text: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword is founded by Bishop Albert of Riga, this to support the Livonian Crusade against the inhabitants of Terra Mariana (medieval Livonia).


date: May 20

section: Climate & Environment

text: May 20 – An earthquake shakes the Levant from Egypt to northern Iraq, causing severe damage in Palestine, Lebanon and western Syria, including the fortifications of the Crusader cities of Acre, Jaffa and Tyre.

source_section: Events › By place › Middle East


date: February

section: Births

text: February/March – Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen, queen of Bohemia (d. 1248)

source_section: Births


date: July

text: July – Boniface II ("the Giant"), king of Thessalonica (d. 1253)


date: November 1

text: November 1 – Enni, Japanese Buddhist monk and teacher (d. 1280)


text: Matilda II of Boulogne, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1259)


text: Margaret of Constantinople, countess of Flanders (d. 1280)


text: Alfonso of Molina, prince of León and Castile (d. 1272)


text: Mōri Suemitsu, Japanese nobleman and samurai (d. 1247)


text: Approximate date – Qin Jiushao, Chinese mathematician and writer (d. 1261)


text: Shi Tianze, Chinese general and prime minister (d. 1275)


date: January 9

section: Deaths

text: January 9 – Birger Brosa, Swedish nobleman and knight

source_section: Deaths


date: January 12

text: January 12 – Fujiwara no Tashi, Japanese empress (b. 1140)


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Sverre Sigurdsson (or Sverrir), king of Norway


date: March 13

text: March 13 – Mieszko III the Old, duke of Poland (b. 1126)


date: March 30

text: March 30 – Joachim of Fiore, Italian theologian (b. 1135)


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Geoffrey III, Count of Perche (or Geoffrey IV), French nobleman and knight


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Hamelin de Warenne, Norman nobleman (b. 1130)


date: June 16

text: June 16 – Aymer (or Adhemar), count of Angoulême


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Roger de Beaumont, English chancellor and bishop in Scotland


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Simon I, German nobleman and knight


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Ulrich II, German nobleman and knight


date: September 7

text: September 7 – William of the White Hands, French cardinal (b. 1135)


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Canute VI, king of Denmark (b. 1163)


date: December 3

text: December 3 – Conrad of Querfurt, German bishop


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Midyear – The Baljuna Covenant, an oath of mutual fidelity, is sworn by Temüjin and a small group of companions.

source_section: Events › By place › East Asia


date: June 23

section: Conflict & Security

text: June 23 – The Crusader fleet comes within sight of Constantinople, and enters the Bosporus. The Byzantine capital is defended by a garrison of 15,000 soldiers (including 5,000 men of the Varangian Guard), and a fleet of 20 galleys. On June 26, the Byzantine troops skirmish with the Crusader forces, who attack, without success, the cities of Chalcedon and Chrysopolis.

source_section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Crusader leaders sail close to the city's walls in order to display the young Alexios Angelos, where they call upon the Byzantines to rise up in his favour. After rowing back and forth for a while, receiving insults and missiles, the attempt is abandoned. The Crusader leadership decides to land an invasion force north of Galata – using prevailing currents and winds.


date: July 5

text: July 5 – The Crusader fleet disembarks their horse transports, and barrels down upon the Byzantine defenders in a full cavalry charge. The Byzantines flee after brief combat, and retreat to the Tower of Galata, where they fortify themselves. After a bitter struggle, the Crusaders capture the tower and break the floating chain, and allow their fleet to enter the Golden Horn.


date: July 11

text: July 11 – The Crusaders take positions opposite the Palace of Blachernae on the northwest corner of the city. Their first attempts are repulsed, but on July 17 the Venetians take a section of the wall of about 25 towers, while the Varangian Guard holds off the Crusaders on the land wall, inflicting heavy casualties. The Venetians set fire to the buildings inside the Golden Horn walls, and then abandon the occupied fortifications.


date: July 17

text: July 17–18 – Alexios III tries to counterattack from the Gate of St. Romanus but retreats without a fight. Embarrassed, he prefers to escape and abandon his subjects, fleeing with the imperial treasure to Develtos (a fortified town on the Gulf of Burgas) in Thrace. Meanwhile, the Byzantine aristocracy restores the ex-emperor Isaac II to the imperial throne. On August 1, Alexios Angelos is crowned co-emperor as Alexios IV.


date: August 31

text: August 31 – The Venetians rally a rabble of soldiers and storm through the walls, attacking the Mitation Mosque which results in extensive fires in Constantinople. Finally, they are fought off by the Byzantines and Muslims standing side by side. It becomes one of the most extensive urban conflagrations in European History and renders some 100,000 people homeless.


date: August

text: August – Alexios IV announces new taxes and enrages the Orthodox Church by confiscating large quantities of Byzantine icons, many centuries old, and melts them down to produce enough silver to pay the massive debt to the Venetians. A riot breaks out in Constantinople – during which the Byzantine populace loots and burns the homes of Italian residents in the city.


text: August – Siege of Château Gaillard: French forces under Philip II begin the siege at Château Gaillard as part of a campaign to reconquer the continental properties of King John of England. During the winter of 1203/1204, the English under William Marshal attempt to relieve the castle.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


date: October

text: October – Brothers' Quarrel: Emeric, King of Hungary captures his rebellious brother Duke Andrew without resistance following their third confrontation in recent years.


date: December 6

text: December 6 – King John abandons the lands that have been held by the Dukes of Normandy for over a hundred years and returns to England. Only two castles hold out against the French forces – they are Chinon Castle, controlled by Hubert de Burgh and Loches Castle.


text: Siege of Constantinople: The Crusaders, led by Boniface of Montferrat, capture Constantinople, in support of the deposed Emperor Isaac II and his son Alexios Angelos. This marks the main outcome of the Fourth Crusade.


text: Late – In a 3-day battle at the Jeje'er Heights on the lower Kherlen River, Temüjin defeats the Kereit and Toghrul is killed.


text: Spring – King Philip II of France invades Normandy and attacks a number of castles in the surrounding region. In April, John, King of England loses the support of his French vassals who desert him. Philip enters Rouen, leading to the eventual Treaty of Paris (1259) and unification of Normandy and France.


text: Early – Battle of Khalakhaljid Sands: Temüjin, khan of the Mongol tribe and the future Genghis Khan, is comprehensively defeated by the forces of Toghrul, khan of the Kereit.


text: Minamoto no Sanetomo becomes the third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate. During his reign, Sanetomo is a puppet ruler for his mother Hōjō Masako who uses him as a pawn in her war with her father Hōjō Tokimasa.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


date: April 20

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: April 20 – The Crusader army evacuates Zara (modern Zadar) and sets sail to Corfu; Boniface of Montferrat and Doge Enrico Dandolo stay behind to await Prince Alexios Angelos. After a brief pause at Durrës (modern Albania), the fleet reaches Corfu. Meanwhile, news of its approach (through spies) has reached Emperor Alexios III Angelos at Constantinople. He gives order to strengthen the city walls and the fortifications.


date: May

text: May – June – The Crusader fleet rounds Greece and stops at Negroponte (modern-day Halkis), where the local authorities submit to Alexios Angelos. Encouraged by this, the Crusader leaders send him and several ships to extend his authority over the neighboring island of Andros. Mid-June, the Crusader fleet sails from Greece to Abydos, where it enters the Dardanelles.


text: August–October – Alexios IV leads a Crusader expedition (some 6,000 men) to extend his central-government control, against the fugitive Alexios III in Thrace. Meanwhile, a Crusader fleet operates in the Sea of Marmara in support of the Thracian campaign. The Crusaders seize several towns, including Adrianople, while Alexios escapes and withdraws to Macedonia.


text: The Oeselians ravage Danish Scania. The returning pirates later skirmish with the German settlers of Riga, near Visby in Gotland.


date: April 8

section: Religion & Belief

text: April 8 – Congress of Bilino Polje: Ban Kulin, ruler of Bosnia, officially declares his allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church and denounces heresy.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Ragnall mac Somairle, a Scottish nobleman, invites Benedictine monks to establish the abbey of Iona.


text: The Temple of Nataraja is completed, at Chidambaram in India.


section: Crime & Justice

text: At Rouen, William de Braose, an English nobleman, becomes the guardian of the imprisoned 16-year-old Arthur of Brittany, designated heir to the throne of England – who is not known to be alive after April and is probably murdered by or at the orders of his uncle, King John.


text: First evidence that the Temple in London is extending loans to John, King of England. The sums remain small, but are often used for critical operations, such as the ransoming of the king's soldiers captured by the French.

source_section: Events › By topic › Economy


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Abu Shama, Arab historian and writer (d. 1267)


text: Sengaku, Japanese Buddhist monk and writer (d. 1273)


text: Vasilko Romanovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (d. 1269)


text: Abu Zakariya Yahya, ruler of the Hafsid Sultanate (d. 1249)


text: Hōjō Tokiuji, Japanese nobleman and spy (d. 1230)


text: Eva Marshal, Cambro-Norman noblewoman (d. 1246)


text: Xueting Fuyu, Chinese Zen Buddhist abbot (d. 1275)


text: Zakariya al-Qazwini, Persian astronomer (d. 1283)


text: Mindaugas (or Mendog), king of Lithuania (d. 1263)


text: Cecilia Cesarini, Italian Dominican nun and saint (d. 1290)


text: Peter II ("the Little Charlemagne"), count of Savoy (d. 1268)


text: Donnchadh, Scottish ruler (mormaer) of Mar (d. 1244)


text: Bi Bi Monajemeh Nishaburi, Persian astronomer (d. 1280)


text: Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, Syrian physician and historian (d. 1270)


date: January 12

text: January 12 – Martin of León, Spanish priest (b. 1130)


date: January 21

text: January 21 – Agnes II, abbess of Quedlinburg in Saxony (b. 1139)


date: January

text: January – Sayyida Zumurrud Khatun, umm al-walad (mother) of the Abbasid caliph


date: March

text: March – Hedwig, margravine of Meissen (b. 1140)


date: April 6

text: April 6 – William of Æbelholt, French churchman (b. 1125)


text: May – Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, Welsh prince


date: July 12

text: July 12 – Isabel de Warenne, English noblewoman


date: July 21

text: July 21 – Harvey I of Léon, Breton nobleman (b. 1153)


date: September 11

text: September 11 – Stephen of Tournai, French bishop (b. 1128)


date: October 8

text: October 8 – Minamoto no Ichiman, Japanese nobleman (b. 1198)


text: October 8 – Hiki Yoshikazu, Japanese warrior and nobleman


date: November 4

text: November 4 – Dirk VII, Dutch nobleman and knight


date: November 30

text: November 30 – Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 1146)


text: Toghrul (or Wang Khan), Mongol leader


text: The district of Cham becomes subject to Bavaria.

source_section: Events


text: Theodore I Laskaris flees to Nicaea after the capture of Constantinople, and establishes the Empire of Nicaea; Byzantine successor states are also established in Epirus and Trebizond.


text: The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey decide, after a plebiscite of wealthy land owners, to remain with the English crown, after Normandy is recaptured by Philip II of France.


date: January 27

text: January 27–28 – Byzantine emperor Alexios IV Angelos is overthrown in a revolution.


date: April 12

text: April 12 – Sack of Constantinople: Crusaders enter Constantinople by storm and start pillaging the city as part of the Fourth Crusade. Forces of the Republic of Venice seize the antique statues that will become the horses of Saint Mark.


text: Angers and Normandy are captured by Philip II of France.


text: Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia submits to Philip of Swabia.


date: February 5

text: February 5 – Alexios V Doukas is crowned Byzantine emperor.


