date: November 8

text: November 8 – Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, Arab historian (b. 1145)


section: Deaths

text: King Canute II of Sweden ("the Tall") dies after a five-year reign, perhaps of natural causes. His rival, Eric XI ("the Lisp and Lame"), returns as ruler of Sweden (possibly after a civil war between the two of them).

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Alan of Galloway, Scottish nobleman

source_section: Deaths


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Connacht in Ireland is finally conquered by the Hiberno-Norman Richard Mór de Burgh; Felim Ua Conchobair is expelled.

source_section: Events


section: Conflict & Security

text: Siege of Constantinople: The Byzantine emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II besiege Constantinople in an attempt to take it from its Latin rulers, John of Brienne and Baldwin II. Angelo Sanudo successfully negotiates a two-year truce.


text: Approximate date – Battle of Kirina: Mandinka prince Sundiata Keita defeats Sosso king Soumaoro Kanté, beginning the Mali Empire. By tradition, the Manden Charter, a constitution, is proclaimed in Kouroukan Fouga.


section: Religion & Belief

text: Elizabeth of Hungary (d. 1231) is canonized by Pope Gregory IX.


section: Crime & Justice

text: A general inquisition begins in France.


section: Culture & Society

text: Probable date – Lancaster Royal Grammar School is founded in the north of England.


text: A Chinese text of this year records that Hangzhou City, the capital of the Song dynasty, has various social clubs that include a West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers' Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls' Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors' Club, the Horse-Lovers' Club, and the Refined Music Society.


date: November 2

section: Births

text: November 2 – Henry of Almain, King of the Romans (d. 1271)

source_section: Births


text: Arnold of Villanova, Spanish alchemist and physician (d. 1311)


text: Qian Xuan, Chinese painter (d. 1305)


text: Ramon Llull, Catalan writer and philosopher (d. 1315)


text: Pope Boniface VIII (approximate date; d. 1303)


date: September 5

text: September 5 – Duke Henry I of Brabant (b. 1165)


date: September 21

text: September 21 – King Andrew II of Hungary (b. 1175)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Elisabeth of Swabia, queen consort of Castile and León (b. 1205)


text: Rabbi David Kimhi, French Biblical commentator (b. 1160)


text: Ibn al-Qabisi, Iraqi linguist (b. 1163)


text: Andronikos I Gidos, Emperor of Trebizond


date: June 20

text: June 20 – Treaty of Kremmen: Duke Wartislaw III recognizes the seignory of Henry Borwin III, lord of Rostock, after his successful expedition against Wartislaw, in which he has conquered Circipania, including the cities of Gnoien and Kalen. Meanwhile, Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania ("the Great") conquers Schlawe and Stolp, the eastern part of Pomerania. To ease the tensions with Brandenburg, Wartislaw signs the Kremmen agreement.


text: Kouroukan Fouga, the constitution of the Mali Empire, is created by an assembly of nobles of the Mandinka clan.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Siege of Córdoba: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") capture Muslim Córdoba from Emir Ibn Hud as part of the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula.


date: September 22

text: September 22 – Battle of Saule: The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword at Šiauliai in Lithuania.


text: Autumn – Siege of Bilär: The Mongols under Batu Khan capture the capital city of Bilär after a siege that lasts for 45 days. The Volga Bulgars are defeated within the year, as are the Kipchaks and Alans.

source_section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire


text: Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan penetrate deep into the Southern Song. The important city of Xiangyang, gateway to the Yangtze plain, capitulates to them.


text: The Goryeo court in Korea orders the preparation of another set of woodblocks for printing the Buddhist Tripiṭaka ("Triple Basket") – which is intended both to gain protection against the Mongol invaders and to replace the earlier 11th century set that was destroyed by the Mongols in 1232.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: King Kalinga Magha ("the Tyrant") is expelled from Polonnaruwa to Jaffna, capital of the Jaffna Kingdom (located in modern Sri Lanka).

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: The Mongols under Batu Khan, eldest of Jochi, sweep across Central Asia. They settle in the Russian steppe, curtailing the power of the Kievan Rus', extracting tribute from their neighbors, and disrupting their relationship with the Byzantine Empire.


date: January 14

text: January 14 – King Henry III marries the 14-year-old Eleanor of Provence, one of the four daughters of Raimond Berenguer, count of Provence. The ceremony takes place at Canterbury Cathedral, with Simon de Montfort, as Lord High Steward, takes care of the banquet and kitchen arrangements. Eleanor is crowned queen at Westminster Abbey shortly afterward.

source_section: Events › By place › England


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Razia Sultana, daughter of Mamluk Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish, becomes the first female Muslim ruler of the Indian subcontinent, deposing her half-brother, Ruknuddin Firuz, as sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.


text: A tournament at Tickhill turns into a battle between northerners and southerners, but peace is restored by papal legate Otto of Tonengo.


text: Pope Gregory IX condemns the links that both the Knights Templer and Knights Hospitaller have with the Assassin fighters in the Middle East. He issues a bull (a formal papal proclamation) preventing further contact with the Assassins.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


section: Disasters & Accidents

text: Spring – A fleet consisting of ships from the republics of Venice, Genoa and Pisa arrive at Constantinople. It is headed by Geoffrey II of Villehardouin, ruler of Achaea, who brings 100 of his own knights, 300 cross-bowman, and 500 archers. Geoffrey, formally a vassal of Emperor John I of Constantinople, breaks the blockade of the city, sinks 15 Byzantine ships and enters the Golden Horn. A treaty is signed for two years after the intervention of Angelo Sanudo, duke of Archipelago.

source_section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire


date: June

text: June – The 16-year-old Alexander Nevsky is elected by the Novgorodians as prince (knyaz) of Novgorod, beseeching the young noble to take charge of the city's military affairs.


date: July

text: July – At a diet (princely convention) in Piacenza, Emperor Frederick II proclaims his wish to recover all Italy for the Holy Roman Empire.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Baldwin de Redvers, English nobleman (d. 1262)


date: June 6

text: June 6 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese poet and politician (d. 1283)


date: June 8

text: June 8 – Violant of Aragon, queen consort of Castile (d. 1301)


date: October

text: October – Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, Persian polymath and poet (d. 1311)


text: November 8 – Lu Xiufu, Chinese general and politician (d. 1279)


text: after October – Alice de Lusignan (or Angoulême), French-born English countess (d. 1290)


text: Stephen the Posthumous, Hungarian pretender (d. 1271)


text: Elizabeth of Hungary, duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1271)


text: Olivier II de Clisson, Breton nobleman and knight (d. 1307)


text: Bayan of the Baarin (or Boyan), Mongol general (d. 1295)


text: Henry II of Rodez, French nobleman and troubadour (d. 1304)


text: Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ("the Great"), German nobleman and regent (d. 1279)


text: January 14 – Sava ("the Enlightener"), Serbian archbishop


date: March 15

text: March 15 – Mu'in al-Din Chishti, Persian preacher (b. 1143)


date: March 28

text: March 28 – Conon of Naso, Italian priest and abbot (b. 1139)


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Walter II de Beauchamp, English sheriff (b. 1192)


date: May 6

text: May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English Benedictine monk and chronicler, dies at St Albans Abbey. His chronicle is continued by Matthew Paris.


text: May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English monk and chronicler


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Agnellus of Pisa, Italian Franciscan friar (b. 1195)


date: June 10

text: June 10 – Diana degli Andalò, Italian nun and saint (b. 1201)


date: July 18

text: July 18 – Valdemar of Denmark, Danish bishop and statesman (b. 1158)


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Ingeborg of Denmark, queen consort of France (b. 1174)


date: August 17

text: August 17 – William de Blois, English bishop and sheriff


date: September 12

text: September 12 – Thomas of Marlborough, English abbot


date: November 15

text: November 15 – Lope Díaz II, Castilian nobleman (b. 1170)


date: November 26

text: November 26 – Al-Aziz Muhammad, Ayyubid ruler (b. 1213)


date: September 25

text: September 25 – Treaty of York: King Henry III signs an agreement with Alexander II of Scotland at York. Alexander subjects to Henry's sovereignty and renounces the Scottish claims to Northumberland, Westmorland and Cumberland. This establishes the Anglo-Scottish border in a form with the future status of several feudal properties and marks the end of Scotland's attempts to extend its frontier southward.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – Battle of the Puig: Aragonese forces under Bernat Guillem de Montpeller defeat the Muslim army (some 12,000 men) of the Taifa of Valencia at El Puig. The Almohad forces are routed, and many of the soldiers are slain in the action. Zayyan ibn Mardanish, Almohad ruler and governor of Valencia, is forced to go into exile to Tunisia, while offering the surrender of all castles from the Turia River to Tortosa and Teruel.


date: November 27

text: November 27 – Battle of Cortenuova: Frederick II defeats the forces of the Lombard League; about 5,000 Lombards are captured. Frederick makes a triumphal entry into the allied city of Cremona in the manner of an ancient Roman emperor, with the captured carroccio (later sent to the commune of Rome), and an elephant. During the winter campaign, Frederick captures the Piedmontese cities of Lodi, Novara, Vercelli, Chieri, and Savona.


date: December 16

text: December 16–21 – Siege of Ryazan: The Mongols under Batu Khan lay siege to Ryazan. The townspeople repel the first Mongol attacks but after 5 days the city walls are breached by Chinese catapults. On December 21, the Mongols storm the walls and plunder the capital, killing Yuri Igorevich and all inhabitants. Yuri II of Vladimir stands by and does nothing to intervene while Ryazan burns.


date: December

text: December – Siege of Kolomna: Rus' forces under Yuri II of Vladimir are besieged and annihilated at Kolomna by the Mongols. Yuri barely escapes to Yaroslavl. The defenceless capital of Vladimir is taken after just 2 days. Yuri's wife Agatha (sister of Michael of Chernigov) and all his family die in Vladimir when a church where they have sought refuge from the fire collapses.


text: Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are absorbed into the Teutonic Order, as the autonomous Livonian Order. An Estonian rebellion begins on Saaremaa Island (located in the Baltic Sea).


text: Autumn – Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': The Mongol army commanded by Batu Khan and Subutai, invades the Principality of Ryazan (with representatives of all four khanates leading some 100,000 Mongol, Turks and Persian forces into Europe). In December, Batu Khan sends envoys to the Rus' court of Grand Prince Yuri Igorevich and demands the submission of the capital Ryazan.


text: Summer – Emperor Frederick II assembles an expeditionary force (some 15,000 men) to crush the rebellious Lombard League. He crosses the Alps to Verona – where he is joined by Lord Ezzelino III da Romano, including troops from Brescia, Vicenza, Padua and Treviso. Frederick relies on his allies for support and in doing so, he provokes the opposition of earlier supporters, such as the House of Este, which now sides with the Lombards.


text: Spring – Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, assembles his allies and secures his active support of Kayqubad I, Sejuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum. A civil war seems inevitable when Kayqubad is poisoned during a feast at Kayseri, on May 31. Meanwhile, the Seljuks strengthen the fortresses in the eastern provinces against the Mongols.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


text: Battle of Voronezh River: Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir supported by border princes of Ryazan, Murom, and Pronsk gathers his forces and make a stand on the Voronezh River, waiting for reinforcements from Vladimir. The Mongols under Batu Khan overrun the Rus' forces, who are scattered. Yuri retreats to Ryazan, while some troops withdraw to Kolomna and join the army of Vladimir-Suzdal.


text: Cölln, twin city of the later built Alt-Berlin, is founded on the Fischerinsel. The town becomes a trade center, which is linked with Magdeburg and Frankfurt an der Oder.

source_section: Events › By topic › Cities and Towns


section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: Elbląg is founded by the Teutonic Order under Grand Master Hermann von Balk. He constructs a fortified stronghold on the banks of the Elbląg River (modern Poland).


text: At the urging of King Louis IX of France, Thomas II marries Joanna, widow of Ferdinand of Flanders, and daughter of the late Latin Emperor Baldwin I. Thomas becomes count of Flanders (or Jure uxoris).


