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The 1280s

404 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 CE18 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 CE38 entries

  • February 22 – Frenchman Simon de Brion succeeds Nicholas III as Pope Martin IV, becoming the 189th pope of the Catholic Church.
  • 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.

1282 CE54 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 17 – Battle of Llandeilo Fawr: English forces led by Gilbert de Clare are ambushed and defeated by Welsh troops at Llandeilo. English expansion into southern Wales is halted.
  • September or October – Battle of Lake Hód: Hungarian forces led by King Ladislaus IV successfully repel and defeat an invading Cuman army. Ladislaus receives the title "the Cuman" for his heroic victory.

1283 CE45 entries

  • January 2 – Most of Dublin, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, is burned in a fire.
  • June – Qalawun ("the Victorious"), Mamluk ruler of Egypt, signs a peace treaty for 10 years with the Crusader States at Caesarea. It guarantees the Crusaders the possession of the territory from the Ladder of Tyre, north of Acre, to Mount Carmel and Atlit. But Tyre and Beirut are excluded. The right of free pilgrimage to Nazareth is permitted for the Christians.
  • 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 CE36 entries

  • May 18 – Jönköping in Sweden is granted town privileges by King Magnus Ladulås.
  • June 5 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: An Aragonese-Sicilian fleet (some 30 galleys) led by Admiral Roger of Lauria surrounds and defeats the Neapolitan ships in the Gulf of Naples. King Charles II of Naples ("the Lame") is captured during the battle; disorganized, the remnants of the Neapolitan fleet (between 15 and 18 galleys) flee back to Naples.
  • 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 CE44 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 CE39 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.
  • 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).
  • August 15 – Henry II is crowned king of Jerusalem at Tyre. After the ceremony, he returns to Acre for the festivities. A few weeks later, Henry returns to Cyprus and appoints his uncle Philip of Ibelin as regent (bailiff).

1287 CE51 entries

  • May 14 – Nayan, Mongol prince of the Borjigin clan, revolts against the rule of Kublai Khan. Kublai leads a punitive expedition against Nayan in Manchuria and defeats his forces on July 16.
  • 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.

1288 CE45 entries

  • February 22 – Nicholas IV is elected as the successor of the late Honorius IV (see 1287) during a conclave in Rome and becomes the 191st pope of the Catholic Church.
  • 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 CE34 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.