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Baldwin, Count of Flanders, is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire a week after his election by the members of the Fourth Crusade.


text: Tsar Kaloyan is recognized as king of Bulgaria by Pope Innocent III, after the creation of the Bulgarian Uniate church.


text: Boniface I, Marquis of Montferrat, a leader of the Fourth Crusade, founds the Kingdom of Thessalonica.


text: The writings of French theologian Amalric of Bena are condemned by the University of Paris and Pope Innocent III.


text: The Cistercian convent of Port-Royal-des-Champs is established.


section: Economy & Finance

text: Landshut, Bavaria, is Founded.


date: February 21

text: February 21–23 – A large solar storm takes place, and is recorded in Meigetsuki, the diary of the Japanese poet Fujiwara no Sadaie.


section: Culture & Society

text: Valdemar II of Denmark is recognized as king in Norway.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – Henry I, king of Castile (d. 1217)


text: Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1247)


text: Maria of Courtenay, Empress regent of Nicaea (d. 1228)


date: January 1

text: January 1 – King Haakon III of Norway


text: January – Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine emperor


date: February 8

text: February 8 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor


date: April 1

text: April 1 – Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sovereign Duchess Regnant of Aquitaine, queen of France and England


date: August 11

text: August 11 – King Guttorm of Norway


date: August 14

text: August 14 – Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shōgun (b. 1182)


date: September 30

text: September 30 or November 30 – Emeric, King of Hungary (b. 1174)


date: November

text: November – Ban Kulin, ruler of Bosnia (b. 1163)


date: December 12

text: December 12 (or December 13) – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Fujiwara no Shunzei, Japanese waka poet (b. 1114)


text: probable – Amalric of Bena, French theologian


text: c. October 21 – Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English nobleman


text: date unknown – Suleiman II, Sultan of Rûm


text: Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, founds the Duchy of Athens (one of the Crusader states set up in Greece) and takes the title of "Grand Lord" (Megaskyr) in Athens.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Battle of Adramyttion: The Byzantine army, under Constantine Laskaris (brother of Theodore I), appears before the walls of Adramyttium – surprising the Latin garrison. Meanwhile, Henry of Flanders, not wanting to remain trapped within the city, opens the gates and charges out with his heavy cavalry. He and his knights defeat the Byzantine forces, who are scattered and forced to retreat.


date: March

text: March – Byzantine officials in Adrianople revolt and expel Latin administrators, requesting Bulgarian support from Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, against Baldwin I who assembles an army (some 40,000 men) and marches to aid the Byzantines. Meanwhile, Baldwin sets out from Constantinople in force, he arrives at Adrianople and promptly begins to siege the city by the end of March.


text: April 14 – Battle of Adrianople: Latin forces under Baldwin I are defeated and eliminated in a successful ambush by Bulgarians, Vlachs and Cumans. Baldwin is captured and taken as prisoner to Veliko Tarnovo – where he is locked up at the top of a tower in the Tsarevets fortress. Later, Baldwin is possibly executed by orders of Kaloyan (this according to the Byzantine historian George Akropolites).


date: June 19

text: June 19 – Battle of Zawichost: Polish forces under High Duke Leszek the White defeat the Kievan army at Zawichost. During the ambush, Roman Mstislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, is killed. He is succeeded by his two infant sons, Daniel and Vasilko. Their principalities are ruled by their mother Anna of Byzantium, but the boyars of Galicia–Volhynia forces her and the young princes into exile.


text: Summer – Battle of Koundouros: Byzantine forces (some 5,000 men) under Michael Doukas, governor of the Theme of the Peloponnese (and later Despot of Epirus), tries to stop the Latin army (some 700 knights and foot soldiers) at the Olive Grove of Koundouros. The Byzantines are defeated by William of Champlitte, who later founds the Principality of Achaea (a vassal state of the Latin Empire).


text: Summer – King Philip II ("Augustus") conquers most of the Angevin lands, including much of Aquitaine. Fearing a French invasion of England itself, John, King of England ("Lackland") requires every English male over 12 years to enter a mobilization "for the general defense of the realm and the preservation of peace". John prepares an expedition force of his own, but the barons refuse to cross the Channel.


text: Spring – Theodore I Laskaris is proclaimed Byzantine emperor (or basileus), formally founding the Empire of Nicaea, after repelling the invasions of rivals David Komnenos and Manuel Maurozomes into his domains. His appointment is an open challenge to the legitimacy of the Latin emperor Baldwin I, who rules over large parts of the former Byzantine Empire and regards Theodore as a usurper.


date: January 6

text: January 6 – Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans and is crowned again with great ceremony at Aachen by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne. After several threats, Adolf is removed from office by Pope Innocent III and excommunicated, on July 19. Philip is able to increasingly assert his kingship against Otto of Brunswick (who is also crowned king of Germany) in the northern parts of the Alps.


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Pope Innocent III lays down the principle that Jews are doomed to perpetual servitude, because they had crucified Jesus.


text: Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir establishes Almohad domination over the eastern parts of Ifriqiya (modern Tunisia). He appoints General Abu Mohammed ibn Abi Hafs as governor of Ifriqiya.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


text: William of Wrotham, Lord Warden of the Stannaries, oversees a reform of English currency. In keeping with other high-ranking bureaucrats of his time, this is just one of Wrotham's many offices. He is also "keeper of ports", the forerunner of the First Lord of the Admiralty, supervisor of the mints of Canterbury and London, ward of the vacant Diocese of Bath and Wells and archdeacon of Taunton.

source_section: Events › By place › England


date: January 26

text: January 26 – Emperor Lizong of Song (or Zhao Yun), Chinese emperor (d. 1264)


text: March (or May) – Elisabeth of Swabia, queen of Castile and León (d. 1235)


date: July 10

text: July 10 – Hōjō Masamura, Japanese nobleman (d. 1273)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – As-Salih Ayyub, Ayyubid ruler (d. 1249)


text: Bruno von Schauenburg, Bohemian bishop (d. 1281)


text: Wenceslaus I ("the One-Eyed"), king of Bohemia (d. 1253)


text: Walter IV ("the Great"), French nobleman (d. 1246)


text: Azzo VII d'Este, Italian nobleman and knight (d. 1264)


text: Batu Khan, Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde (d. 1255)


date: January 2

text: January 2 – Baldwin II, Count of Guînes, French nobleman and knight


text: April 1 – Aimery of Cyprus, king of Jerusalem, dies of food poisoning caused by white mullet. He is succeeded by his 9-year-old son Hugh I as ruler of Cyprus. His mother, Queen Isabella I becomes regent over the young boy, but she dies suddenly four days after her husband. The High Court of Cyprus appoints Walter of Montbéliard (brother-in-law of Aimery) as regent and Hugh's guardian.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


text: April 1 – Aimery of Cyprus (or Amaury), king of Jerusalem


date: April 14

text: April 14 – Louis I, French nobleman and knight (b. 1172)


text: April 14 – Garnier de Traînel (or Traisnel), French bishop


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Ladislaus III, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1200)


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Andrew II, brother of the late King Emeric, is crowned ruler of Hungary and Croatia at Székesfehérvár, after his 5-year-old nephew, Ladislaus III, suddenly dies in Vienna. Andrew introduces a new policy for royal grants, which he calls "new institutions". He distributes large portions of his domain–such as royal castles and all estates attached to them–to supporters and Hungarian nobles.


date: May

text: May/June – Enrico Dandolo (or Henry), doge of Venice (b. 1107)


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Walter III, Count of Brienne (or Gautier), French nobleman


text: June 19 – Roman Mstislavich, Kievan prince (b. 1152)


date: July 4

text: July 4 – Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg ("the Generous"), German nobleman


text: July 10 – Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, Japanese samurai


date: July 13

text: July 13 – Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Savaric FitzGeldewin, English bishop


date: January 31

text: January 31 – Battle of Rusion: The Bulgarian forces (some 7,000 men), under Tsar Kaloyan, defeat the remnants of the Latin army, near the fortress of Rusion in Thrace. Around 120 knights, supported by soldiers and cavalry, are killed in battle or captured.


date: February

text: February – The Bulgarians attack and loot the fortified town of Rodosto (see Battle of Rodosto), defended by a Venetian garrison. Later, Kaloyan captures many more towns and fortresses.


date: June

text: June – John, King of England ("Lackland") lands an expeditionary army at La Rochelle to defend his interests in Aquitaine, which is his from the inheritance from his mother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Meanwhile, French forces led by King Philip II ("Augustus") move south to meet John. The year's campaign ends in a stalemate and a two-year truce is made between the two rulers.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


text: Muqali (or Mukhali), a Mongol general in service of Genghis Khan, is rewarded with the command of the left-wing of the newly reorganized Mongol army and takes control over the eastern Mingghans.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, in alliance with the Semigallians, conquer the Livonians (or Livs).


date: December

text: December – The monks of Canterbury want their own sub-prior Reginald for the post of archbishop, while King John chooses John de Gray. Pope Innocent III appoints Stephen Langton. Finally, the monks accept the Pope's decision and vote for Langton.


text: King Valdemar II ("the Conqueror") and Archbishop Andreas Sunonis raid Saaremaa Island (modern Estonia), forcing the islanders to submit. The Danes build a fortress, but finding no volunteers to man it, they burn it down themselves and leave the island.


text: Temüjin assembles at a Kurultai, a council of chiefs of the Mongol tribes under his rule, and is elected as their leader. He is given the title of Genghis Khan of the Mongol people – founding the Mongol Empire. Genghis takes immediate steps to underpin his military command, starting with a fundamental reordering of tribal loyalties. United under one nomadic nation, under one banner and one authority.


text: A peasant named Thurkhill in England claims that Saint Julian took him on a tour of Purgatory. Thurkhill includes realistic touches of descriptions of Purgatory's torture chambers. This is also believed by Roger of Wendover, one of his society's leading historians.