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Ibn Abd al-Malik, Almohad historian (d. 1303)


text: Isabel de Redvers, English noblewoman (d. 1293)


text: Munio of Zamora, Spanish friar and bishop (d. 1300)


text: Bohemond VI (the Fair), prince of Antioch (d. 1275)


text: John II, margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal (d. 1281)


text: Agnes of Dampierre, French noblewoman (d. 1288)


text: Ladislaus of Salzburg, German archbishop (d. 1270)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Joan, Lady of Wales, English princess


date: March 14

text: March 14 – Guigues VI of Viennois, count of Albon (b. 1184)


date: March 16

text: March 16 – Guðmundur Arason, Icelandic bishop (b. 1161)


date: April 12

text: April 12 – Berengaria of León, Latin empress consort (b. 1204)


text: April 12 – Philip II de Méréville, French priest and bishop


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Richard Poore, English prelate and bishop


date: May 5

text: May 5 – Fujiwara no Ietaka, Japanese waka poet (b. 1158)


date: May 31

text: May 31 – Kayqubad I, Seljuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum


date: June 6

text: June 6 – John of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (b. 1207)


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Ingeborg of Denmark, queen of France (b. 1174)


date: August 27

text: August 27 – Al-Ashraf becomes dangerously ill and dies after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother As-Salih Ismail – who defends Damascus against his elder brother Al-Kamil, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt. In October, Ismail has the suburbs burnt to prevent the Egyptian forces from shelter.


text: August 27 – Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus


date: August 31

text: August 31 – Huijong, Korean ruler of Goryeo (b. 1181)


date: December 21

text: December 21 – Yuri Igorevich, Grand Prince of Ryazan


date: June 8

text: June 8 – Treaty of Stensby: The Teutonic Knights sign an agreement with King Valdemar II of Denmark ("the Conqueror"). William of Modena, Italian papal diplomat, meets Grand Master Hermann Balk and Valdemar on a Danish island, settling outstanding disputes with Denmark. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are merged into the Teutonic Order as an autonomous branch and become known as the Livonian Order.


date: January 15

text: January 15–20 – Siege of Moscow: The Mongols under Batu Khan and Subutai campaign across the northern heartland of the Kievan Rus', committing numerous atrocities across multiple settlements, including the sacking of an insignificant town known as Moscow. According to the Chronicle of Novgorod, Moscow is a fortified village, a trading post "on a crossroads of four rivers". The village is taken by the Mongols after 5 days of siege.


date: March

text: March – Siege of Kozelsk: The 12-year-old Prince Vasily of Chernigov (grandson of Mstislav II Svyatoslavich), manages against all the odds, to hold out in his capital of Kozelsk for nearly two months with only citizen militia. He leads a successful sortie outside of the walls – where the garrison slaughters thousands of Mongols and destroys siege equipment. Finally, Kozelsk is conquered and Vasily is slaughtered alongside the inhabitants.


date: July 11

text: July 11 – Siege of Brescia: Emperor Frederick II begins the siege of Brescia. He rejects the negotiations of the Lombard League and insists on unconditional surrender to the imperial forces in northern Italy. This blocks all possibilities of a peaceful settlement. Milan and five other Lombard cities are attacked. In early October, after a successful sortie by the city's defenders, Frederick is forced to lift the siege.


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Battle of Örlygsstaðir: Chieftain Sighvatr Sturluson and his son, Sturla Sighvatsson, are defeated by Kolbeinn ungi Arnórsson and Gissur Þorvaldsson, for control of Iceland (known as the Age of the Sturlungs).


text: Autumn – The Mongols under Batu Khan retire, leaving behind the ruined northern Rus' territories. He spends the rest of the year suppressing the last resistance of the Kipchaks, while his cousin Möngke (son of Tolui Khan) conquer the Alans and the northern Caucasian tribes. Later, Möngke makes a raid of reconnaissance as far as Kiev.


date: January

text: January – Simon de Montfort marries the 23-year-old Eleanor, sister of King Henry III. While the marriage takes place with the king's approval, the act itself is performed secretly and without consulting the barons. Eleanor has previously been married to William Marshal and has sworn a vow of perpetual chastity upon his death, which she breaks by marrying Montfort. Archbishop Edmund of Abingdon condemns the marriage for this reason.


text: The Nizari Imam Muhammad III and the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustansir send a joint diplomatic mission to the European kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England to forge a Muslim–Christian alliance against the Mongols, but this is unsuccessful.

source_section: Events › By place › Middle East


text: Autumn – Muhammad I, Almohad ruler of the Emirate of Granada, begins the construction of the Alhambra Complex on the site of a pre-Islamic fortress.


text: Evpaty Kolovrat, Kievan knight (bogatyr), returns to his hometown of Ryazan, which was burnt to the ground by the Mongols in 1237. He gathers some 1,700 survivors and pursues Batu Khan, attacking his rearguard, and annihilating thousands of Mongols. Finally, Kolovrat is slain from afar by siege-weaponry. Batu Khan shows admiration for his bravery and as a sign of respect, returns his body and allows his soldiers to return home.


date: March 12

text: March 12 – Serafina, Italian noblewoman and saint (d. 1253)


date: April 23

text: April 23 – Narathihapate (or Sithu IV), Burmese ruler (d. 1287)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – Magnus VI ("the Law-mender"), king of Norway (d. 1280)


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Emilia Bicchieri, Italian nun and prioress (d. 1314)


text: July 11 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, prince of Wales (d. 1283)


date: November

text: November – Henry de Montfort, English nobleman and knight (d. 1265)


text: Otto de Grandson, Savoyard nobleman and knight (d. 1328)


text: Yang Hui, Chinese mathematician and writer (d. 1298)


text: Rinchen Gyaltsen, Tibetan imperial preceptor (d. 1279)


text: possible date – Madhvacharya, Indian Hindu religious leader (d. 1317)


text: Meinhard II, duke of Carinthia (House of Gorizia) (d. 1295)


text: Yunus Emre, Seljuk poet, mystic and writer (d. 1328)


text: al-Bahrani, Arab Shia scholar and philosopher (d. 1280)


text: Nizamuddin Auliya (or Awliya), Indian Sufi scholar (d. 1325)


date: March 4

text: March 4 – Joan of England, queen consort of Scotland (b. 1210)


text: March 4 – Battle of the Sit River: The Mongols defeat a Kievan Rus' army (some 4,000 men) under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in an engagement at the Sit River (located in the Sonkovsky District). With Yuri's death, so too dies the hope of any united Rus' resistance against the Mongols. Batu Khan splits his forces up into several contingents – ordering each to wreak havoc across the Rus' territories (modern-day Russia and Ukraine).


text: March 4 – Yuri II of Vladimir, Kievan Grand Prince (b. 1188)


text: March 4 – Vasilko Konstantinovich, Kievan prince (b. 1209)


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Al-Kamil, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt, dies at Damascus and is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Al-Adil II. After Al-Kamil's death, a civil war breaks out, and his elder son As-Salih Ayyub, sets out from Damascus to invade Egypt. But a sudden coup d'état dethrones him in favour of his uncle, As-Salih Ismail.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – Benchō, Japanese Buddhist monk (b. 1162)


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Henry the Bearded, duke of Poland


date: March 21

text: March 21 – Awhad al-Din Kermani, Persian Sufi poet


date: June 9

text: June 9 – Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester


date: July 9

text: July 9 – William de Malveisin, bishop of St. Andrews


date: September 28

text: September 28 – King James I of Aragon captures the city of Valencia from the Moors, who retreat to Granada. During the campaign, James' cousin, Bernat Guillem de Montpeller, dies from wounds received in action.


text: September 28 – Jeanne des Roches, French baroness


date: December 26

text: December 26 – Alexander de Stavenby, English bishop


text: approximate date – Azriel of Gerona, Catalan rabbi and scholar (b. 1160)


text: King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") holds a parlement (or "court of law") at Paris, for the first time recorded in Ancien Régime France.


date: October 18

text: October 18 – Sack of Chernigov: The Mongols led by Batu Khan attack Chernigov; the garrison rallies outside the walls to face the Mongols in a pitched battle. Prince Mstislav III Glebovich comes to help with his troops but they are slaughtered by Mongol catapults. The city is pillaged as are the towns in the surrounding countryside.


date: November 2

text: November 2 – An expeditionary force (some 4,000 knights) under Theobald I sets out from Acre for the Egyptian frontier, detachments from the military orders and several local barons accompany the Crusaders. While marching to Jaffa, a Crusader column led by Peter of Brittany and his lieutenant Raoul de Soissons with two hundred knights, lay an ambush and attacks a rich Muslim caravan.


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Sultan as-Salih Ayyub sends an Ayyubid army to Gaza to protect the Egyptian border. At nightfall, Henry of Bar, jealous of the successful ambush of Peter of Brittany, decides to march out towards Gaza with a Crusader force (some 500 knights and 1,000 soldiers). Although warned by Theobald I, Henry sets up camp in a flat terrain surrounded by sand dunes near Gaza.


date: November 13

text: November 13 – Battle of Gaza: The Crusader army led by Henry of Bar is defeated by the Egyptians near Gaza. More than a thousand men are slaughtered, including Henry himself. Six hundred more are captured and carried off to Egypt. Among them are Amaury VI de Montfort and Philippe de Nanteuil – who, in the dungeons of Cairo, writes a Crusade song about the failure of the expedition.


date: December 7

text: December 7 – Ayyubid forces under An-Nasir Dawud march on Jerusalem, which is largely undefended. The garrison of the city surrenders to Dawud, after accepting his offer for a safe-conduct to Acre. Dawud destroys Jerusalem's fortifications, including the Tower of David. Meanwhile, Theobald I (losing many men underway) moves with the remnants of the Crusader army northward to Acre.


text: The Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus': The Mongols under Batu Khan continue their campaign across the Pontic Steppe. After devastating the Crimea and campaigning against the Circassians in the Caucasus, they turn towards the Kievan Rus'. In March, Pereyaslavl, capital of the Principality of Pereyaslavl, is sacked by the Mongols.


text: Summer – A German expeditionary force under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, invades the Romagna and Tuscany, hoping to capture Rome. He appoints his 21-year-old son, Enzo of Sardinia, as imperial vicar general for Northern Italy. Frederick also threatens with war against Venice, which has sent ships to blockade the harbors on Sicily. In order to finance his growing need for arms, he institutes an administrative reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire (among others, the formation of 10 vice regencies in Italy).


date: September 1

text: September 1 – Barons' Crusade: A Crusader force (some 1,500 knights) under King Theobald I of Navarre arrives at Acre. At a council of local barons – most prominently Walter IV of Brienne, Odo of Montbéliard, Balian of Beirut, John of Arsuf, and Balian of Sidon – plans are made to prepare an expedition against the Ayyubids in Egypt. Later, Theobald is joined by some Crusaders from Cyprus.


text: Autumn – King Béla IV of Hungary allows some 40,000 Cumans, pagan nomads fleeing the Mongols, to settle in Hungary between the rivers Danube and Theiss, after their leader, Köten, has promised to convert to Christianity.


