Swansea and Carmarthen. They capture most of Ystrad Tywi, heartland of Deheubarth (the revolt will not be suppressed until 1288).
  • September – Rabban Bar Sauma arrives in Paris, and is received in an audience by King Philip IV (the Fair). He spends one month at the royal court, during his stay, Philip himself escorts him around the Sainte-Chapelle (or Holy Chapel) to see the collection of Passion relics by late King Louis IX (the Saint). Philip gives Bar Sauma many presents and sends one of his noblemen, Gobert de Helleville, to return with him to Mongol lands. In response, he attempts to form a military alliance with France and England.
  • December – Parts of Norfolk are flooded, the port of Dunwich in Suffolk is further devastated, and in The Fens through the storm and the violence of the sea, the monastery of Spalding and many churches are overthrown and destroyed: "The whole country in the parts of Holland was, for the most part, turned into a standing pool so that an intolerable multitude of men, women and children were overwhelmed with the water, especially in the town of Boston, a great part thereof was destroyed."

1288 CE46 entries

  • April 9 – Battle of Bạch Đằng: Đại Việt (Vietnamese) general Trần Hưng Đạo sinks the fleet of an invading Mongol-led Yuan expeditionary army (some 94,000 men). He orders the placing of steel-tipped bamboo stakes (to create an ambush) in the Bach Dang River near Ha Long Bay. This ends the intentions of Kublai Khan to conquer Vietnam and Champa.
  • June 5 – War of the Limburg Succession – Battle of Worringen: Brabantian forces under Duke John I defeat the coalition army of Cologne, Luxemburg, and Nassau at Worringen (in a struggle to conquer the Duchy of Limburg). John liberates the city of Cologne from rule by the Electorate of Cologne, which has previously been one of the major ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire.
  • June 16 – Petrus, bishop of Västerås, buys 1/8 of the Stora Kopparberg copper mine in Falun, Sweden. During the reign of King Magnus Ladulås, nobles and foreign merchants from Lübeck take interests in the mining area.

1289 CE35 entries

  • June 11 – Battle of Campaldino: Pro-papal Guelph forces of Florence and their allies, Lucca, Pistoia, Prato and Siena under Viscount Aimery IV defeat the Ghibelline army (some 10,000 men) in Tuscany. Florence becomes the dominant power in Central Italy; powerful merchant guilds take on a more political role in the communal government against their rivals of Genoa, Pisa and Venice.
  • July 7 – Battle of Copenhagen: A Norwegian expeditionary force under King Eric II, supported by Danish outlaws, sets sail to Copenhagen and attacks the city. But they are repelled and forced to withdraw to Zealand.
  • July–August – Admiral Benedetto Zaccaria, having escaped from Tripoli, starts a naval campaign against Mamluk shipping and raids Tinnis in Egypt. In response, Qalawun closes Alexandria to Genoese merchants.