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: The Arab engineer Ismail al-Jazari describes many mechanical inventions in his book (title translated to English) The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.

source_section: Events › By topic › Technology


date: March 15

text: March 15 – Sultan Muhammad of Ghor is murdered and succeeded by Qutb al-Din Aibak, his deputy in India, who founds the Mamluk Dynasty, the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.


text: Sugar, an import from the Muslim world, is mentioned for the first time in a royal English account. Almonds, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are also imported for royal banquets.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art and Culture


date: April 7

text: April 7 – Otto II, German nobleman (d. 1253)

source_section: Births


text: c.March 19 – Güyük Khan (or Kuyuk), Mongol emperor (d. 1248)


text: Hong Pok-wŏn, Korean general and official (d. 1258)


text: Yaghmurasen ibn Zyan, Zayyanid ruler (d. 1283)


text: Margaret de Quincy, English noblewoman (d. 1266)


text: Béla IV, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1270)


text: Sheikh Edebali, Ottoman religious leader (d. 1326)


date: February 4

text: February 4 – Theobald Walter, Norman High Sheriff (b. 1165)

source_section: Deaths


date: March 5

text: March 5 – Thietmar of Minden (or Dietmar), German bishop


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Ottaviano di Paoli, Italian cardinal-bishop and diplomat


text: April 7 – Frederick I, German nobleman (House of Lorraine)


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Kujō Yoshitsune, Japanese nobleman (b. 1169)


date: April 23

text: April 23 – Suero Rodríguez, Spanish knight and Grand Master


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Adela of Champagne, queen of France (b. 1140)


date: August 20

text: August 20 – Henry of Flanders is crowned as the second emperor of the Latin Empire, in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, after hearing of the death of his brother, Emperor Baldwin I, who has died in prison at Baldwin's Tower in Tsarevets Castle, in Veliko Tarnovo (after being captured by the Bulgarians in 1205). Upon Henry's ascension as Latin emperor, the Lombard nobles of the Kingdom of Thessalonica refuse to give him allegiance.


text: Muhammad of Ghor, ruler of the Ghurid Empire (b. 1149)


text: Ismail al-Jazari, Artuqid polymath and inventor (b. 1136)


text: Huan Zong, Chinese emperor of Western Xia (b. 1177)


text: Harald Maddadsson, Norwegian nobleman (b. 1134) 9


text: William de Burgh, English nobleman (House of Burke)


text: Yang Wanli, Chinese politician and poet (b. 1127)


date: October 7

text: October 7 – The Indramayu Regency in Nusantara is established.


text: Prince Mstislav Mstislavich ("the Daring") clashes with his uncle Rurik Rostislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev, and is forced to surrender the town of Torchesk (a major centre of resistance against Polovtsian raids).


text: In Vietnam, the Lý dynasty witnessed the political crisis under king Lý Cao Tông. The barbarians in Tản Viên mountain rebelled against the emperor. They continued to rule Tản Viên mountain independently until the beginning of the Trần dynasty. In March, two chieftains Đoàn Thượng, Đoàn Chủ in Hồng Châu (present day Hải Dương and Hải Phòng) rebelled and declared themselves kings. Their rebellions lasted for 2 years, contributing to the fall of the Ly dynasty.


text: Spring – Siege of Attalia: Seljuk forces led by Sultan Kaykhusraw I besiege the city port of Attalia (modern-day Antalya) with siege machines. After a siege of more than 2 months, the city is captured, Kaykhusraw allows his forces 3 days of looting and slaughtering. The capture of the port gives the Seljuk Turks a major path into the Mediterranean.


text: Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, subjugates people of the Siberian forest (taiga); the Uriankhai, the Oirats, the Barga, the Khakas, the Buryats, and the Tuvans, extending the northern border of the Mongol Empire.


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Terra Mariana (or Medieval Livonia), comprising modern-day Estonia and Latvia, is established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. During its existence there is a constant struggle over supremacy between the lands ruled by the Teutonic Order, the secular German nobility, and the citizens of the Hanseatic towns of Riga and Reval.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – John still refuses to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop; Innocent III threatens to place England under an Interdict. In response, John confiscates church property. Many of the English bishops of the great churches in the country flee abroad to the Continent.


date: June 17

text: June 17 – Stephen Langton is consecrated as archbishop of Canterbury in England by Innocent III at Viterbo.


text: Pope Innocent III declares for King Philip of Swabia as Holy Roman Emperor, a reversal of his previous support for Philip's rival Otto IV.


text: John, King of England ("Lackland") introduces the first income tax. One-thirteenth of income from rents and moveable property has to be paid. Collected locally by sheriffs and administered by the Exchequer, the tax is unpopular with the English nobility and especially in the churches and monasteries, but does raise a lot of money for John, doubling his annual income for the year.


text: Before 1207 – Kosho writes Kuya Preaching, during the Kamakura period (it is later kept at Rokuharamitsu-ji Temple in Kyoto).


text: The first documentary evidence of forced loans in Venice. This technique becomes the staple of public finance in Europe, until the 16th century.


text: Hōnen and his followers of the Pure Land sect are persecuted and exiled to remote parts of Japan, while a few are executed, for what the government considers heretical Buddhist teachings.


date: November

text: November – Leeds, a market town in West Yorkshire, receives its first charter (approximate date).


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Elizabeth of Hungary, Hungarian princess (d. 1231)


date: August 13

text: August 13 – Malik ibn al-Murahhal, Moroccan poet (d. 1299)


date: September 30

text: September 30 – Rumi, Persian scholar and mystic (d. 1273)


text: Philip I, Count of Savoy, French nobleman (d. 1285)


text: Elen ferch Llywelyn (the Elder), Welsh princess, countess in England (d. 1253)


text: Gilbert Marshal, English nobleman and knight (d. 1241)


text: Margaret of Louvain, Flemish servant and saint (d. 1237)


text: Ottone Visconti, Italian nobleman and archbishop (d. 1295)


text: Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, Persian philosopher (d. 1274)


text: Henry II, Duke of Brabant, Dutch nobleman (House of Reginar) (d. 1248)


text: Jakuen, Japanese Buddhist monk and scholar (d. 1299)


text: Adelasia of Torres, Italian noblewoman and judge (d. 1259)


text: Raymond II Trencavel (or Raimond), French nobleman (d. 1263)


text: Canute (or Knud Valdemarsen), duke of Estonia (d. 1260)


date: February 7

text: February 7 – Sambor I, duke of Pomerania (b. 1150)


date: March 1

text: March 1 – Fernando Afonso, Portuguese Grand Master


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Fujiwara no Kanezane, Japanese nobleman


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Abdul Razzaq Gilani, Persian jurist (b. 1134)


date: June 6

text: June 6 – Gerardo dei Tintori, Italian mystic (b. 1134)


date: June 13

text: June 13 – Xie, Chinese empress consort (b. 1135)


date: June 19

text: June 19 – Ubaldo Lanfranchi, Italian archbishop


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Simon of Wells, bishop of Chichester


date: September 4

text: September 4 – Battle of Messinopolis: Latin forces under Boniface of Montferrat are ambushed and defeated at Messinopolis. Boniface is killed and his head is sent to Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire. Seeking to take advantage of the situation, Kaloyan besieges Thessalonica. In October, he dies under mysterious circumstances.


text: September 4 – Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, French troubadour


date: October 3

text: October 3 – Xin Qiji, Chinese general and poet (b. 1140)


date: October

text: October – Kaloyan, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire


date: November 3

text: November 3 – Hartwig II, German archbishop


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Han Tuozhou, Chinese statesman (b. 1152)


text: Livonian Crusade: The Crusader Livonian Brothers of the Sword, supported by tribes of Livs and Letts, initiate raids into Ugandi County in southern Estonia, resulting in the Estonian fight for independence.


date: January 31

text: January 31 – Battle of Lena: Swedish forces under Erik Knutsson defeat the invading Danish army (some 12,000 men). King Sverker the Younger is deposed as king of Sweden and is succeeded by Erik.


date: June 21

text: June 21 – Philip of Swabia, king of Germany, is assassinated in Bamberg by the German count Otto of Wittelsbach, because Philip has refused to give him his 10-year-old daughter Beatrice in marriage.


date: June 30

text: June 30 – Battle of Philippopolis: Bulgarian forces under Emperor (tsar) Boril are defeated by the Latin army (some 30,000 men) led by Emperor Henry of Flanders, near modern-day Plovdiv, Bulgaria.


date: November 17

text: November 17 – Innocent III asks the nobles in Northern France to take military action (the so-called Albigensian Crusade) against the Cathars in Languedoc.


text: Autumn – William Marshal is recalled and humiliated by King John at court in London, while John gives his justiciar in Ireland, Meiler Fitzhenry the order to invade Marshal's lands there, burning the town of New Ross.


date: January 15

text: January 15 – Pierre de Castelnau is murdered by heretics supported by Raymond VI, count of Toulouse. He is held responsible and excommunicated by Pope Innocent III, leading to the Albigensian Crusade.


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Innocent III places England under a Papal Interdict, as punishment for John, King of England ("Lackland")'s refusal to accept Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. During the interdict, religious services as marriages, burials, or baptisms cannot be performed. John confiscates church property of clergy who are unwilling to conduct services. Many bishops in the country flee abroad to the Continent.


text: Robert of Courçon, an English cardinal, writes his Summa – devoted to questions of canon law and ethics – dealing at length with the question of usury.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


date: April 15

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: April 15 – A fire breaks out in the Song Chinese capital city of Hangzhou, raging for four days and nights, destroying 58,097 houses over an area of more than 3 mi km, killing 59 people, and an unrecorded number of other people, who are trampled while attempting to flee. The government provides temporary lodging for 5,345 people, in nearby Buddhist and Taoist monasteries. The collective victims of the disaster are given 160,000 strings of cash, along with 400 tons of rice. Some of the government officials who lose their homes take up residence in rented boathouses on the nearby West Lake.


date: November 11

text: November 11 – Otto IV is elected by the German nobles as king of Germany at Frankfurt. He is engaged to Beatrice and travels to Milan where he receives the Iron Crown and the title of King of Italy, which continues until the end of World War I in 1918.


date: February 2

text: February 2 – James I ("the Conqueror"), king of Aragon (d. 1276)


text: Ada van Holland, Dutch noblewoman and abbess (d. 1258)


text: Margaret Skulesdatter, queen consort of Norway (d. 1270)


text: Bolesław I of Masovia, Polish nobleman and knight (d. 1248)


text: Knut Haakonsson, Norwegian nobleman (jarl) (d. 1261)


text: Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, English nobleman (d. 1265)


text: Coloman of Galicia, Hungarian prince of Halych (d. 1241)


text: Thomas de Beaumont, English nobleman (d. 1242)


text: Gissur Þorvaldsson, Icelandic chieftain (or goði) (d. 1268)


text: Kolbeinn ungi Arnórsson, Icelandic chieftain (d. 1245)


text: Berke Khan, Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde (d. 1266)


text: Sempad the Constable, Armenian nobleman (d. 1276)


text: January 15 – Pierre de Castelnau, French priest (assassinated)


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Julian of Cuenca, Spanish bishop (b. 1127)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Mark Ibn Kunbar, Egyptian Coptic priest


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Philip of Poitou (or Poitiers), bishop of Durham


text: June 21 – Philip of Swabia, king of Germany (b. 1177)


date: August 27

text: August 27 – Irene Angelina, queen consort of Sicily and Germany


text: August 27 – Queen Irene Angelina dies in childbirth after the death of her husband Philip of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle, leaving four daughters: Beatrice, Maria, Kunigunde and Elisabeth.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – Dietrich von Kittlitz, bishop of Meissen


date: October 6

text: October 6 – Geoffrey de Muschamp, bishop of Coventry


date: November 9

text: November 9 – Sancha of Castile, queen consort of Aragon


date: December 29

text: December 29 – Zhangzong of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 1168)


text: Leo Sgouros (or Sgurus), Byzantine governor and despot


text: Peter of Angoulême, Latin bishop and patriarch of Antioch


text: Bridget Haraldsdotter, queen consort of Sweden (approximate date)


date: June

text: June – Treaty of Sapienza: The Republic of Venice recognizes the possession of the Peloponnese by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin and keeps only the fortresses of Modon and Coron. Venice also acquires an exemption of her merchants from all tariffs, and the right to establish "a church, a market and a court" in every city of Achaea.