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Gregory IX renews the excommunication of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, while he is at his court in Padua. Frederick responds by expelling the Franciscans and Dominicans from Lombardy.


date: November

text: November – Pope Gregory IX grants the status of Crusade to King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint"), who leads a successful campaign against the Almohads in Murcia.


date: June 17

text: June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), first son of King Henry III of England and Queen Eleanor of Provence, is born at the Palace of Westminster. Henry names him after Edward the Confessor and chooses Simon de Montfort as his godfather.


date: June 3

text: June 3 or June 4 – John II, Duke of Brittany, French nobleman and knight (d. 1305)


text: June 17 or June 18 – Edward I ("Longshanks"), king of England (d. 1307)


date: December 17

text: December 17 – Kujō Yoritsugu, Japanese ruler (shogun) (d. 1256)


text: Stephen V, king of Hungary (House of Árpád) (d. 1272)


text: Constance of Aragon, Spanish princess (infanta) (d. 1269)


text: Thomas I of Saluzzo, Italian nobleman and knight (d. 1296)


text: Peter III, king of Aragon and Valencia (d. 1285)


text: Robert de Ferrers, English nobleman and knight (d. 1279)


text: Álvaro, Count of Urgell ("the Castilian"), Spanish nobleman and knight (d. 1268)


text: Balian of Arsuf, Cypriot nobleman (House of Ibelin) (d. 1277)


date: February 3

text: February 3 – Kujō Ninshi, Japanese empress consort (b. 1173)


date: February

text: February – Aimery III of Narbonne (or Aimeric), French nobleman


date: March 3

text: March 3 – Vladimir IV of Kiev, Kievan Grand Prince (b. 1187)


text: March 20 – Hermann von Salza, German Grand Master (b. 1165)


date: March 28

text: March 28 – Go-Toba (Toba II), emperor of Japan (b. 1180)


date: April 7

text: April 7 – William I de Cantilupe, Norman nobleman (b. 1159)


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Władysław Odonic ("the Spitter"), Polish nobleman


date: August

text: August – Thomas of Capua, Italian prelate, cardinal and diplomat


date: September 21

text: September 21 – Simon of Dammartin, French nobleman


date: November 1

text: November 1 – Robert of Esztergom, Hungarian prelate


date: November 13

text: November 13 – Henry II of Bar, French nobleman (b. 1190)


date: December 13

text: December 13 – Albert IV, Count of Habsburg ("the Wise"), German nobleman


date: December 21

text: December 21 – Henry de Turberville, English nobleman and knight


text: Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati, Andalusian pharmacist (b. 1166)


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Gaius Bellicius Torquatus and Manius Acilius Glabrio begin the year as the new consuls, but the two are replaced in April.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


date: May

text: May – Aulus Larcius Macedo, the former Governor of Galatia; and Publius Ducenius Verres take office for four month as the suffect consuls to succeed Bellicius and Glabrio, and serve until the end of August.


date: September

text: September – Gaius Valerius Severus and Gaius Julius Gallus replace consuls Larcius and Ducenius and serve until the end of the year.


text: In northern India, Nahapana, ruler of the Scythians, is defeated and dies in battle while fighting against King Gautamiputra Satakarni. This defeat destroys the Scythian dynasty of the Western Kshatrapas.


text: During a voyage to Greece, Hadrian is initiated in the ancient rites known as the Eleusinian Mysteries.


text: Emperor Hadrian begins to rebuild the Olympeion in Athens.


section: Science & Discovery

text: Antinous becomes Hadrian's beloved companion on his journeys through the Roman Empire.


text: Apuleius, Numidian novelist, writer, public speaker (approximate date)


text: Nahapana, ruler of the Scythians (approximate date)


text: Marcus Annius Verus, father of Marcus Aurelius


text: Sixtus I, bishop of Rome according to Roman Catholic tradition (possible date)


text: Reconquista – King Sancho II of Portugal ("the Pious") conquers the city of Ayamonte from the Almoravids, securing the Portuguese position in Al-Andalus.


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Battle of the Neva: A Swedish army under Bishop Thomas sails up the Gulf of Finland in their longboats. They proceed into the Neva River with the aim of seizing control over Lake Ladoga and from there, striking at the city of Novgorod. Prince Alexander rallies his druzhina comparable to the 'household' of western European countries, and decisively routs the Swedish forces, saving the Novgorod Republic from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North. As a result, Alexander wins his first military victory at the age of 19 and receives the title of 'Nevsky'.


text: August – Siege of Faenza: Frederick II lays siege to the town of Faenza during the war of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Meanwhile, Frederick makes an alliance with Pisa to support his campaign against the Papal States.


text: September – 1240 Izborsk and Pskov campaign: An alliance of the Livonian Order, the Bishopric of Dorpat and the pretender-prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich of Pskov besiege and conquer the border fortress of Izborsk in the Pskov Land. After Pskovian defenders fail to retake the town, the allied forces advance to the capital Pskov itself, compelling it to surrender, resulting in the brief overthrow of the pro-Suzdalian faction that supports prince Alexander Nevsky.


text: 1240–1241 Votia campaign begins when an alliance of the Livonian Order, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek and Estonians Chud march into Votia.


text: Summer – As-Salih Ayyub becomes ruler of Egypt, after deposing his half-brother Al-Adil II. Meanwhile, other members of the Ayyubid Dynasty are conspiring to depose him and replace him with his uncle, As-Salih Ismail. During his reign, As-Salih begins buying large numbers of Kipchak slaves, to form an elite core in the Egyptian army, known as Mamluks.


text: Alexander Nevsky quarrels with the nobles (boyars) and merchants of Novgorod, probably about peaceful trade with the westerners. He is banished, along with his mother, wife and his druzhina to take up residence in the region around Moscow, a minor town on the western border of the Grand Principality of Vladimir.


date: May 24

text: May 24 – Duke Skule Bårdsson, claimant to the Norwegian throne, is defeated by King Haakon IV ("the Old") and his supporters. He seeks refuge in Elgeseter Priory in Trondheim, and Haakon burns down the monastery, in which Skule is burned alive. Haakon becomes the undisputed ruler; this ends the civil war era in Norway, after 110 years.


date: June 12

text: June 12 – The Disputation of Paris begins at the court of King Louis IX ("the Saint"), where four rabbis defend the Talmud against Nicholas Donin's accusations of blasphemy.


text: Pope Gregory IX authorizes a Crusade against Novgorod, hoping that the Kievan Rus' will be too preoccupied dealing with the raiding Mongols to the east to defend.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III of England, arrives at Acre for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His pilgrimage has the approval of Emperor Frederick II, who is married to his younger sister, Isabella of England, and gives him the task to make arrangements with the Military Orders. On his arrival, Richard travels to Ascalon, where he is met by ambassadors from As-Salih Ayyub. As a negotiator, he is successful in the release of prisoners captured in the Battle at Gaza (1239), and he also assists with the building of the citadel in Ascalon.


date: April

text: April – Simon de Montfort the Younger, English nobleman and knight (d. 1271)


date: May 2

text: May 2 – Duzong (or Zhao Qi), Chinese emperor (d. 1274)


date: September 29

text: September 29 – Margaret, queen consort of Scotland (d. 1275)


text: Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Spanish physician (d. 1311)


text: Magnus Ladulås (Birgersson), king of Sweden (d. 1290)


text: Henry VI, count of Luxembourg and Arlon (d. 1288)


text: Siger of Brabant, French philosopher (d. 1284)


text: Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (d. 1299)


text: Afonso Mendes de Melo, Portuguese nobleman (d. 1280)


text: Jean d'Eppe, French nobleman and knight (d. 1293)


text: Abraham Abulafia, Moorish Jewish philosopher (d. 1292)


text: Benedict XI, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1304)


text: Albert II, Margrave of Meissen ("the Degenerate"), German nobleman (d. 1314)


text: Conrad I, German nobleman and regent (d. 1304)


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Albert of Pisa, Italian Franciscan friar


date: February 24

text: February 24 – Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht, Norman noblewoman


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Sylvester of Assisi, Italian priest (b. 1175)


date: April 11

text: April 11 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh king of Gwynedd


date: May 27

text: May 27 – William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, English nobleman


date: June

text: June – Germanus II (Nauplius), patriarch of Constantinople


date: July 22

text: July 22 – John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, English nobleman (b.1192)


date: July 24

text: July 24 – Conrad of Thuringia, German Grand Master


date: August 14

text: August 14 – Ludmilla of Bohemia, duchess of Bavaria


date: August 31

text: August 31 – Raymond Nonnatus, Spanish cardinal


date: October 13

text: October 13 – Malik Altunia, Indian governor and ruler


date: November 16

text: November 16 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian philosopher and poet (b. 1165)


text: November 16 – Edmund of Abingdon, English archbishop (b. 1174)


date: December 6

text: December 6 – Constance, queen consort of Bohemia (b. 1180)


date: March 18

text: March 18 – Battle of Chmielnik (Mongol invasion of Poland): The Mongols overwhelm the feudal Polish armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces, and plunder the abandoned city of Kraków.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – Battle of Legnica: The Mongols, under the command of Baidar, Kadan and Orda Khan, defeat the feudal Polish nobility, including the Knights Templar.


text: April 11 – Battle of Mohi: Batu Khan and Subutai defeat Béla IV of Hungary. The battle is the last major event in the Mongol Invasion of Europe.