date: May

text: May – The First Parliament of Ravennika, convened by Emperor Henry of Flanders, is held in the town of Ravennika in Greece, in an attempt to resolve the rebellion of the Lombard nobles of the Kingdom of Thessalonica. Henry pardons Lord Amédée Pofey (or Buffois), and reinvests with his fief, while the other nobles persist in their rebellion and keep to their castles. After receiving imperial recognition, Geoffrey I of Villehardouin becomes Henry's vassal, thereby subordinating Achaea directly to Constantinople.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Massacre at Béziers: The Crusader army, led by Simon de Monfort, arrives in the Languedoc area, and makes camp at Béziers, to start a siege. The citizens, believing that their city walls are impregnable, harass the Crusaders, by sending a group of soldiers (supported by armed civilians) to launch a sortie against their camp. When they are forced to retreat, the Crusaders storm the walls (which are not properly manned) and enter the gate, sacking and killing some 20,000 Cathars and Catholics alike.


text: Black Monday, Dublin: A group of 500 recently arrived settlers from Bristol are massacred by warriors of the Irish O'Byrne clan. The group (accompanied by women and children) leaves the safety of the walled city of Dublin to celebrate Easter Monday near a wood at Ranelagh, and are attacked without warning. Although a relatively obscure event in history, it is commemorated by a mustering of the Mayor, Sheriffs, and soldiers on the day, as a challenge to the native tribes for centuries afterwards.


text: Spring – The Mongols led by Genghis Khan begin their first invasion against the Western Xia state (or Xi Xia). They push up along the Yellow River, capturing several garrisons and defeating an imperial army. The Mongols besiege the capital Zhongxing – which holds a well-fortified garrison of some 70,000 men (hastily reinforced with another 50,000). Genghis lacks the proper equipment and experience to take the city. In October, an attempt to flood the city by diverting the Yellow River is disastrous and floods the Mongol camp, forcing the Mongols to withdraw.


text: Tamar I, queen of Georgia, raids Eastern Anatolia and seizes Kars. She leads a liberational war in southern Armenia.


text: King Philip II of France ("Augustus") grants a "conduit" to merchants, going to the Champagne fairs (a trade fair organized in different towns of the County of Champagne), guaranteeing the safety of their travel – as any attempt made against them – is now to be considered a crime of lèse-majesté (an offense against the king). The decision increases again the appeal of the fairs to merchants from Italy and the Low Countries.

source_section: Events › By topic › Markets


date: October 21

text: October 21 – Innocent III crowns Otto IV as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in St. Peter's Basilica at Rome.


date: November

text: November – Against the backdrop of the continuing Papal Interdict of 1208, John, King of England, is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. Despite the excommunication, John will continue to make amends to the Church – including giving alms to the poor whenever he defiles a holy day by hunting during it. He feeds 100 paupers to make up for when he "went into the woods on the feast of St. Mary Magdalen", and three years from now, he will feast 450 paupers "because the king went to take cranes, and he took nine, for each of which he feasted fifty paupers."


text: In Tuscany, the banking firm known as the Gran Tavola ("Great Table") is formed; most of the partners are members of the Bonsignori family.


text: London Bridge is completed by a stone-arched structure. On the bridge are houses built; this is for paying the maintenance, though it has to be supplemented by other rents and by tolls.


text: In England, an exodus of scholars from Oxford leads to foundation of the University of Cambridge.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education


date: January 5

text: January 5 – Richard of Cornwall, English nobleman (d. 1272)


date: January 11

text: January 11 – Möngke Khan, Mongol emperor (khagan) (d. 1259)


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Fujiwara no Shunshi, Japanese empress (d. 1233)


date: September 8

text: September 8 – Sancho II ("the Pious"), king of Portugal (d. 1248)


date: December 7

text: December 7 – Vasilko Konstantinovich, Kievan prince (d. 1238)


text: Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke, English nobleman and knight (possible date) (d. 1245)


text: Choe Hang, Korean general and dictator (d. 1257)


text: Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk, English nobleman and knight (d. 1270)


text: Xu Heng, Chinese official and philosopher (d. 1281)


text: Bettisia Gozzadini, Italian female scholar and jurist (d. 1261)


text: Haji Bektash Veli, Persian philosopher (d. 1271)


text: Valdemar the Young, king of Denmark (d. 1231)


text: Gilbert of Preston, English Chief Justice (d. 1274)


text: Shang Ting, Chinese calligrapher and poet (d. 1288)


date: January 10

text: January 10 – William of Donjeon, French archbishop (b. 1140)


date: January 13

text: January 13 – Matilda of Saxony, German noblewoman (b. 1172)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Alfonso II, Count of Provence ("Berenguer"), Spanish nobleman and knight (b. 1180)


date: March 7

text: March 7 – Otto VIII, count palatine of Bavaria (approximate date)


date: April 2

text: April 2 – Elisabeth of Greater Poland, Duchess of Bohemia, Polish princess (b. 1152)


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Ji Gong (or Daoji), Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 1130)


date: August 15

text: August 15 – Siege of Carcassonne: Simon de Montfort takes Carcassonne, after negotiating the city's surrender with Raymond Roger Trencavel (or Raimond), viscount of Béziers and Albi, who is imprisoned and dies in mysterious circumstances 3 months later in his own dungeon. The Cathars are allowed to leave and expelled with nothing more than their clothes.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


date: September 12

text: September 12 – Fujiwara no Kinshi (Go-Shirakawa), Japanese empress (b. 1134)


date: November 10

text: November 10 – Raymond Roger Trencavel, French nobleman (b. 1185)


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Phillipe de Plessis, French Grand Master (b. 1165)


text: Nizami Ganjavi, Persian mystic poet and writer (b. 1141)


text: Berenguier de Palazol (or Palou), Spanish troubadour


text: Ruzbihan Baqli, Persian Sufi master and poet (b. 1128)


text: Albrecht von Johansdorf, German minnesänger (approximate date)


text: Roman settlement in present-day Wiesbaden, Germany, is first mentioned.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: Emperor Hadrian fixes the border between Roman Britain and Caledonia, on a line running from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth.


text: Construction of the Temple of Venus and Roma begins in Rome.


text: Era name changes from Yongning (2nd year) to Jianguang in the Chinese Eastern Han dynasty. (Needs clarification or deletion)


date: April 26

text: April 26 – Marcus Annius Verus, later Emperor Marcus Aurelius (d. 180)


text: Deng Sui, Chinese empress of the Han dynasty (b. AD 81)


text: Cai Lun, Chinese inventor of paper and the papermaking process (b. AD 50)


text: Eleutherius and Antia, Roman Christian martyrs and saints


date: December 12

text: December 12 – Emperor Tsuchimikado abdicates the throne in favor of his younger brother, Juntoku, after a 12-year reign. He is the second son of the former Emperor Go-Toba and becomes the 84th emperor of Japan.


date: July 18

text: July 18 – Battle of Gestilren: Sverker the Younger, the exiled former King of Sweden, is defeated and killed by the reigning King Erik Knutsson. After the battle, Erik takes the Swedish throne and marries Princess Rikissa of Denmark, daughter of the late King Valdemar I of Denmark to improve the relations with Denmark, which had supported King Sverker.


date: November 18

text: November 18 – Emperor Otto IV is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III after he occupies Apulia in southern Italy. Otto annuls the Concordat of Worms and demands from Innocent recognition of the imperial crown's right. A German civil war breaks out, and Otto prepares an invasion against Frederick II, king of Sicily.


date: November 22

text: November 22 – Siege of Termes: The Castle of Termes falls to Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade.


text: Battle of Ümera: Estonian forces defeat the Crusaders of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. The Estonians pursue the fleeing Crusaders and according to the Livonian Chronicle some of the prisoners are burned alive, while others have crosses carved on their backs with swords before being executed as well.


text: Jochi, Mongol leader and eldest son of Genghis Khan, begins a campaign against the Kyrgyz. Meanwhile, Emperor Xiang Zong of Western Xia agrees to submit to Mongol rule, he gives his daughter, Chaka, in marriage to Genghis and pays him a tribute of camels, falcons, and textiles.


text: 1210–1211 – Shazi creates the Pen Box, from Persia (Iran) or Afghanistan (it is now kept at Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.).


date: May

text: May – The Second Parliament of Ravennika, convened by Emperor Henry of Flanders, is held in the town of Ravennika (in modern Greece), in order to resolve the differences between the princes of Frankish Greece, and the Roman Catholic clergy of their domains. The assembled nobles and prelates conclude a concordat, which recognizes the independence and immunity of all Church property in Frankish Greece from any feudal duties.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – The 18-year-old Maria of Montferrat marries the French nobleman John of Brienne, who brings a dowry of 40,000 silver pounds (from King Philip II and Pope Innocent III). On October 3, the couple is crowned as King and Queen of Jerusalem in the Crusader Cathedral of Tyre (modern Lebanon).


text: The church of St Helen's Bishopsgate in the City of London is founded, as a priory of Benedictine nuns.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: The Papal Interdict of 1208 remains in force.


text: Pope Innocent III allows the formation of the mendicant order of Francis of Assisi, to begin the Order of Friars Minor.


text: King John extends his taxes and raises £100,000 from church property as an extraordinary fiscal levy; the operation is described as an “inestimable and incomparable exaction” by contemporary sources.


text: Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Tristan (approximate date).


date: November 1

text: November 1 – John orders that Jews across the country have to pay a tallage, a sum of money to the king. Those who do not pay are arrested and imprisoned. Many Jews are executed or leave the country.


date: September 24

text: September 24 – Venus occults Jupiter (the last such occurrence until 1570).

source_section: Events › By topic › Astronomy


date: November 21

text: November 21 – Eric X is crowned – which is the first known coronation of a Swedish king. He strengthens his relationship with his brother-in-law, King Valdemar II of Denmark ("the Conqueror"). Shortly after, Valdemar conquers Danzig (modern-day Gdańsk) on the Baltic coast, and Eastern Pomerania from the Slavonic Wends.


date: May 5

text: May 5 – Afonso III (the Boulonnais), king of Portugal (d. 1279)


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Floris IV, Count of Holland, Dutch nobleman and knight (d. 1234)


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (d. 1238)


text: unknown date – Alice of Montferrat, queen consort of Cyprus (d. 1233)


date: March 29

text: March 29 – Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Persian polymath (b. 1150)


date: May 6

text: May 6 – Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia, German nobleman and knight (b. 1159)


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Noriko (or Hanshi), Japanese empress (b. 1177)


date: July 17

text: July 17 – Sverker II (the Younger), king of Sweden


date: October 16

text: October 16 – Matilda of Boulogne, duchess of Brabant


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Qutb al-Din Aibak, Indian ruler (b. 1150)


date: November 30

text: November 30 – Florence of Holland, Scottish bishop


date: December 14

text: December 14 – Soffredo, Italian cardinal and patriarch


text: Muhammad II, ruler of the Alamut state (b. 1148)


text: Maud de Braose, English noblewoman (b. 1155)


text: Majd ad-Dīn Ibn Athir, Zangid historian (b. 1149)


text: Aonghus mac Somhairle, Norse-Gaelic chieftain


text: Gottfried von Strassburg, German poet and writer


text: Lu You, Chinese historian, poet and writer (b. 1125)


date: June

text: June – Shams ud-Din Iltutmish, son-in-law of the former Sultan Qutb al-Din Aibak, becomes ruler of the Delhi Sultanate and quells the Hindu rebellions in India.


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Battle of the Rhyndacus: Latin emperor Henry of Flanders lands with an expeditionary force (some 3,000 men) at Pegai, and marches eastwards to the Rhyndacus River. The Byzantine army (much larger in force overall) under Theodore I prepare an ambush, but Henry assaults his positions along the river and defeats the Byzantine army in a day-long battle. Henry marches unopposed through the remaining Byzantine lands, reaching south as far as Nymphaion.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


text: Spring – Albigensian Crusade: Crusader forces led by Simon de Montfort conquer Toulouse and besiege Lavaur in southern France. On May 3, the city is retaken; on orders of Montfort the senior knights are hanged and some 400 Cathars are burned alive.


text: Summer – John, King of England ("Lackland") campaigns in Wales against Llywelyn the Great, prince of Gwynedd. In July, after the Welsh uprising, John and Llywelyn reach an agreement and a peace treaty is signed.


text: Livonian Crusade: Battles of Viljandi and Turaida – The Crusaders fail to conquer the Viljandi stronghold, but manage to baptize Sakala and Ugandi counties (Southern Estonia).


text: John sends a gift of herrings to nunneries in almost every shire, despite his status as an excommunicant.


date: April 21

text: April 21 – Santiago de Compostela Cathedral (begun in the 11th century) is consecrated, in the presence of King Alfonso IX of León.


text: June – Papal legate Pandulf Verraccio arrives in Northampton to serve John with his excommunication ordered by Innocent III. For John this is a serious blow to his ability to rule the country.


date: September

text: September – The 16-year-old Frederick II is elected in absentia as German king by rebellious nobleman (supported by Pope Innocent III) at the Diet of Nuremberg (Germany).


text: The Papal Interdict of 1208 laid by Innocent III remains in force after John refuses to accept the pope's appointee.


text: Archbishop Aubrey (or 'Alberic of Humbert') lays the first stone of the chevet of Reims Cathedral.


date: January 20

text: January 20 – Agnes of Prague, Bohemian abbess (d. 1282)


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Frederick II, duke of Austria and Styria (d. 1246)


date: September 22

text: September 22 – Ibn Khallikan, Barmakid historian (d. 1282)


date: December 3

text: December 3 – Francesco Lippi, Italian nobleman (d. 1291)


text: Henry VII, king of Germany (Rex Romanorum) (d. 1242)


text: Muhammad III, ruler of the Nizari Ismaili State (d. 1255)


text: Ajall Shams al-Din Omar, Khwarezmian governor (d. 1279)


text: Eleanor of Portugal, queen consort of Denmark (d. 1231)


text: Shinnyo, Japanese Buddhist nun and writer (d. 1282)


text: Hugh Bigod, English nobleman and Justiciar (d. 1266)


text: Casimir I of Kuyavia, Polish nobleman and knight (d. 1267)


text: John I, Lord of Mecklenburg ("the Theologian"), German nobleman (d. 1264)


text: Prijezda I, Bosnian nobleman (Ban) and knight (d. 1287)


text: William of Villehardouin, prince of Achaea (d. 1278)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Adelaide of Meissen, duchess of Bohemia


date: March 14

text: March 14 – Pietro Gallocia (or Galluzzi), Italian cardinal


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Sancho I ("the Populator"), king of Portugal (b. 1154)


text: March 26 – King Sancho I of Portugal ("the Populator") dies after a 25-year reign at Coimbra. He is succeeded by his son Afonso II ("the Fat") as ruler of Portugal. During his reign, he designs the first set of Portuguese written laws.


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Mieszko IV Tanglefoot, duke of Poland (b. 1130)


date: June 9

text: June 9 – Andrew II, Baron of Vitré, French nobleman and knight (b. 1150)


date: June 17

text: June 17 – Kaykhusraw I, ruler of the Sultanate of Rum


date: August 9

text: August 9 – William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, Norman nobleman


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Narapatisithu, ruler of the Pagan Kingdom (Burma) (b. 1150)


date: October 14

text: October 14 – Ferdinand of Castile, Spanish prince (b. 1189)


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Páll Jónsson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1155)


date: December 8

text: December 8 – Adelaide of Poland, Polish princess


date: December 14

text: December 14 – Shōshi, Japanese empress (b. 1195)


text: Samson of Tottington, English monk and abbot (b. 1135)


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: The Christian forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile ("the Noble") decisively defeat the Almohad army (some 30,000 men) led by Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir. The victory gives a further impulse to the Reconquista but this leaves the Kingdom of Castile in a difficult financial position, as numerous soldiers have to be paid by the treasury.


text: Spring – After the fall of Argos the Crusaders complete their conquest of the Morea in southern Greece. The city, along with Nauplia, is given to Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, as a fief, along with an income of 400 hyperpyron from Corinth. Meanwhile, the Venetians conquer Crete and evict Henry, Count of Malta ("Enrico Pescatore"), a Genoese adventurer and pirate, active in the Mediterranean.


text: Autumn – Genghis Khan invades Jin territory and besieges Datong. During the assault, he is wounded by an arrow in his knee and orders a withdrawal for rest and relaxation.


text: The Teutonic Order builds Bran Castle in the Burzenland (modern Romania) as a fortified position at the entrance of a mountain pass through which traders can travel. The Teutonic Knights build another five castles, some of them made of stone. Their rapid expansion in Hungary makes the nobility and clergy, who are previously uninterested in those regions, jealous and suspicious.


date: December 9

text: December 9 – The 18-year-old Frederick II is crowned King of the Germans at Mainz. Frederick's authority in Germany remains tenuous, and he is recognized only in southern Germany. In the region of northern Germany, the center of Guelph power, his rival Otto IV continues to hold the imperial power despite his excommunication.


text: Kamo no Chōmei, a Japanese poet and essayist, writes the Hōjōki, one of the great works of classical Japanese prose.


text: John, King of England, impounds the revenue of all prelates appointed by bishops, who have deserted him at his excommunication. He remains on good terms, however, with churchmen who stood by him, including Abbot Sampson, who this year bequeaths John his jewels.


text: The Children's Crusade is organized. There are probably two separate movements of young people, both led by shepherd boys, neither of which embark for the Holy Land – but both of which suffer considerable hardship.


text: The Papal Interdict of 1208 laid on England and Wales by Innocent III remains in force.


text: Early Spring – Nicholas leads a group from the Rhineland and crosses the alps into Italy. In August, he arrives with some 7,000 children in Genoa. Nicholas travels to the Papal States where he meets Pope Innocent III.


text: The contemplative Order of Poor Clares is founded by Clare of Assisi (approximate date).


date: July 10

text: July 10 – The Great Fire: The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground; over 3,000 people die, many of them by drowning in the River Thames. According to a contemporary account: "An awful fire broke out on the Southwark side of London Bridge; while it was raging, a fire broke out at the other end also and so hemmed in the numerous crowds who had assembled to help the distressed. The sufferers, to avoid the flames, threw themselves over the bridge into boats and barges; but many of these sunk, the people crowding into them.".


date: June

section: Health & Medicine

text: June – The 12-year-old Stephen of Cloyes leads a group across France to Vendôme. Attracting a following of over 30,000 adults and children. After arriving in Marseille the vast majority return home to their families.


text: A storm surge in the north of Holland claims approximately 60,000 lives.


date: March 22

text: March 22 – Go-Horikawa, emperor of Japan (d. 1234)


date: May 6

text: May 6 – Constance, margravine of Meissen (d. 1243)


date: July 9

text: July 9 – Muiz ud-Din Bahram, Indian ruler (d. 1242)


text: Zita (or Sitha), Italian maid and saint (d. 1272)


text: Malatesta da Verucchio, Italian nobleman (d. 1312)


text: Abu al-Hasan al-Shushtari, Andalusian poet (d. 1269)


text: Maria of Chernigov, Kievan Rus' princess (d. 1271)


text: Yolande of Dreux, French noblewoman (d. 1248)


text: Ibn Sahl of Seville, Almohad poet and writer (d. 1251)


text: Farinata degli Uberti, Italian military leader (d. 1264)


date: February 29

text: February 29 – Hōnen, Japanese Buddhist reformer (b. 1133)


date: April 6

text: April 6 – Bertram of Metz (or Berthold), German bishop


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Vsevolod III, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1154)


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Dagmar of Bohemia, queen of Denmark


date: July 15

text: July 15 – John I (or Johann), German archbishop


text: July 16 – William de Brus, Scottish lord of Annandale


date: August 11

text: August 11 – Beatrice, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1198)


date: August 26

text: August 26 – Michael IV, patriarch of Constantinople


date: September 19

text: September 19 – Henry fitz Ailwin, Lord Mayor of London


date: October 25

text: October 25 – John Comyn, English archbishop (b. 1150)


date: November 4

text: November 4 – Felix of Valois, French hermit (b. 1127)


date: November

text: November – Azzo VI of Este (or Azzolino), Italian nobleman (b. 1170)


date: December 5

text: December 5 – Dirk van Are, bishop and lord of Utrecht


date: December 12

text: December 12 – Geoffrey, Anglo-Norman archbishop of York and Chancellor of England (b. 1152)


date: May 30

text: May 30 – Battle of Damme: The English fleet under William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, destroys a French fleet off the Belgian port in the first major victory for the fledgling Royal Navy.

source_section: Events


date: September 12

text: September 12 – Battle of Muret: The Toulousain and Aragonese forces of Raymond VI of Toulouse and Peter II of Aragon are defeated by the Albigensian Crusade, under Simon de Montfort.


text: Jin China is overrun by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, who plunder the countryside and cities, until only Beijing remains free, despite two bloody palace coups and a lengthy siege.


date: May 15

text: May 15 – John, King of England submits to Pope Innocent III, who in turn lifts the interdict of 1208 the following year.


text: Pope Innocent III issues a charter calling for the Fifth Crusade to recapture Jerusalem.


text: Construction of Kilkenny Castle in Ireland is completed.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, French crusader (d. 1271)


date: June 10

text: June 10 – Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi, Persian philosopher and Sufi mystic


text: Hethum I, King of Armenia, ruler of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (d. 1270)


text: Ibn al-Nafis, polymath (d. 1288)


date: January 18

text: January 18 – Queen Tamar I of Georgia (b. c. 1160)