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Battle of Cameirge in Ulster: The Milesian Irish septs of the Ó Dónaills from Donegal, the Ó Néills from Armagh and the Ó Dochartaighs of Connacht defeat the last Tuatha Dé Danann sept, the Meic Lochlainn of Tír Eoghain and Inishowen under Domhnall mac Muirchertaigh Mac Lochlainn. From now on the Kings of Tír Eoghain will all be of the Ó Néill dynasty, Brian Ua Néill becoming sole ruler.


date: May

text: May – Battle of Giglio: an Imperial fleet defeats a Genoan fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea.


date: August 29

text: August 29 – After Henry III of England's invasion of Wales, the Treaty of Gwerneigron is signed by him and Dafydd ap Llywelyn, curbing the latter's authority and denying him royal title.


date: December

text: December – Siege of Lahore (1241): The Mongols under Tair Bahadur besiege and sack the city of Lahore in the Delhi Sultanate.


text: Livonian Crusade: The Estonian rebellion of 1237 is suppressed on Saaremaa Island, by the Livonian Order.


text: Emperor Lizong of Song China accepts the Neo-Confucian teachings of the late Zhu Xi, including his commentary on the Four Books. This will have an impact upon the philosophical schools of surrounding countries as well, including Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.


date: September 23

text: September 23 – Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic saga writer, is murdered by Gissur Þorvaldsson, an emissary of King Haakon IV of Norway.


section: Climate & Environment

text: Early northern summer – A succession crisis or other priorities results in the Mongols withdrawing behind their river barrier into Ukraine and the Russias, leaving Central Asian and far Eastern Europe peoples tributary to the Khanates, but leaving Poland and Hungary to begin recovery and reorganization.


text: The University of Valladolid is founded in Spain.


date: September 4

text: September 4 – King Alexander III of Scotland (d. 1286)


text: Eleanor of Castile, queen of Edward I of England (d. 1290)


text: Sophia of Denmark, queen consort of Sweden (d. 1286)


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Köten, Cuman chieftain


date: March 31

text: March 31 – Pousa, voivode of Transylvania


text: April 9 – Duke Henry II of Poland


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (b. c. 1184), princess long gently imprisoned in England


date: September 20

text: September 20 – Conrad II of Salzwedel, German nobleman and bishop


text: September 23 – Snorri Sturluson, Icelandic historian, poet and politician (b. 1178)


date: September 26

text: September 26 – Fujiwara no Teika, Japanese poet


date: December 1

text: December 1 – Isabella of England, Holy Roman empress, spouse of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1214)


date: December 11

text: December 11 – Ögedei Khan dies after a drinking binge. His death halts the Mongol advance into Western Europe.


text: Bernardo di Quintavalle, Italian follower of St. Francis of Assisi


text: Nicholas Szák, Hungarian nobleman


text: Denis Tomaj, palatine of Hungary


text: Coloman of Galicia, Hungarian royalty, Prince (then King) of Halych, Duke of Slavonia (b. 1208)


date: November 16

text: November 16 – King Béla IV issues the Golden Bull to the inhabitants of Gradec (modern-day Zagreb) and Samobor in Croatia. By this golden bull, Béla proclaimes Gradec a royal free city.


date: April 5

text: April 5 – Battle of Lake Peipus (or Battle on the Ice): Russian forces led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by a Crusader army (some 2,600 men), including German Teutonic Knights. The opposing armies meet upon the frozen surface of Lake Peipus. The outnumbered Teutonic Knights are defeated on the slippery surface, by Alexander's elite druzhina and the Novgorod forces.


date: May 28

text: May 28 – Avignonet massacre: A group of Cathars, with the probable connivance of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse, murder the inquisitor William Arnaud and eleven of his companions.


date: July 21

text: July 21–22 – Battle of Taillebourg: French forces (some 25,000 men) under King Louis IX (the Saint) defeat King Henry III at the bridge over the Charente River near Taillebourg. After the battle, Louis continues to pursue the English troops, capturing many prisoners. Henry retreats with the remnants of his army to Bordeaux, where he spends the winter.


text: Spring – Siege of Esztergom: The Mongols under Batu Khan assault and destroy most of the Hungarian city of Esztergom. Batu Khan sends a reconnaissance party against the Holy Roman Empire.


text: Summer – Alexander Nevsky sends envoys to Batu Khan, preemptively capitulating before the Mongols even though they have not reached Novgorod, and accepts his rule as Mongol overlord.


text: Summer – In the Maghreb, after a string of successes against the Almohad Caliphate, Hafsid forces under Sultan Abu Zakariya Yahya conquer the city of Tlemcen (modern Algeria). The Kingdom of Tlemcen becomes a vassal of Abu Zakariya, and is formed in a series of small states between his rule and the states of the Western Maghreb.


text: Spring – Prince Alexander Nevsky is joined by his brother Andrey II (Yaroslavich) at Novgorod, supported with his elite druzhina (or 'household') from Suzdal. They head southwest across the frozen marshes, which cover much of the land between Novgorod and Pskov. On March 5, Alexander retakes the city almost without a struggle, before the larger Crusader garrison in nearby Izborsk can intervene.


text: King Sancho II (the Pious) conquers the cities of Tavira, Alvor and Paderne, in his continuing expansion against the Muslims, known as the Reconquista.


text: Spring – The Templar Knights raid the city of Hebron. Meanwhile, An-Nasir Dawud, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, sends forces to cut off the road to Jerusalem, and to levy tolls on the pilgrims and merchants that pass by.


text: Battle of Grobnik Field: Croatian forces under Béla IV stop the Mongol invasion in Hungary and Croatia. Béla rebuilds the country and orders the building of fortifications through his kingdom.


date: May

text: May – Isabella of Angoulême, mother of Henry III, persuades him to mount an expedition to retake Poitou. On May 20, Henry arrives at Royan and joins the rebelling French nobles – forming an army (some 30,000 men). Louis IX exchanges letters with Henry to resolve the conflict, but the dispute escalates further.


text: Siegfried III, archbishop of Mainz, conquers Wiesbaden (a free imperial city) and orders the city's destruction, during the war of Emperor Frederick II against the Papal States.


text: William of Modena, Italian bishop and papal diplomat, sets up four dioceses in Poland, including the Archdiocese of Warmia.


date: April

text: April – A Russian force led by Alexander Nevsky crosses the frontier between Novgorod and Livonian Crusader territory, to raid into Catholic Estonia. After that, Alexander breaks his army off into contingents to ravage the countryside. He is forced to turn back, when a local Crusader force under Bishop Hermann von Buxhövden defeats Alexander's advance guard at Mooste bridge south of Tartu.


text: Ibn al-Nafis, Arab polymath and writer, suggests that the right and left ventricles of the heart are separate, and describes the lesser circulation of blood.

source_section: Events › By topic › Science


date: January 27

text: January 27 – Margaret of Hungary, Hungarian nun (d. 1270)


text: March 17 – Maud de Prendergast, Irish noblewoman (d. 1272)


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Beatrice of England, English princess (d. 1275)


date: July 24

text: July 24 – Christina von Stommeln, German mystic (d. 1312)


date: December 15

text: December 15 – Munetaka, Japanese shogun (d. 1274)


text: Patrick IV (de Dunbar), Scottish nobleman (d. 1308)


text: George Pachymeres, Byzantine historian (d. 1310)


text: Theodoric of Landsberg, German nobleman (d. 1285)


text: Stephen I Kotromanić, Bosnian nobleman (d. 1314)


text: Beatrice of Castile, queen consort of Portugal (d. 1303)


text: Beatrice of Navarre, duchess of Burgundy (d. 1295)


text: William de Leybourne, English nobleman (d. 1310)


text: Al-Ashraf Umar II, Arab ruler and astronomer (d. 1296)


text: Hōjō Tokimura, Japanese nobleman (rensho) (d. 1305)


date: February 10

text: February 10 – The 10-year-old Emperor Shijō of Japan dies suddenly; despite a dispute over who should follow him as sovereign, Go-Saga (son of former Emperor Tsuchimikado) ascends to the throne.


text: February 10 – Verdiana, Italian noblewoman and saint (b. 1182)


text: February 10 – Shijō (or Mitsuhito), emperor of Japan (b. 1231)


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Henry VII, king of Germany (b. 1211)


date: March 26

text: March 26 – William de Forz, English nobleman (b. 1190)


date: March 28

text: March 28 – Theoderich von Wied, German archbishop


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Gerard of Villamagna, Italian hermit (b. 1174)


date: July 1

text: July 1 – Chagatai Khan, son of Genghis Khan (b. 1183)


date: July 14

text: July 14 – Hōjō Yasutoki, Japanese regent (b. 1183)


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Jocelin of Wells, English bishop


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Narchat, Moksha queen (b. 1216)


date: December 2

text: December 2 – Al-Mustansir, Abbasid caliph (b. 1192)


date: December 9

text: December 9 – Richard le Gras, English abbot and bishop


date: December 26

text: December 26 – Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, Norman nobleman (b. 1176)


date: March

text: March – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) turns the independent Taifa of Murcia into a protectorate, and initiates the process of the colonization and Christianization of the region. He receives the submission of the Moors, under the terms of a peace agreement (the famous Treaty of Alcaraz).


date: April 27

text: April 27 – Treaty of Bordeaux: King Louis IX (the Saint) and King Henry III agree to a truce that ends the Saintonge War. The truce does not stop the on-going clashes (and further tensions) between France and England.


date: May 1

text: May 1 – The Castillan troops are garrisoned in Murcia, to support the Hudid Dynasty.


date: June 12

text: June 12 – A Crusader force under Balian III, lord of Beirut, captures Tyre after a long siege. The barons seize the citadel on July 10, with the help of Alice, queen of Cyprus, whose forces arrive on June 15. This ending the War of the Lombards.


date: June 26

text: June 26 – Battle of Köse Dağ: The Mongols under Baiju Noyan defeat the Seljuk Turks of the Sultanate of Rum and their Byzantine allies. The Seljuks and the Empire of Trebizond become vassals of the Mongols.


text: Siege of Montségur: French forces (some 10,000 men) begin the siege of Château de Montségur to raze the stronghold held by the rebellious Cathars. The castle is defended by some 100 troops and 500 refugees.


text: Siege of Viterbo: Emperor Frederick II besieges Viterbo on request of the rebel citizens. The defenders are able to set fire to the siege towers and after signing a peace treaty, Frederick is persuaded to withdraw his army.


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Pope Innocent IV succeeds Celestine IV as the 180th pope of the Catholic Church, after a sede vacante of 7 months.


text: Spring – Henry III bestows the custody of Kenilworth Castle to Simon de Montfort. Simon's wife Eleanor, Henry's sister, already owned Odiham Castle (or King John's Castle) so Simon has two of the strongest fortresses in England under his control.


date: May 31

text: May 31 – James II, Aragonese ruler of Majorca (d. 1311)


date: June 6

text: June 6 – Alix of Brittany, Breton noblewoman (d. 1288)


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Go-Fukakusa, emperor of Japan (d. 1304)


date: September 2

text: September 2 – Walter Langton, bishop of Coventry (d. 1321)


text: September 2 – Gilbert de Clare, English nobleman (d. 1295)


text: Roger Bernard III, French nobleman and poet (d. 1302)


text: Augustinus Triumphus, Italian hermit and writer (d. 1328)


text: Zhenjin (or Chingkim), Mongolian prince (d. 1286)


text: Riccoldo da Monte di Croce, Italian missionary (d. 1320)


text: Giles of Rome, Italian friar and archbishop (d. 1316)


text: Awaji Nichiken, Japanese Buddhist monk (d. 1338)


text: Alfonso Fernández el Niño, Spanish nobleman (d. 1281)


text: An Hyang (or Ahn Yu), Korean Confucian scholar (d. 1306)


text: John I of Chalon-Auxerre, French nobleman (d. 1309)


date: January 17

text: January 17 – Herman V, German nobleman (b. 1180)


date: January 19

text: January 19 – Konoe Iezane, Japanese nobleman (b. 1179)


date: February 20

text: February 20 – Romano Bonaventura, Italian cardinal


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Cyril III, patriarch of Alexandria (b. 1175)