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany


date: April 21

text: April 21 – Maria of Montpellier, Lady of Montpellier, Queen of Aragon (b. 1182)


text: September 12 – King Peter II of Aragon (killed in battle) (b. 1174)


date: September 28

text: September 28 – Gertrude of Merania, queen consort regent of Hungary (murdered) (b. 1185)


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Frederick II, Duke of Lorraine


date: October 14

text: October 14 – Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex


text: Sharafeddin Tusi, Persian mathematician (b. 1135)


date: September 18

text: September 18 – Treaty of Chinon: John of England makes a truce with Philip II at the Castle of Chinon, and recognizes the Capetian (French) territorial gains at the expense of the Angevin Empire.


date: June

text: June – Otto IV arrives in Flanders with a small army; four German nobles have joined him, but he is soon reinforced by troops of Renaud I, duke of Boulogne, Ferdinand, (jure uxoris) count of Flanders and the mercenaries under William Longespée. On July 26, Philip II arrives at the Flemish town of Tournai with his army (some 7,000 men), while the allied forces encamp 12 kilometers south at the Castle of Mortagne (France).


date: July 27

text: July 27 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II defeats an army (some 9,000 men) of German, English and Flemish soldiers led by Otto IV near Bouvines, ending the Anglo-French War. The French forces have taken a considerable number of soldiers prisoner, including 131 knights and five counts with Ferdinand, Renaud I and William Longespée among them.


date: November 1

text: November 1 – Siege of Sinope: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Kaykaus I capture the strategic Black Sea port city of Sinope – at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond (one of the Byzantine successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade). Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond leads an army to break the siege, but he is defeated and captured. His capture forces the Byzantines to accept tributary status to Kaykaus.


text: In his campaigns in Liaodong, the Mongol general Muqali (or Mukhali) forms a newly Khitan-Chinese army and a special corps of some 12,000 Chinese auxiliary troops.


text: Spring – Emperor Xuan Zong of the Jurchen-led Chinese Jin dynasty surrenders to the Mongols under Genghis khan – who have besieged the capital of Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing) for a year. He is forced to pay tribute (including some 3,000 horses, 10,000 'bolts' of silk and his daughter), along with subjugation to the Mongol Khan. Xuan Zong abandons northern China and moves his court to Kaifeng.


text: After securing all Jin lands north of the Yellow River, Genghis Khan receives a message that Xuan Zong has moved his capital to Kaifeng. He returns to Zhongdu and precedes the city with the help of thousands of Chinese engineers. The Mongols starve the city out (the inhabitants are forced to eat the dead). The garrison, with a short supply of ammunition for the cannons holds out for the winter.


text: April 13 – Simon of Apulia is elected bishop of Exeter in England (approximate date).


date: June 20

text: June 20 – A papal ordinance defines the rights of the scholars at the University of Oxford in England.


date: July 2

text: July 2 – The Papal Interdict of 1208, laid against the Kingdom of England, is lifted.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – A group of English nobles, after finding a copy of the Charter of Liberties, swear an oath at the altar of Bury St Edmunds, to force King John to acknowledge their rights.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Louis IX ("the Saint"), king of France (d. 1270)


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Sturla Þórðarson, Icelandic chieftain (d. 1284)


text: Ugolino della Gherardesca, Italian nobleman (approximate date) (d. 1289)


text: Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1241)


text: Alberto da Bergamo, Italian Dominican tertiary (d. 1279)


text: Ottaviano degli Ubaldini, Italian cardinal (d. 1273)


text: Al-Qurtubi, Moorish scholar, jurist and writer (d. 1273)


date: January 25

text: January 25 – Taira no Tokuko, Japanese empress (b. 1155)


date: February 13

text: February 13 – Theobald I, Count of Bar (or Thibauld), French nobleman


date: April 16

text: April 16 or 26 – Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine ("the Younger"), German nobleman (b. 1196)


text: April 21 – John of Ford, English Cistercian prior and abbot


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Gilbert Glanvill (or Glanville), bishop of Rochester


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Pedro Fernández de Castro, Spanish nobleman


date: August 30

text: August 30 – Peter of Capua the Elder, Italian cardinal and papal legate


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Albert of Vercelli, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Diego López II de Haro, Spanish nobleman (b. 1152)


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Upon the death of their father, King Alfonso VIII of Castile ("the Noble"), and of their mother, Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile on October 31, Berenguela becomes regent of her 10-year-old brother, Henry I.


date: October 18

text: October 18 – John de Gray (or de Grey), bishop of Norwich


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Eleanor of England, queen of Castile (b. 1161)


date: December 4

text: December 4 – King William the Lion of Scotland dies after a 49-year reign at Stirling. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander II, who is crowned at Scone (until 1249).


date: December 8

text: December 8 – Sasaki Takatsuna, Japanese samurai (b. 1160)


date: May 5

text: May 5 – Robert Fitzwalter is elected by the Barons as their general, with the title of "Marshal of the Army of God and Holy Church". He solemnly renounces his homage to John of England and begins to siege Northampton Castle. While this fails, Robert consolidates his forces. He turns to Prince Louis of France, son and heir apparent of King Philip II for support.

source_section: Events › By continent › Europe


date: May 17

text: May 17 – The gates to London are opened by supporters of the rebellious Barons. The houses of Jews are targeted for ransacking and burning. The rebels, under Robert Fitzwalter, call for the English nobles still on the side of King John to join them, and repair the walls. The Tower of London, held by John's supporters, is too well defended to fall into the hands of the rebels.


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Mongol conquest of Jin China: After the long Battle of Zhongdu, the Mongol forces capture Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing). Meanwhile, Genghis Khan has decamped to the edge of the grasslands and is on his way back to the Kherlen River. Without his restraining influence, the Mongols run wild. They devastate and ransack the city, killing thousands. The royal palace goes up in flames, and a part of the capital burns for a month.

source_section: Events › By continent › Asia


date: August

text: August – King John of England rejects Magna Carta and writes to Innocent III – asking him to cancel the charter on grounds that he signed it against his will. At the same time, John continues to build up his mercenary army.


date: October

text: October – The Barons offer the English crown to Louis of France and invite him to England. King John England confiscates the Barons' land and besieges Rochester Castle; the garrison is starved out and surrenders to him.


date: December

text: December – First Barons' War: King John of England campaigns successfully in the Midlands and captures Nottingham Castle, on December 24. King Alexander II of Scotland joins the Barons and invades Northern England.


text: King Kalinga Magha, from Kalinga Province in India, lands in Sri Lanka with a force of 24,000 men, to capture the city of Polonnaruwa and depose its king, Parakrama Pandya.


date: January 8

text: January 8 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, is elected lord of Languedoc in a council at Montpellier (Southern France), after his campaign against the Cathar heretics during the Albigensian Crusade. The Crusaders capture Château de Castelnaud-la-Chapelle and enter Toulouse; the town pays an indemnity of 30,000 marks and is gifted to Montfort.


date: March 4

text: March 4 – John, King of England ("Lackland"), hoping to gain the support of Pope Innocent III against the Barons, takes the oath to go on Crusade. By doing so, Innocent declares John to be his vassal and claims ownership of the whole kingdom (with political protection under church law). On April 1, Innocent sends a letter to the Barons, asking them to halt their actions against John.


date: June 15

text: June 15 – A large number of barons, led by Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, meet King John of England on an island in the Thames at Runnymede. They force John to sign Magna Carta, a document that grants liberties to the "free men" – the Barons, the church and the towns. He is subjected to the rule of law, by confirming the status of trial by jury, on June 19.


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Pope Innocent III annuls Magna Carta, freeing King John from its limitations. He annuls the charter on the grounds that John signed it because he is forced and that the document is illegal.


date: September 13

text: September 13 – King John of England seeks help from Innocent III in his fight against the Barons. In a letter, written while staying at Dover Castle, he states that the defense of England is the responsibility of God and the Pope.


date: November 11

text: November 11–30 – The Fourth Council of the Lateran (or "Great Council") convened by Innocent III ends at Rome and approves the papal proposal for a Fifth Crusade in Palestine. The Pope promulgates a canon against clerical participation in trial by ordeal, replacing it by compurgation.


text: Summer – Emperor Otto IV is excommunicated and forced to abdicate as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. The German nobles, supported by Innocent III, again elect the 20-year-old Frederick II as King of the Romans who is crowned in Aachen, on July 25. The same day, Frederick takes the Cross and promises to go on Crusade.


text: 1215–1216 – The Macy Jug, from Iran, is made. It is now kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art and Science


text: Otto III, Margrave of Brandenburg ("the Pious"), German nobleman (d. 1267)


text: Robert Kilwardby, archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1279)


text: Beatrice d'Este, queen consort of Hungary (d. 1245)


text: Henry III, Margrave of Meissen ("the Illustrious"), German nobleman (d. 1288)


text: Ibn Kammuna, Arab Jewish philosopher (d. 1284)


text: Catherine Sunesdotter, queen of Sweden (d. 1252)


text: Roger de Leybourne, English landowner (d. 1271)


text: John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa and Ascalon (d. 1266)


text: Celestine V, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1296)


text: David VII (or David Ulugh), king of Georgia (d. 1270)


text: Mécia Lopes de Haro, queen of Portugal (d. 1270)


text: John XXI, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1277)


text: Agnes of Merania, German noblewoman (d. 1263)


text: Maria of Antioch-Armenia, lady of Toron (d. 1257)


date: February 3

text: February 3 (or February 4) – Eustace, bishop of Ely


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Hōjō Tokimasa, Japanese nobleman (b. 1138)


date: June 9

text: June 9 – Manegold of Berg, German abbot and bishop


date: August 1

text: August 1 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)


date: September 1

text: September 1 – Otto I, bishop of Utrecht (b. 1194)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Philip de Valognes, Norman nobleman


date: November 17

text: November 17 – Giles de Braose, bishop of Hereford


date: December 21

text: December 21 – Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, Arab theologian


text: Manfred II (del Vasto), marquis of Saluzzo (b. 1140)


text: Theodore Apsevdis, Byzantine painter (b. 1150)


text: Sicard of Cremona, Italian bishop and writer (b. 1155)


text: Esclarmonde of Foix, French noblewoman and Cathar


text: Bertran de Born, French nobleman, poet and troubadour


text: Giraut de Bornelh (or de Borneil), French troubadour


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Battle of Lipitsa: The Kievan princes Mstislav Mstislavich and Konstantin of Rostov defeat Konstantin's younger brothers Yuri II and Yaroslav II for the rule of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal (modern Russia).


date: May 18

text: May 18 – King John of England assembles a naval force to defend against a French invasion. Bad storms disperse the fleet, and John spends the summer reorganizing defenses across the country. He sees several of his military household desert to the barons, including his half-brother, William Longespée, who is the commander of John's army in the south.


date: May 21

text: May 21 – Prince Louis of France, son of King Philip II ("Augustus"), invades England in support of the barons, landing in Thanet. He enters London without opposition, and is proclaimed, but not crowned, King of England at Old St Paul's Cathedral. In June, Louis captures Rochester Castle and Winchester, and soon controls over half of the English kingdom.


date: June

text: June – The rebel English barons besiege Windsor Castle and Dover Castle; the latter is strategically important as the 'gateway to England', controlling the shortest route to France. Meanwhile, King John uses Corfe Castle in the southwest as his base of operations while he plans his campaign against the barons and the French invading army under Louis.


date: July 24

text: July 24 – Albigensian Crusade: French forces under Raymond VII, count of Toulouse, besiege Castle Beaucaire in May. After three months, the occupants are running low on supplies and surrender to Raymond.


text: Spring – First Barons' War: The English army, led by John, King of England ("Lackland"), sacks the town of Berwick-on-Tweed and raids southern Scotland. John pushes up towards Edinburgh over a ten-day period. On his return, he puts down a revolt in East Anglia. On March 24, he arrives at Hertford to deal with the challenge of a coming French invasion.