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Boniface of Valperga, Italian monk and bishop


date: May 3

text: May 3 – Hawise of Chester, English noblewoman (b. 1180)


date: May 4

text: May 4 – Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, English Chief Justiciar (b. 1170)


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Hugh d'Aubigny, English nobleman and knight


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Constance, margravine of Meissen (b. 1212)


text: June 26 – Dardin Shervashidze, Georgian nobleman


date: August 16

text: August 16 – Stepan Tverdislavich, Russian posadnik


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Hedwig of Silesia, Polish duchess (b. 1174)


date: October 26

text: October 26 – Bernat Calbó (or Calvó), Catalan bishop


text: Indravarman II, Cambodian ruler of the Khmer Empire


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Treaty of Almizra: King James I (the Conqueror) and King Ferdinand III (the Saint) agree on the distribution of Muslim lands yet to be conquered. All lands south of a line, from the cities of Biar to Villajoyosa through Busot, are reserved for the Crown of Castile. This ends further Aragonese expansion on the Iberian Peninsula.


date: March 16

text: March 16 – Siege of Montségur: French forces capture and destroy Château de Montségur in Languedoc, after a 9-month siege. Some 200 'heretics' (perfecti and credentes) are burnt in a bonfire, near the foot of the castle. This marks the final defeat of the Cathars (or Albigensians); the followers become scattered fugitives, meeting in forests and mountain wilds.


date: June

text: June – Khwarazmian forces (some 10,000 men) invade Syrian territory, ravaging the land and burning the villages. As Damascus is too strong for a siege, they attack Galilee, past the town of Tiberias – which they capture. The Khwarazmians attack further southward through Nablus towards Jerusalem.


date: July 15

text: July 15 – Siege of Jerusalem: Khwarazmian horsemen attack and sack the 'holy city' of Jerusalem. There is bloody fighting in the streets. The Khwarazmian force their way into the Armenian Quarter, where they decimate the Christian population, and drive out the Jews. The city is left in a state of ruin.


date: August 23

text: August 23 – The Tower of David surrenders to the Khwarazmian forces. Some 6,000 Christian men, women and children march out of Jerusalem. As they move along the road toward Jaffa, they see crusader flags waving on the Walls of Jerusalem. Returning, some 2,000 of them are massacred.


date: October 4

text: October 4 – The Crusaders assemble a force of some 1,000 cavalry and 6,000 men outside Acre, after hearing that Jerusalem is sacked by the Khwarazmians. They are joined by the Ayyubid forces (some 4,000 men) of Damascus and Homs – while Emir An-Nasir Dawud brings his army from Kerak.


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Innocent IV flees to France and travels to Lyon, where he arrives on November 29. Although the city is nominally subject to the Holy Roman Empire, Innocent falls under the protection of Louis IX.


date: October 17

text: October 17 – Battle of La Forbie: A Crusader army (some 10,000 men) under Walter IV of Brienne and Ayyubid allies are defeated near Hiribya (or La Forbie) by Egyptian and Khwarazmian forces. The army is destroyed, with about 7,500 men killed. Walter and William of Chastelneuf are captured.


date: June 7

text: June 7 – Pope Innocent IV is driven from Rome by imperial forces of Emperor Frederick II, and travels secretly in disguise to Sutri. Genoese galleys prepared by his relatives are waiting for him at the port of Civitavecchia to take him to Genoa.


date: December 27

text: December 27 – Innocent IV summons a general council to meet in Lyon (some 140 bishops eventually come) to attend what becomes later the First Council of Lyon.


date: December

section: Health & Medicine

text: December – King Louis IX (the Saint) falls desperately ill of a severe malarian infection. Near-death, he vows that if he recovers he will set out for a crusade. Louis' life is spared and as soon as his health permits him, he takes the cross and immediately begins preparations for the Seventh Crusade.


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Henry I of Hesse, German nobleman (d. 1308)


date: June 25

text: June 25 – Ibn al-Fuwati, Arab historian and writer (d. 1323)


text: Folquet de Lunel, French troubadour and writer (d. 1300)


text: Dai Biaoyuan, Chinese litterateur, poet and writer (d. 1310)


text: Heinrich II of Virneburg, archbishop of Cologne (d. 1332)


text: Louis of France, French nobleman and regent (d. 1260)


text: Margaret of Antioch, Outremer noblewoman (d. 1308)


text: John III of Prague, margrave of Brandenburg (d. 1268)


text: Hong Dagu (or Charghu), Korean military leader (d. 1291)


text: Elizabeth the Cuman, queen consort of Hungary (d. 1290)


text: Ingeborg Eriksdotter, queen consort of Norway (d. 1287)


text: Henry I (the Fat), king of Navarre (House of Blois) (d. 1274)


text: Agnes Blannbekin, Austrian Beguine and mystic (d. 1315)


text: Guy de Montfort, English nobleman and knight (d. 1291)


date: March 1

text: March 1 – Gruffud ap Llywelyn, Welsh nobleman (b. 1196)


date: March 19

text: March 19 – Isnardo da Chiampo, Italian preacher and priest


date: April 2

text: April 2 – Henrik Harpestræng, Danish physician and writer


date: September 3

text: September 3 – Guala de Roniis, bishop of Brescia (b. 1180)


date: October 24

text: October 24 – William Briwere, English bishop and diplomat


date: November 18

text: November 18 – Ibn Abi'l-Dam, Syrian historian (b. 1187)


date: December 5

text: December 5 – Joan, countess of Flanders and Hainaut


text: John Komnenos (Doukas), emperor of Thessalonica


text: Ralph de Neville, English archbishop and politician


text: Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Aragon (b. 1200)


text: Meir Abulafia (or Ramah), Castilian rabbi and writer


text: Yelü Chucai, Chinese advisor and statesman (b. 1190)


text: Sophia of Saxony, German noblewoman and abbess


text: James of Pecorara, Italian monk, cardinal and diplomat


date: April

text: April – Egyptian forces under As-Salih Ayyub besiege the city of Damascus. After six months, As-Salih Ismail, ruler of Damascus, surrenders to Ayyub in return for a vassal-principality, consisting of Baalbek and the Hauran. Ayyub is awarded the title of sultan by Caliph Al-Musta'sim in Baghdad.


text: Winter – Siege of Jaén: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") besiege the Moorish-held city of Jaén. During the siege Moorish knights sally out and manage to capture a Castilian supply caravan. Meanwhile, Ferdinand tries to launch attacks on the various city gates, but all are ineffective.


text: In witness of the toll taken by war and fiscal pressure in the Kingdom of Castile, the region of Segovia is described this year as depopulated and sterile.


date: February 21

text: February 21 – Thomas, bishop of Turku (modern Finland), is granted resignation by Pope Innocent IV. He admits to committing several felonies, such as torturing and forging a papal letter.


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Innocent IV sends Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (accompanied by Stephen of Bohemia) to the Mongol court at Karakorum, suggesting that the Mongols convert to Christianity.


date: June 28

text: June 28 – First Council of Lyon: In a general church council held at Lyon, Innocent IV declares Emperor Frederick II excommunicated and deposed. He proclaims the Seventh Crusade.


text: King Henry III starts the work of rebuilding Westminster Abbey, as a tribute to Edward the Confessor.


date: January 16

text: January 16 – Edmund Crouchback, son of Henry III (d. 1296)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – Philip III (the Bold), king of France (d. 1285)


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Sang Sapurba, Indonesian ruler (d. 1316)


text: Ziemomysł of Kuyavia, Polish ruler of Bydgoszcz (d. 1287)


text: Kikuchi Takefusa, Japanese nobleman and samurai (d. 1285)


text: Araniko (or Anige), Nepalese architect and painter (d. 1306)


text: Rinaldo da Concorezzo, Italian priest and archbishop (d. 1321)


text: Kunigunda of Halych, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1285)


text: Thomas de Berkeley (the Wise), English nobleman (d. 1321)


text: Eric of Brandenburg, archbishop of Magdeburg (d. 1295)


text: Antony Bek (or Beck), English bishop and patriarch (d. 1311)


text: Roger Bigod, English nobleman and Lord Marshal (d. 1306)


text: Yahballaha III, patriarch of the Church of the East (d. 1317)


text: Nichirō, Japanese Buddhist disciple and scholar (d. 1320)


date: January 27

text: January 27 – Ralph of Maidstone, bishop of Hereford


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Giovanni Colonna, Italian cardinal (b. 1170)


date: February 8

text: February 8 – John of la Rochelle, French theologian (b. 1200)


date: February 15

text: February 15 – Baldwin de Redvers, English nobleman (b. 1217)


date: March 22

text: March 22 – Roger I of Fézensaguet, French nobleman (b. 1190)


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Kolbeinn ungi Arnórsson, Icelandic chieftain (b. 1208)


date: August 19

text: August 19 – Ramon Berenguer IV, Spanish nobleman (b. 1198)


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Alexander of Hales, English theologian (b. 1185)


date: November 27

text: November 27 – Walter Marshal, English nobleman (b. 1209)


date: December 4

text: December 4 – Christian of Oliva, bishop of Prussia (b. 1180)


text: Cletus Bél, Hungarian prelate, bishop and chancellor


text: Beatrice d'Este, queen consort of Hungary (b. 1215)


text: Ibn al-Salah, Syrian scholar, imam and writer (b. 1181)


text: Adam of Harcarse, Scottish Cistercian priest and abbot


date: February 16

text: February 16 – Emperor Go-Saga abdicates the throne in favor of his 3-year-old son, Go-Fukakusa, who becomes the 89th Emperor of Japan.


date: February 28

text: February 28 – Siege of Jaén: Castilian forces, led by King Ferdinand III (the Saint), manage to take the city of Jaén from the Andalucians. In a combined assault with the knights of the Order of Santiago, the city is handed over by Sultan Muhammad I, who accepts Ferdinand's overlordship in exchange for a 20-year truce. The Emirate of Granada becomes a vassal state of the Kingdom of Castile.


date: June 15

text: June 15 – Battle of the Leitha River: Hungarian forces, under King Béla IV, defeat Duke Frederick II (the Quarrelsome) at the banks of the Leitha River. Frederick is killed (leaving no male heirs); the House of Babenberg is dissolved. Emperor Frederick II places the fiefs of Austria and Styria under his rule. This ends the Austrian claims to the western counties of Hungary.


date: October 2

text: 2 October – Damascus falls to the Ayyubid vizier Mu'in al-Din Hasan ibn al-Shaykh after a siege of some four months.


date: November

text: November – Michael II Asen, ruler (tsar) of the Bulgarian Empire, succeeds his brother Kaliman I (possibly poisoned). He confirms the reconquest of Bulgarian territories against John III (Doukas Vatatzes), Byzantine ruler of the Empire of Nicaea.


text: Frederick II suppresses a Sicilian revolt and deports the remaining Muslim inhabitants of Lucera (approximate date).


date: May 22

text: May 22 – Henry Raspe is elected anti-king in Germany in opposition to Conrad IV of Germany and Conrad's father, the excommunicated emperor Frederick II.


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Güyük Khan, eldest son of Ögedei Khan, is enthroned as the 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (which is witnessed by a papal mission under Giovanni da Pian del Carpine) at Karakorum. Güyük reverses several edicts of his mother, Töregene Khatun, and orders Eljigidei, Mongol viceroy of Persia, to advance into Syria and prepare an attack on Baghdad.


text: Katedralskolan in Uppsala is established beside Uppsala Cathedral as a seminary for the clergy (the founding year according to tradition).


text: Beaulieu Abbey in England, founded earlier by King John, is dedicated in the presence of King Henry III, Queen Eleanor and 7-year-old Prince Edward.


text: Robert Grosseteste translates Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics from Greek into Latin, which marks the true start of the rediscovery of the philosopher by Medieval Europe.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts


text: The perihelion of the Earth's orbit coincides with the December solstice.

source_section: Events › By topic › Nature


date: September 30

text: September 30 – Yaroslav II, father of Alexander Nevsky, is poisoned by Töregene Khatun, after he is summoned by Güyük Khan in Karakorum.


date: March 8

text: March 8 – Nikkō Shōnin, Japanese religious leader (d. 1333)


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Henry Bate of Mechelen, Brabantian philosopher


date: September 14

text: September 14 – John FitzAlan, English nobleman (d. 1272)


text: Teodosije the Hilandarian, Serbian hagiographer (d. 1328)


text: Riccobaldo of Ferrara, Italian chronicler and geographer


text: Jutta of Denmark (or Judith), Danish princess and abbess


text: Enrique Enríquez (the Elder), Castilian nobleman (d. 1323)


text: Safi al-Din al-Hindi, Indian scholar and theologian (d. 1315)


text: Hugh of Lincoln (Little Saint), English Jewish boy (d. 1255)


text: Konoe Motohira, Japanese nobleman and regent (d. 1268)


text: Takezaki Suenaga, Japanese retainer and samurai (d. 1314)


text: Nicholas of Tolentino, Italian monk, friar and mystic (d. 1305)


text: Angelo da Furci, Italian priest, orator and theologian (d. 1327)


text: Paolo Malatesta, Italian nobleman and diplomat (d. 1285)


date: February 25

text: February 25 – Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Welsh prince (b. 1212)

source_section: Deaths


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Peter González (Telmo), Castilian priest (b 1190)


date: May 19

text: May 19 – Umiliana de' Cerchi, Italian noblewoman (b. 1219)


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Isabella of Angoulême, queen consort of England


text: June 15 – Frederick II, duke of Austria and Styria (b. 1211)


date: June 16

text: June 16 – Lutgardis (or Lutgarde), Flemish nun (b. 1182)


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Al-Mansur Ibrahim, Ayyubid governor and ruler


date: September 20

text: September 20 – Michael of Chernigov, Kievan Grand Prince


text: September 30 – Yaroslav II, Kievan Grand Prince (b. 1191)


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Mieszko II (the Fat), duke of Kalisz-Wieluń


date: November 3

text: November 3 – Robert de Bingham, bishop of Salisbury


date: November 8

text: November 8 – Berengaria (the Great), queen of Castile


text: Alice of Champagne, queen and regent of Jerusalem, dies after a 3-year reign. She is succeeded by her son, Henry I of Cyprus (the Fat), who appoints Balian III of Beirut as his bailli and confirms Philip of Montfort in the possession of Tyre.


text: Ednyfed Fychan, Welsh nobleman and knight (b. 1170)


text: Qin Jiushao, Chinese mathematician, writes the Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections.

source_section: Events › By topic › Mathematics


date: June 17

text: June 17 – Egyptian forces under Sultan As-Salih Ayyub capture Tiberias and his castle. Mount Tabor and Belvoir Castle are occupied soon afterward. Next, Ayyub moves his army to siege Ascalon – which is defended by a garrison of Knights Hospitaller. They summon the help from Acre and Cyprus.


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Egyptian forces under As-Salih Ayyub capture Ascalon by surprise – while a battering-ram forces a passageway under the walls right into the citadel. Most of the defenders are massacred, and the remainder of the garrison is taken prisoner.


date: December 1

text: December 1 – A rebellion arises among the Muslim subjects in the region of Valencia. As a punishment, King James I of Aragon ("the Conqueror"), issues an order of expulsion of the Muslims from his realm, leading numerous people into exile in Andalusia and North Africa.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Battle of Ballyshannon: Norman forces under Maurice FitzGerald defeat a Gaelic army near Ballyshannon in northern Ireland. After the battle, the entire country of Donegal is devastated and plundered by the Normans.

source_section: Events › By place › British Isles


text: The Hōjō clan under Hōjō Tokiyori destroys the Miura family; and in doing so, the clan consolidates its authority as regents in Japan.


text: Summer – Siege of Seville: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") begin to besiege Seville, the city is isolated and Ramón de Bonifaz sails with 13 galleys up the Guadalquivir River to scatter some 40 smaller Almohad ships trying to oppose him (with many destroyed).


text: The Egyptian fleet (some 20 galleys) confronts the Crusader ships led by Baldwin of Ibelin at Ascalon. But before contact is made, it is caught in a sudden Mediterranean storm. Many of the Muslim ships are driven ashore and wrecked; the survivors sail back to Egypt.


text: Summer – King Henry I ("the Fat") sends a Cypriot squadron of 8 galleys with 100 knights led by Baldwin of Ibelin, to Acre. With the support of the Italian colonists, they fitted out 7 more galleys and some 50 lighter ships, to relieve the siege at Ascalon – which is now blockaded by the Egyptian fleet.


date: July 2

text: July 2 – King Béla IV grants territories to the Knights Hospitaller in the Banate of Severin and Hungarian Cumania (according to a document called the Diploma of the Joannites), makes an early mention of Litovoi and other Vlach/Romanian local rulers, in Wallachia and Transylvania.


text: Romford (located within Greater London) is chartered as a market town.


text: Song Ci publishes the Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified, a book considered to be the first monographic work on forensic medicine.

source_section: Events › By topic › Medicine


text: The Bethlem Royal Hospital is founded in London during the reign of King Henry III.


text: Angelo da Clareno, Italian priest and religious leader (d. 1337)

source_section: Births


text: Philippe de Rémi, French official and seneschal (d. 1296)


text: John II Avesnes, count of Hainaut and Holland (d. 1304)


text: Isabella of Aragon, queen consort of France (d. 1271) (approximate date)


text: Isabelle of Luxembourg, countess of Flanders (d. 1298)


text: Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter, English nobleman and knight (d. 1326)


text: Yishan Yining, Chinese monk and calligrapher (d. 1317)


text: Yolande of Nevers, French noblewoman (d. 1280)


text: Todros ben Judah Halevi Abulafia, Castilian Jewish poet


text: Rashid al-Din, Persian statesman and historian (d. 1318)


text: John of Montecorvino, Italian diplomat and bishop (d. 1328)


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Ermesinde, countess of Luxembourg (b. 1186)


date: February 16

text: February 16 – Henry Raspe, landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)


text: February 25 – Henry IV, duke of Limburg (House of Limburg)


date: May 9

text: May 9 – Richard de Bures, French knight and Grand Master


date: June 10

text: June 10 – Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, Spanish bishop (b. 1170)


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Mōri Suemitsu, Japanese nobleman and samurai (b. 1202)


date: August 31

text: August 31 – Konrad I of Masovia, Polish nobleman (House of Piast)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Ogasawara Nagatsune, Japanese samurai (b. 1179)


date: December 21

text: December 21 – Roger of Salisbury, bishop of Bath and Wells


date: December 24

text: December 24 – Shōkū, Japanese Buddhist disciple (b. 1177)


text: probable – William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby, English nobleman and knight (b. 1168)


text: unknown date – Śārṅgadeva, Indian scholar, musicologist and writer (b. 1175)


text: War of the Thuringian Succession: The claims on the Ludovingians' inheritance after the death of Henry Raspe, landgrave of Thuringia, leads to a dispute over the succession territories of Thuringia and Hesse, between his niece Sophie of Thuringia and her cousin Henry III ("the Illustrious"), who claim the territories as fiefs of the Electorate of Mainz.


date: December

text: December – Reconquista: Ferdinand III issues an edict to expel the Almohads out of Seville. Many Muslims sail to North Africa and others travel to Granada in Al-Andalus.


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Battle of Parma: Imperial forces (some 6,000 men) under Emperor Frederick II are defeated by the Lombard League at Parma. Much of Frederick's treasure is lost, while he is hunting in the Taro Valley.


date: September 17

text: September 17 – Louis IX arrives at Limassol on the island of Cyprus. He gathers his forces and is well received by King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat"). The Crusaders are supplemented by nobles from Acre, including Grand Masters Jean de Ronay and Guillaume de Sonnac. Louis prepares a plan of campaign, with Egypt as the prime objective.

source_section: Events › By place › Seventh Crusade


date: November 23

text: November 23 – Reconquista: Siege of Seville: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint") recapture the city of Seville from the Almohads, after a 16-month siege. Prince Alfonso X of Castile takes the city of Alicante.


text: December – Louis IX decides to spend the winter on Cyprus to make preparations against Egypt. Meanwhile, the nobles persuade him to start negotiations with Sultan As-Salih Ayyub to intervene in the internal Ayyubid affairs. But Louis rejects this offer and orders the Knights Templar to break off their negotiations with As-Salih.


text: December – William of Villehardouin, Latin ruler of the Principality of Achaea, captures Monemvasia – last remaining Byzantine outpost on the Peloponnese.


date: August 25

text: August 25 – Louis IX departs from Aigues-Mortes and Marseilles with a French expeditionary force (some 10,000 men) transported by 100 ships. An English detachment (some 5,000 men) under William Longespée the Younger, grandson of King Henry III, and his mistress Ida de Tosny follows close behind with 36 transport ships.


date: April 26

text: April 26 – The Gothic chapel Sainte-Chapelle (Holy Chapel) is completed and consecrated in Paris. Louis IX moves the relics of the True Cross and Holy Lance to the chapel with great ceremony.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral is laid by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, after the older cathedral is burned down on April 30 (construction is completed in 1880).


text: August 25 – The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III, archbishop of Utrecht, after the town has been pillaged by a local robber baron.


text: Pope Innocent IV grants the Croatians of southern Dalmatia permission to use their own language and script in the Roman Rite liturgy (see Glagolitic alphabet).


date: November 24

section: Economy & Finance

text: November 24–25 – In the middle of the night a mass on the north side of Mont Granier suddenly collapses, in one of the largest historical rock slope failures.


date: August 12

text: August 12 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") leaves Paris together with his wife, Queen Margaret of Provence, and her sister Beatrice of Provence. Two of Louis' brothers, Charles of Anjou and Robert of Artois, are also present. He is followed by his cousins, Hugh IV of Burgundy and Peter Mauclerc, both are veterans of the Barons' Crusade.