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Leo I, King of Armenia ("the Magnificent"), with support of the Knights Hospitaller, reconquers the Principality of Antioch. Armenian troops enter Antioch while Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch ("the One-Eyed") is absent. The Knights Templar, supporting Bohemond, abandon the citadel, and Raymond-Roupen is installed as Prince of Antioch by the Latin Patriarch, Peter II.

source_section: Events › By continent › Levant


date: November 12

text: November 12 – William Marshal and Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, Italian diplomat and papal legate to England, issue a Charter of Liberties, based on Magna Carta, in the new king's name.


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Honorius III officially approves the Order of Preachers (the Dominican Order), by the Papal bull Religiosam vitam.


text: Ballintubber Abbey is founded by King Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair of Connacht, in Ireland.


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Robert I, French nobleman (d. 1250)


text: Eric XI (the Lisp and Lame), king of Sweden (d. 1250)


text: Liu Bingzhong (or Liu kan), Chinese adviser (d. 1274)


text: Nijō Yoshizane, Japanese nobleman (kugyō) (d. 1270)


text: Eric IV (the Plowpenny), king of Denmark (d. 1250)


text: Bernard Ayglerius (or Aygler), French cardinal (d. 1282)


text: Al-Mahdi Ahmad bin al-Husayn, Arab ruler (d. 1258)


text: Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, Persian musician (d. 1294)


text: Contardo of Este, Italian nobleman and knight (d. 1249)


text: Henry V (the Great), count of Luxembourg (d. 1281)


text: Stephen Longespée, English seneschal (d. 1260)


text: Zahed Gilani, Arab Sufi leader and writer (d. 1301)


date: January 18

text: January 18 – Guy II of Dampierre, French nobleman


date: January 31

text: January 31 – Theodore II, patriarch of Constantinople


date: February 23

text: February 23 – Geoffrey de Mandeville, English nobleman


date: April 10

text: April 10 – Ten-year-old Johan, son of the former King Sverker the Younger succeeds Erik Knutsson as King of Sweden, when Erik dies of fever at the end of an 8-year reign, at Näs Castle on the island of Visingsö.


text: April 10 – Eric X (Knutsson), king of Sweden (b. 1180)


date: April 27

text: April 27 – Sukeko, Japanese princess and empress


date: May

text: May – Pope Innocent III travels to Perugia to try to settle the long feud between Genoa and Pisa, that both states might contribute to the transport of the Fifth Crusade. There, after a short illness, Innocent dies on July 16. Two days after his death the aged Cardinal Cencio Savelli (later Honorius III) is elected as the 177th pope of the Catholic Church.


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Henry of Flanders, Latin emperor (b. 1178)


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Innocent III, pope of the Catholic Church


date: September 2

text: September 2 – Peter II (of Ivrea), patriarch of Antioch


date: October 8

text: October 8 – Az-Zahir Ghazi, Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo


text: October 8 – Az-Zahir Ghazi, Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo, dies after a 23-year reign. He is succeeded by his 3-year-old son Al-Aziz Muhammad. Because of his young age, Toghril becomes Al-Aziz's regent or guardian (atabeg).


date: October 19

text: October 19 – Nine-year-old Henry III succeeds his father, King John of England, when the latter dies of dysentery at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire. William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, becomes regent.


text: Kamo no Chōmei, Japanese poet and essayist (b. 1155)


date: September 12

text: September 12 – Treaty of Kingston: The First Baron's War ends. After the defeat of the French fleet, Prince Louis is without hope of taking the English throne. William Marshal blockades London from the sea and land. At Lambeth Louis accepts peace terms. He waives his claim for the throne and promises to restore Normandy to Henry III but does not. The French and Scots are to leave England, and an amnesty is granted to the rebels.

source_section: Events › Other events by place › Europe


date: October 18

text: October 18 – Reconquista: The city of Alcácer do Sal, located along the Sado River, is conquered from the Moors by troops of King Afonso II of Portugal.


date: May 20

text: May 20 – Battle of Lincoln: Henry III's forces led by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke defeat the French army of Prince Louis and the rebel barons who are besieging Lincoln Castle. During the battle, Thomas, Comte du Perche is killed and Louis is expelled from his base in the southeast of England. The looting that takes place afterward is known as the "Lincoln Fair". The citizens of Lincoln are loyal to Louis so Henry's forces sack the city. To the south, inhabitants of towns between Lincoln and London ambush and kill many of the French soldiers.


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Battle of Sandwich: An English fleet under Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent defeats the French armada (10 large ships and 70 supply ships) in the English Channel, near Sandwich. The French fleet is commanded by Eustace the Monk, a mercenary and pirate, who fights for both the French and English when it suits his needs. The French fleet is bringing more men and supplies to assist Prince Louis, in his quest to take the English throne. The English capture Eustace's flagship, and Eustace himself is (while offering 10,000 marks for ransom) beheaded.


date: September 21

text: September 21 – Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and allied Livs and Letts defeat the Estonian army in the Battle of St. Matthew's Day, and kill their leader Lembitu.


date: September

text: September: Leopold VI finds some ships in Split, that bring him and a small force to Acre. Andrew follows him about a fortnight later; in Split, he receives only two ships. The rest of Andrew's army is left behind. Meanwhile, King Hugh I of Cyprus lands at Acre, with troops to support the Crusade.

source_section: Events › Fifth Crusade


date: November

text: November – In the Kingdom of Castile, former regent and Castilian nobleman, Álvaro Núñez de Lara, is captured and forced to relinquish all his castles.


text: November – The Crusader army (some 15,000 men) under Andrew II sets out from Acre, and marches up the Plain of Esdraelon. Sultan Al-Adil I, on hearing that the crusaders are assembling, sends some Muslim troops to Palestine, to halt their advance. The crusaders move towards Beisan, while Al-Adil waits at Ajloun Castle, ready to intercept any attack on Damascus. He sends his son, Al-Mu'azzam, to cover Jerusalem. On November 10, Andrew's well-mounted army defeats Al-Adil at Bethsaida, on the Jordan River. Beisan is occupied and sacked; the Muslims retreat to their fortresses and towns.


text: The Mongol army under Muqali (or Mukhali) attacks Hebei Province, as well as Shandong Province and Shaanxi Province (controlled by the Jin Dynasty). He returns to Genghis Khan's camp in Mongolia, and receives the hereditary of prince with the title "Grand Preceptor of the Empire", a golden seal, and a white standard with nine tails and a black crescent in the middle. He is appointed as commander-in-chief of operations in North China.

source_section: Events › Other events by place › Asia


text: Spring – First Barons' War: English forces of King Henry III besiege the French-controlled Mountsorrel Castle in Leicestershire. Prince Louis sends reinforcements (some 20,000 men) to assist the Barons in the castle. The English army lifts the siege and withdraws to Nottingham. Louis makes the mistake of moving the French forces to Lincoln Castle – where the English garrison holds out against previous attacks. Meanwhile, Henry's forces return to Mountsorrel Castle. This time Louis fails to arrive in time to prevent the razing to the ground of the castle.


date: December

text: December – King John I of Jerusalem leads an expedition into Lebanon. On December 3, he undertakes fruitless assaults on Muslim fortresses and on Mount Tabor. Meanwhile, the Crusader army under Andrew II wanders across the Jordan Valley and up the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. During the occupation, Andrew spends his time collecting alleged relics. By the end of December, supplies run out, and the crusaders retreat to Acre.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – Peter II of Courtenay is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople at Rome, by Pope Honorius III. Shortly after his coronation, Peter borrows some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them. He fails in this enterprise and seeks to make his way to Constantinople by land. On the journey, he is seized by troops of Theodore Komnenos Doukas, despot of Epirus, and is put in prison.


text: unknown date – Stefan Nemanjić is elevated to be the first King of the Serbian lands by Pope Honorius III and crowned by Stefan's brother, Archimandrite Sava, in Žiča.


text: Summer – Various groups of French knights reach the Italian ports. King Andrew II of Hungary arrives with his army in Split, in Dalmatia. He is joined by German forces, led by Duke Leopold VI (the Glorious). At the end of July, Pope Honorius III orders the crusaders assembled in Italy and Sicily to proceed to Cyprus, but there is no transport provided by the Italian city-states, Venice, Genoa and Pisa.


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Henry I (the Fat), king of Cyprus (d. 1253)

source_section: Births


date: August 19

text: August 19 – Ninshō, Japanese priest (d. 1303)


text: Ferdinand, Portuguese prince (infante) (d. 1246)


text: Kangan Giin, Japanese Zen Master (d. 1300)


text: George Akropolites, Byzantine statesman (d. 1282)


text: John I (the Red), English nobleman (d. 1286)


text: Boniface of Savoy, English archbishop (d. 1270)


text: Ibn Sab'in, Andalusian Sufi philosopher (d. 1271)


text: Guillaume III, French nobleman and knight (d. 1288)


text: Henry of Ghent, Flemish philosopher (d. 1293)


text: Guo Kan, Chinese general and governor (d. 1277)


text: Baldwin de Redvers, English nobleman (d. 1245)


text: Baldwin II of Courtenay, Latin emperor (d. 1273)


text: Henry of Antioch, co-ruler of Jerusalem (d. 1276)


date: February 22

text: February 22 – Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg, German Jewish rabbi (b. 1150)

source_section: Deaths


date: March 31

text: March 31 – Alexander Neckam, English abbot (b. 1157)


date: April 21

text: April 21 – Al-Mansur Abdallah, Yemeni imam (b. 1166)


date: April 23

text: April 23 – Inge Bårdsson, king of Norway (b. 1185)


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia (or III), German nobleman (b. 1155)


date: June 6

text: June 6 – The 13-year-old King Henry I of Castile dies from the fall of a roof tile in Palencia, an event which his regent, Álvaro Núñez de Lara, attempts to conceal. He is succeeded by his sister Berengaria, who renounces the throne in favour of her son Ferdinand III, on August 31. The young king begins his reign (supported by his mother as adviser and regent) by a war against his father, King Alfonso IX of León, and the Castilian nobles.


text: June 6 – Henry I, king of Castile and Toledo (b. 1204)


date: June

text: June – The 13-year-old Haakon IV becomes king of Norway, following the death of Inge II (Bårdsson) – this largely ends the civil war era in Norway. During his minority, Earl Skule Bårdsson becomes Haakon's regent.


text: August 24 – Eustace the Monk, French mercenary


date: September 10

text: September 10 – William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon, English nobleman


text: September 21 – Caupo of Turaida, king of Livonia


date: October 14

text: October 14 – Isabella, English noblewoman, sometime queen consort of England (b. c. 1163)


date: November 4

text: November 4 – Philip of Dreux, French bishop (b. 1158)


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Ibn Jubayr, Andalusian traveller (b. 1145)


date: March 11

text: March 11 – Treaty of Worcester: King Henry III writes to the Welsh ruler Llywelyn the Great and promises safe-conduct if they meet at Worcester. A peace treaty is signed, which confirms Llywelyn's ownership of Wales. In return, Llywelyn agrees to pay homage to Henry and to return those castles that he has captured during his recent conquests.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


date: May 24

text: May 24 – A Crusader expeditionary force, (some 30,000 men) under King John I of Jerusalem, embarks at Acre (supported by Frisian ships), and sails for Egypt. They arrive at the harbour of Damietta, on the right bank of the Nile, on May 27. Sultan Al-Adil, surprised by the invasion, recruits an army in Syria, while his son Al-Kamil marches an Egyptian force northwards from Cairo, and encamps at Al-Adiliya, a few miles south of Damietta.

source_section: Events › By place › Fifth Crusade


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Siege of Damietta: The Crusader army assaults the fortified city of Damietta, but they repeatedly fail. As a result, the Crusaders create a new type of naval siege weaponry, attributed by the German chronicler Oliver of Paderborn: two ships are bound together, with a siege tower and ladder constructed on top.