date: July 21

text: July 21 – Bogo de Clare, English cleric and writer (d. 1294)


date: December 22

text: December 22 – Ichijō Ietsune, Japanese nobleman (d. 1293)


text: Yeshe Rinchen, Tibetan Imperial Preceptor (d. 1294)


text: Zaynab bint al-Kamal, Syrian female scholar (d. 1339)


text: Approximate date – Blanche of Artois, queen and regent of Navarre (d. 1302)


text: Abu Said Faraj, Andalusian advisor and governor (d. 1320)


text: Kujō Tadanori, Japanese nobleman and regent (d. 1332)


text: Gao Kegong (or Fang Shan), Chinese painter (d. 1310)


text: Angela of Foligno, Italian nun, mystic and writer (d. 1309)


text: Peter John Olivi, French monk and theologian (d. 1298)


text: Hōjō Akitoki, Japanese military leader and poet (d. 1301)


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Henry II, Dutch nobleman and knight (b. 1207)


date: February 9

text: February 9 – Al-Adil II, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt and Damascus


text: February 18 – Taddeo da Suessa, Italian jurist and diplomat


date: February 25

text: February 25 – Bolesław I of Masovia, Polish prince (b. 1208)


date: March 27

text: March 27 – Maud Marshal, English noblewoman (b. 1192)


date: April 9

text: April 9 – Hugh I of Châtillon, French nobleman and knight


date: April 20

text: April 20 – Güyük Khan (or Kuyuk), Mongol emperor (b. 1206)


date: June 19

text: June 19 – Otto III of Merania, French nobleman and knight


date: August 7

text: August 7 – Giordano Forzatè, Italian religious leader (b. 1158)


date: September 13

text: September 13 – Kunigunde, Bohemian queen consort (b. 1202)


date: November

text: November/December – Richard Siward, English adventurer and knight banneret


date: December 26

text: December 26 – Theobald Butler, Irish chief governor (b. 1224)


date: December

text: December – Louis IX receives an embassy during his stay in Cyprus from the Mongol general, Eljigidei, who is viceroy in Persia. They bring a letter from Guyuk Khan (who had died by the time his envoys reached Cyprus) with no demands of submission, but talking in terms about Mongol favouritism for Christianity, and a proposal of a joint invasion against the Ayyubid forces in Syria.


text: Haraldr Óláfsson, Scottish ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles, drowned (b. 1223/4)


text: Reconquista: King Afonso III of Portugal ("the Boulonnais") recaptures Faro and Silves in the Algarve from the Almohads, thus completing the expulsion of the Moors from Portugal. The Almohads also lose possession of Alicante in Al-Andalus (modern Spain).


text: The Hikitsuke, a judicial organ of the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates of Japan, is established.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


date: March

text: March – The Japanese Hōji period ends during the reign of Emperor Go-Fukakusa and the Kenchō period begins (until 1256).


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Battle of Fossalta: King Enzo of Sardinia, an illegitimate son of Emperor Frederick II, is captured and imprisoned by Lombard forces, in a clash between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Enzo is put in golden chains and paraded around Bologna on a horse. He becomes a prisoner in a palace, named Palazzo Re Enzo.


date: May

text: May – Nicaean–Latin Wars: Latin forces led by William of Villehardouin, arrive on the island of Rhodes on their way to join the Seventh Crusade. This causes the Nicaeans to raise the siege of Rhodes. William concludes an agreement with the Genoese and leaves behind some 100 knights before departing for the Holy Land.


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Siege of Damietta: Louis IX lands with a Crusader force and captures Damietta, after a fierce battle at the edge of the sea. The onslaught of the knights of France and those of Outremer under John of Ibelin, force the Ayyubids back with heavy losses. At nightfall, Fakhr ad-Din withdraws his army over a bridge of boats to Damietta. Finding the population there in panic and the garrison wavering, Fakhr ad-Din decides to evacuate the city. On June 6, Louis marches triumphantly over the bridge into Damietta and builds a camp to attack Cairo.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – First Battle of Athenry: Gaelic forces of Connacht besiege Athenry Castle in County Galway in Ireland, but are repelled by the Normans under Jordan de Exeter, Sheriff of Connacht.


text: The city of Stralsund is burned to the ground, by German forces from the rival Free City of Lübeck. Later, the town is rebuilt with a massive defensive wall having 11 city gates and some 30 watchtowers.


date: May 13

text: May 13 – King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") assembles a Crusader fleet of 120 transports and embarks an army (some 15,000 men) at Limassol. Unfortunately, a storm scatters the ships a few days later. On May 30, Louis sets sail to Egypt – only a quarter of his forces sails with him, the others make their way independently to the Egyptian coast. Finally, the royal squadron arrives off Damietta on June 4 aboard Louis' flagship the Montjoie. The king's advisers urges a delay until the rest of his transports arrive before attempting to disembark, but Louis refuses.


text: Summer – Second Swedish Crusade: A Swedish expedition led by Birger Jarl subjugates the province of Tavastia – securing Swedish power in Finland. As a part of the Treaty of Lödöse Birger marries off his 11-year-old daughter Rikissa to Haakon the Young, ruler and eldest son of King Haakon IV of Norway.


text: Winter – William of Villehardouin tours the Peloponnese and selects sites for new fortifications such as Grand Magne and Leuktron. At Mystras (ancient Sparta), he builds a fortress and a palace.


date: February 16

text: February 16 – Louis IX sends Andrew of Longjumeau on a diplomatic mission to meet the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire. He carries letters from Louis and the Papal States, and rich presents, including a chapel-tent lined with scarlet cloth and embroidered with sacred pictures. From Cyprus he goes to the port of Antioch in Syria and travels for a year to the khan's court at Karakorum.


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Louis IX sets out (against the advice of his nobles) with a Crusader force from Damietta, along the southern road to Mansourah. A garrison is left to guard the city – where Queen Margaret of Provence and Patriarch Robert of Nantes remain. The Crusaders make slow progress along the Nile, carrying a number of supplies and equipment. After 32 days, Louis orders to make camp opposite the Ayyubid camp near Mansourah, protected by a branch of the river and fortifications. Both camps use their catapults to bombard each other.


text: Jean Mouflet makes an agreement with the abbot of Saint-Pierre-le-Vif in the Senonais region in France: in return for an annual payment, the monastery will recognize Jean as a "citizen of Sens". He is a leather merchant, with a leather shop that he leases for the rent of 50 shillings a year. The agreement is witnessed by Jean's wife, Douce, daughter of a wealthy and prominent citizen of Sens, Felis Charpentier.

source_section: Events › By topic › Microhistory


text: Roger Bacon publishes a major scientific work, including writings of convex lens spectacles for treating long-sightedness, and the first publication of the formula for gunpowder in the western world.


text: Spring – University College, the first college at Oxford, is founded with money from the estate of William of Durham.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education


date: July 9

text: July 9 – Emperor Kameyama of Japan (d. 1305)


date: September 4

text: September 4 – Amadeus V, count of Savoy (d. 1323)


text: December 26 – Edmund, English nobleman (d. 1300)


text: Wu Cheng, Chinese philosopher and poet (d. 1333)


text: Robert III, Flemish nobleman and knight (d. 1322)


text: Zhu Shijie (or "Hanqing"), Chinese mathematician


text: Constance II of Sicily, queen consort of Aragon (d. 1302)


text: Frederick I, margrave of Baden and Verona (d. 1268)


text: Richard of Middleton, Norman theologian (d. 1308)


text: Gaucher V de Châtillon, French nobleman (d. 1329)


text: Humphrey VI de Bohun, English nobleman (d. 1298)


text: Menachem Meiri, Catalan rabbi and writer (d. 1315)


text: John XXII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1334)


date: January 15

text: January 15 – Archambaud IX, French nobleman


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Siegfried III, archbishop of Mainz (b. 1194)


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Contardo of Este, Italian nobleman (b. 1216)


date: June 28

text: June 28 – Adolf I of the Mark, German nobleman


date: July 6

text: July 6 – Alexander II, king of Scotland (b. 1198)


text: July 6 – King Alexander II of Scotland dies of a fever at the island of Kerrera in the Inner Hebrides. He is succeeded by his 7-year-old son, Alexander III, who is crowned as ruler of Scotland at Scone on July 13. Alexander's minority causes a struggle for control of affairs between Walter Comyn and Alan Durward, Justiciar of Scotia.


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice (b. 1169)


date: August 31

text: August 31 – Rodrigo Díaz, Spanish prelate and bishop


date: September 27

text: September 27 – Raymond VII, French nobleman (b. 1197)


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Abu Zakariya Yahya, Hafsid ruler (b. 1203)


date: November 22

text: November 22 – As-Salih Ayyub, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt (b. 1205)


text: November 22 – Geoffrey de Liberatione, Scottish cleric and bishop


date: December 10

text: December 10 – Choe U, Korean military leader (b. 1166)


date: December 18

text: December 18 – Conrad II of Reifenberg, German bishop


text: Gautamiputra Satakarni, a king of the Andhra dynasty, conquers the Konkan near Bombay. He then controls central India from coast to coast.


text: Change of emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from Han Andi to Marquis of Beixiang, then to Han Shundi.


text: Last (4th) year of the Yanguang era of the Chinese Han dynasty.


text: The Satires of Juvenal intimate that bread and circuses (panem et circenses) keep the Roman people happy.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences


text: Pope Telesphorus succeeds Pope Sixtus I as the eighth pope according to Roman Catholic tradition.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Italy, starts to be built (approximate date).


text: Zhang Heng of Han dynasty China invents a hydraulic-powered armillary sphere.


text: The Pantheon is constructed in Rome, as it stands today.


text: Plague sweeps North Africa in the wake of a locust invasion that destroys large areas of cropland. The plague kills as many as 500,000 in Numidia and possibly 150,000 on the coast before moving to Italy, where it takes so many lives that villages and towns are abandoned. (or was it around 125 BC)

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


text: Aulus Gellius, Roman author and grammarian (approximate date)


text: Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, Roman politician (d. 193)


text: Lucius Ferenius, Dutch potter in Heerlen (approximate date)


text: Lucian, Syrian satirist and rhetorician (approximate date)


date: April 30

text: April 30 – An of Han, Chinese emperor (b. AD 94)


text: December 10 – Shao (or Liu Yi), Chinese emperor


text: Servius Sulpicius Similis, Roman governor


text: Thamel, Roman Christian priest and martyr


date: July 21

text: July 21 – Aybak becomes ruler of Egypt, beginning the Bahri Dynasty of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. After 5 days he stands down and the six-year-old Al-Ashraf Musa is nominally proclaimed sultan.


text: A kurultai is called by Batu Khan in Siberia as part of maneuverings which will elect Möngke Khan as khan of the Mongol Empire in 1251.


text: The first of the Parlements of Ancien Régime France is established.


text: The Welayta state is founded in modern-day Ethiopia.


text: Samoa frees itself from Tongan rule, which begins the Malietoa dynasty in Samoa (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By place › Oceania


date: April 8

text: April 8 – Battle of Fariskur: Louis IX (the Saint) is captured by Baibars' Egyptian Mamluk army while he is in Egypt conducting the Seventh Crusade; he later has to ransom himself.


date: July 9

text: July 9 – The Qaymariyya tribe engineers a coup d'état to hand over Damascus to An-Nasir Yusuf. The garrison in the citadel surrenders later to him.


text: In Tunis, a popular rebellion against newly arrived, wealthy and influential Andalusian refugees breaks out, and is violently put down.


text: Medieval music: The Notre Dame school of polyphony ends.