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Siege of Toulouse: During a counter-assault, Simon de Montfort is killed by a stone from one of the defender's siege engines. The leadership of the Albigensian Crusade falls to Simon's son Amaury de Montfort, who lifts the siege a month later. Raymond VI is restored as count of Toulouse after a popular rebellion.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


date: August 24

text: August 24 – After a fierce fight, the Crusaders manage to establish themselves on the ramparts of Damietta, and capture the fort.


text: Al-Kamil decides to offer the Crusaders a deal, Jerusalem in exchange for their departure from Egypt. John I favored accepting this offer but Pelagius refuses, unless it also includes Kerak Castle and other former castles of Jerusalem, to the east of the Jordan River. Al-Kamil refuses these strategically important sites, and Pelagius rejects the offer. This angers the Crusaders – who consider Jerusalem their important goal.


text: Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, leads a successful campaign against the Kyrgyz. Meanwhile, Genghis sends a caravan with precious gifts to Muhammad II, ruler (shah) of the Khwarazmian Empire, hoping to establish trade relations. However, Inalchuq, Khwarazmian governor of Otrar, attacks the caravan, claiming that the caravan contains spies. Genghis then sends a second group of three ambassadors to Muhammad to demand the merchants be set free. Muhammad refuses, and the merchants along with one of the ambassadors are executed.

source_section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire


text: Spring – Genghis Khan dispatches a Mongolian army (some 20,000 cavalry) under Jebe, to deal with the Qara Khitai (or Western Liao) threat. Meanwhile, he sends Subutai with another army on a simultaneous campaign against the Merkits. Jebe defeats a force of 30,000 men led by Prince Kuchlug at the Khitan capital Balasagun. Kuchlug flees south to modern Afghanistan, but is captured by hunters – who hands him over to the Mongols. After Kuchlug is beheaded and paraded through the cities of his new domains, Genghis annexes the entire Khitai empire under Mongol rule.


text: Ivan Asen II becomes ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, during his reign he will add Epirus, as well as parts of Albania and Macedonia to his realm.


date: July

text: July – In order to facilitate the movement of Reconquista, Pope Honorius III reverses Innocent III's earlier judgement, and declares King Ferdinand III (the Saint) legitimate heir to the Kingdom of León.


text: Pedro Nolasco founds the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy in Barcelona, Spain.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: September

text: September – Cardinal Pelagius arrives with reinforcements at the Crusader camp, and proceeds to challenge the command of John I, claiming that the Church holds greater authority than a secular leader. Meanwhile, the Crusaders spend time clearing out an old canal, so that their ships can surround Damietta. Pelagius also brings news that King Frederick II has promised to follow soon, with a German expeditionary force.


date: October 9

text: October 9 – Al-Kamil conducts a surprise attack on the Crusader camp. Discovering their movements, John I and his retinue counter-attack and annihilates the Egyptian advance guard. On October 26, Al-Kamil attacks by using a bridge across the Nile, after a fierce onslaught the Egyptians are driven back into the river. The Crusaders strengthen their siege lines and receive French and English reinforcements at Damietta.


text: King Jayavarman VII of the Khmer Empire rebuilds the city of Angkor Thom, including the Temple of Bayon.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: The city of Rheims emits the first recorded public life annuity in Medieval Europe. This type of instrument had been mostly issued by religious institutions. The emission by Rheims is the first evidence of a consolidation of public debt that is to become common in the Langue d'Oïl, the Low Countries and Germany.

source_section: Events › By topic › Markets


text: November 29 – A storm, lasting for 3 days, floods the Crusader camp – devastating the Crusaders' supplies and transportation. To prevent a recurrence Pelagius orders a dyke to be constructed. After the camp is repaired, a serious epidemic strikes the Crusader forces. The victims suffer from a high fever, and at least a sixth of the soldiers die. During the severe winter, the survivors are left enfeebled and depressed.


date: August

text: August – King Alfonso IX of León grants a royal charter to the University of Salamanca.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education


text: Minamoto no Sanetomo becomes Udaijin ("Minister of the Right"), the third-highest post of the Japanese imperial court.


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Kujō Yoritsune, Japanese shōgun (d. 1256)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – John I, count of Hainaut (d. 1257)


text: May 1 – Rudolf I, king of Germany (d. 1291)


date: October 30

text: October 30 – Chūkyō, emperor of Japan (d. 1234)


text: Thomas de Cantilupe, English bishop (d. 1282)


text: Lý Chiêu Hoàng, empress of Vietnam (d. 1278)


text: Jaromar II, German prince and co-ruler (d. 1260)


text: Peter of Courtenay, French nobleman (d. 1249)


text: Bernhard I, prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (d. 1287)


text: Marie de Coucy, queen consort of Scotland (d. 1285)


text: Abel (Valdemarsen), king of Denmark (d. 1252)


text: Maurice de Berkeley, English nobleman (d. 1281)


text: Yolande of Brittany, French noblewoman (d. 1272)


text: Irene Komnene, Byzantine noblewoman (d. 1284)


date: January 10

text: January 10 – Hugh I (or Hugo), king of Cyprus (b. 1195)


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Wolfger von Erla, German bishop (b. 1140)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Konstantin of Rostov, Kievan Grand Prince


text: February 12 – Alice of Courtenay, French noblewoman


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Berthold V, German nobleman (b. 1160)


date: May 6

text: May 6 – Theresa of Portugal, countess of Flanders


date: July 6

text: July 6 – Odo III (or Eudes), duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)


date: August 7

text: August 7 – Adolf VI (or III), German nobleman (b. 1175)


date: August 26

text: August 26 – William of Chartres (Templar), French Grand Master


date: August 31

text: August 31 – Al-Adil I falls ill and dies at Damascus after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded in Syria by his eldest son Al-Mu'azzam and in Egypt by his younger son, Al-Kamil.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


date: September 24

text: September 24 – Robert of Knaresborough, English hermit


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Henry de Abergavenny, English bishop


date: December 28

text: December 28 – Robert II, French nobleman (b. 1154)


text: Federico Wanga (or Vanga), prince-bishop of Trent


date: April 7

text: April 7 – Al-Muzaffar II, Ayyubid ruler of Hama, arrives Egypt with Syrian reinforcements, leading multiple attacks on the Crusader camp at Al-Adiliya, with little impact. In the meantime, new Crusader forces bring badly needed supplies. Egyptian attacks continue through May, with Crusader counter-attacks utilizing a Lombard device known as a carroccio, confounding the defenders.


date: June 15

text: June 15 – Livonian Crusade: Danish Crusaders led by King King Valdemar II (the Victorious), conquer Tallinn in the Battle of Lyndanisse. What is to become the flag of Denmark (Dannebrog) allegedly falls from the sky during that battle. Their stronghold in Tallinn will help the Danes conquer the entirety of Danish Estonia.


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Pelagius begins multiple attacks at Damietta, using Pisan and Venetian troops. Each time they are repelled by the defenders, using Greek fire. A counter-offensive led by Al-Kamil on the Templar camp is repulsed on July 31 by their new Grand Master Peire de Montagut, supported by the Teutonic Knights – where the Crusaders reform and pursue the enemy outside the gates.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – The Crusaders attack the Egyptian camp in the Battle of Faraskur and the Muslims pretend a feigned retreat to Mansoura. John I advises to camp overnight, because there is no fresh water in the region between the Nile and Lake Manzalah. Al-Kamil decides to halt the retreat and turns his forces to deliver a smashing attack upon the disorganized Crusaders, losing some 4,300 men.


date: October

text: October – Al-Kamil sends two captive knights as envoys, to renew his former offers of an armistice. If the Crusaders evacuate Egypt, he will return the True Cross (lost in the Battle of Hattin) and they can have Jerusalem, all central Palestine and Galilee. John I advised its acceptance, along with the nobles from England, France and Germany. Pelagius again refuses the peace terms.


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Siege of Damietta: The Crusaders enter Damietta and find it abandoned. Seeing the Crusader standards flying from the towers, Al-Kamil hastily abandons his camp at Faraskur and withdraws to Mansoura. Survivors in the city are either sent into slavery or held as hostages to trade for Christian prisoners. On November 23, the Crusader army captures the city of Tinnis.


text: Mongol forces under Chagatai and Ögedei capture Otrar after a 5-month siege. The city becomes the first of many settlements to have its entire population slain or enslaved before it is razed to the ground. Inalchuq, the Khwarezmian governor of Otrar, is captured and executed by pouring molten silver into his eyes and ears – an unlikely and unnecessarily expensive end.


text: Twenty-four Lithuanian dukes and nobles purportedly sign a peace treaty with Halych-Volhynia, stating a common cause against invading Christian Crusaders.


date: September

text: September – Francis of Assisi, an Italian preacher, arrives in the Crusader camp and introduces Catholicism in Egypt. He seeks permission from Pelagius to visit Al-Kamil. After an initial refusal, he sends Francis under a flag of truce to Faraskur. Al-Kamil receives him courteously and offers him many gifts. He accepts a death-bed baptism, and is escorted back to the Crusader camp.


text: The windmill is first introduced to China, with the travels of Yelü Chucai to Transoxiana.

source_section: Events › By topic › Technology


text: By letter, Genghis Khan summons Qiu Chuji (Master Changchun) to visit him, to advise him on the medicine of immortality (the Philosopher's Stone).


text: Mina'i ware pottery production in Persia ceases as a result of the Mongol conquests.


text: February 18 – Tettsū Gikai, Japanese Zen Master (d. 1309)