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the first vizier in the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.


date: March 11

text: March 11 – Egyptian politician Bahaa el-Din bin Hanna appointed Vizier of Egypt as the last vizier in the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.


text: The Hafsid caliph al-Mustansir enforces laws of ghiyar, or differentiation for non-Muslims. As such, Jews have to wear a distinguishing badge (shikla) which Tunisian Jews will have to wear into the nineteenth century.


text: The Sienese bankers belonging to the firm known as the Gran Tavola, under the steering of the Bonsignori Brothers, become the main financiers of the Papacy.

source_section: Events › By topic › Markets


text: The Flemish town of Douai emits the first recorded redeemable annuities in medieval Europe, confirming a trend of consolidation of local public debt started in 1218, in Rheims.


text: World climate transitions from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age.

source_section: Events › By place › World


text: Villard de Honnecourt draws the first known image of a sawmill.


text: The first usage is made of the English word "cuckold", according to the Oxford English Dictionary.


text: The Rialto Bridge in Venice (in modern-day Italy) is converted from a pontoon bridge to a permanent, raised wooden structure.


text: The Ponts Couverts fortified bridges of Strasbourg (in modern-day France) are completed.


text: Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic, as the 8th discovered metal. He also first uses the word "oriole" to describe a type of bird (most likely the golden oriole).


date: October 12

text: October 12 – A great storm shifts the mouth of the River Rother in England 12 miles (20 km) to the west; a battering series of strong storms significantly alters other coastal geography around Romney Marsh.


text: The world population is estimated at between 400 and 416 million individuals.


text: April 30 – King Louis IX (the Saint) is released by his Egyptian captors after paying a ransom of one million dinars and turning over the city of Damietta.


date: May 2

text: May 2 – Al-Muazzam Turanshah, Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, is murdered, ending effective Ayyubid Dynasty rule in the country. He is briefly succeeded by his widow, Sultana Shajar al-Durr.


text: Starting in this year and ending in 1275, the Muslim Shougeng Pu, likely a Persian or an Arab, serves as the Commissioner of Merchant Shipping for the Song dynasty Chinese seaport at Quanzhou, due to his effort in defeating pirates.


text: Vincent of Beauvais completes his proto-encyclopedic work Speculum Maius ("Greater mirror").


text: April 8 – John Tristan, son of Louis IX (d. 1270)


date: December 25

text: December 25 – John IV Doukas Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea (d. 1305)


date: December

text: December – al-Allama al-Hilli, Persian Shia theologian (d. 1325)


text: Fra Dolcino, Italian priest and reformist (d. 1307)


text: Robert II, French nobleman and knight (d. 1302)


text: 1250–1259 – Guido Cavalcanti, Italian poet and writer (d. 1300)


text: Margaret of Burgundy, queen of Sicily (d. 1308)


text: Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel, German nobleman and knight (d. 1300)


text: 1250 or 1259 – Asher ben Jehiel, German Jewish rabbi (d. 1327)


text: Theodoric of Freiberg, German physicist (d. 1311)


text: Diether of Nassau, archbishop of Trier (d. 1307)


text: Albert II, Duke of Saxony, German nobleman (d. 1298)


text: Matteo I Visconti, Italian imperial vicar (d. 1322)


text: Záviš of Falkenstein, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1290)


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Erik Eriksson, king of Sweden (b. 1216)


text: February 2 – King Erik Eriksson of Sweden dies. The ten-year-old Valdemar, the eldest son of Birger Jarl, is elected King of Sweden, and becomes the first king from the House of Bjälbo.


date: February 8

text: February 8 – Fakhr ad-Din, Egyptian ruler and military leader


text: February 8 – William Longespée (the Younger), English knight


date: February 11

text: February 11 – Jean de Ronay, French Grand Master


date: April 6

text: April 6 – Hugh XI of Lusignan, French nobleman (b. 1221)


text: April 6 – Guillaume de Sonnac, French Grand Master


text: May 2 – Al-Muazzam Turanshah, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt


date: May 26

text: May 26 – Peter I (Mauclerc), French nobleman (b. 1187)


date: June 7

text: June 7 – Vitslav I, Danish nobleman and knight (b. 1180)


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Alice of Schaerbeek, Flemish Cistercian lay sister (b. c. 1220)


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Theresa of Portugal, queen of León (b. 1176)


date: August 10

text: August 10 – Eric IV (Ploughpenny), king of Denmark


date: December 13

text: December 13 – Emperor Frederick II dies, beginning the 23-year-long "Great Interregnum". Frederick is the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; after the interregnum, the empire passes to the Habsburgs.


date: July 1

text: July 1 – Möngke Khan is elected as the fourth great Khan of the Mongol Empire.


text: Alexander Nevsky signs the first peace treaty between Kievan Rus' and Norway.


text: Ottokar II of Bohemia, later to become King of Bohemia, is elected Duke of Austria.


date: April

text: April – The first Shepherds' Crusade, a domestic French uprising in response to events in Egypt during the Seventh Crusade, occurs.


date: May

text: May – English governor Simon de Montfort suppresses a revolt in Gascony.


text: Andrew de Longjumeau, dispatched two years earlier by King Louis IX of France as an ambassador to the Mongols, meets the king in Palestine, with reports from the Mongols and Tartary; his mission is considered a failure.


text: King Conrad IV of Germany invades Italy, but fails to subdue the supporters of Pope Innocent IV.


text: The earliest known manuscript of The Proverbs of Alfred, a collection of sayings of England's Alfred the Great, is written.


text: Mindaugas of Lithuania is baptized, in prelude to his crowning as King of Lithuania in 1253.


date: April 21

text: April 21 – City of Launggyet in Arakan (modern-day Burma) is founded according to some sources.


date: December 26

text: December 26 – King Alexander III of Scotland marries Margaret, daughter of King Henry III of England, precipitating a power struggle between the two monarchs.


text: The carving of the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures recorded on some 81,000 wooden blocks, is completed.


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Hōjō Tokimune, 8th regent of the Kamakura shogunate (d. 1284)


date: September 2

text: September 2 – Francis of Fabriano, Italian writer (d. 1322)


text: Adelaide, Countess of Auxerre, French countess (d. 1290)


date: January

text: January – Bohemund V of Antioch


date: February 9

text: February 9 – Matthias II, Duke of Lorraine


date: March 6

text: March 6 – Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (b. 1235)


date: March 31

text: March 31 – William of Modena, Bishop of Modena


date: June 6

text: June 6 – William III of Dampierre, Count of Flanders


text: Winter 1251–52 – Eljigidei, Mongol commander of Persia, killed


text: Oghul Qaimish, 3rd regent of the Mongol Empire, following her husband's death


text: Isobel of Huntingdon, Scots noblewoman (b. 1199)


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.


text: The Polish land of Lebus is incorporated into the German state of Brandenburg, marking the start of Brandenburg's expansion into previously Polish areas (Neumark).


date: April 6

text: April 6 – Saint Peter of Verona is assassinated by Carino of Balsamo.


text: Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty: the Mongols take the westernmost province of the Song dynasty empire.


text: The Chinese era Chunyou ends (→ Emperor Lizong).


date: July

text: July – The settlement of Stockholm in Sweden is founded, by Birger Jarl.


text: The Lithuanian city of Klaipėda (Memel) is founded by the Teutonic Knights.


text: Thomas Aquinas travels to the University of Paris, to begin his studies there for a master's degree.


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. Torture quickly gains widespread usage across Catholic Europe.


date: December 25

text: December 25 – Christopher I of Denmark is crowned King of Denmark, in the Lund Cathedral.


text: The town and monastery of Orval Abbey in Belgium burn to the ground; rebuilding takes 100 years.


text: In astronomy, work begins on the recording of the Alfonsine tables.


text: The classic Japanese text Jikkunsho is completed.


date: March 25

text: March 25 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia (d. 1268)


text: Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales, English-born consort (d. 1282)


text: Safi-ad-din Ardabili, Persian Sufi leader


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Saint Zdislava Berka, Bohemian lay Dominican benefactress


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia


text: January – Bohemond V of Antioch


date: February 3

text: February 3 – Sviatoslav III of Vladimir, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1196)


date: April 1

text: April 1 – Kujō Michiie, Japanese regent


text: April 6 – Saint Peter of Verona


date: May 3

text: May 3 or May 4 – Günther von Wüllersleben, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights


text: June 6 – Robert Passelewe, Bishop of Chichester


date: June 9

text: June 9 – Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Abel, King of Denmark (b. 1218)


date: August 1

text: August 1 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian chronicler of the Mongol Empire


date: November 27

text: November 27 – Blanche of Castile, queen of Louis VIII of France and regent of France (b. 1188)


text: Sorghaghtani Beki, Mongolian empress and regent


text: Catherine Sunesdotter, Swedish queen consort


date: July 4

text: July 4 – William II, count of Holland, defeats the Flemish forces under Guy of Dampierre at Westkapelle. He forced him and his mother, Margaret II, to respect the division of Flanders and Hainaut.


text: Mongol forces under Kublai Khan conquer the Dali Kingdom (modern-day Yunnan). The population migrates to Siam (modern Thailand).


date: April

text: April – An-Nasir Yusuf, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, cedes Palestine, together with Jerusalem, Nablus and the coastline of Al-Sham to Aybak, Mamluk sultan of Egypt.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


date: August 6

text: August 6 – King Henry III leads an expedition to Gascony, to repel a rumoured invasion from Castile. Meanwhile, Simon de Montfort returns from Gascony where he allies himself with the barons who oppose Henry.

source_section: Events › By place › England


date: October 10

text: October 10 – German imperial forces under King Conrad IV suppress the Sicilian rebellion and recapture Naples.


text: Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan begin a campaign against the Nizari Ismaili State. An advance guard (12,000 men) under Kitbuqa captures several fortresses in Quhistan.


date: May

text: May – Louis IX of France ("the Saint") dispatches William of Rubruck from Constantinople on a missionary journey to Karakorum to seek an alliance against Syrian and Egyptian Muslims.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – Nichiren, Japanese Buddhist monk, declares his intent to preach the Lotus Sutra and Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō as the true Buddhism, thus founding Nichiren Buddhism.


date: October

text: October – Pope Innocent IV returns to Rome, after being deposed for 9 years by former Emperor Frederick II, whose clash forms an important chapter in the conflict between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire.


text: Sligo Abbey, a Dominican monastery, is founded by Maurice FitzGerald, Norman chief governor of Ireland.


text: Summer – The Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia becomes a vassal state to the expanding Mongol Empire. Prince Daniel of Galicia is crowned king of Ruthenia (rex Russiae) and becomes officially an Orthodox subject of the Papal States.


text: Matthew Paris, English Benedictine chronicler, completes the major part of his Chronica Majora, a chronicle of English history.

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


date: July 6

text: July 6 – Mindaugas and his wife Morta are crowned as king and queen of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Innocent IV offers the crown of Sicily, which he controls, to Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou, both of whom refuse, and later to the 8-year-old Edmund, son of Henry III of England.


text: The upper Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, the earliest important structure of Italian Gothic architecture, is completed in Assisi.


text: Henry III meets with the nobles and church leaders to reaffirm the validity of Magna Carta in exchange for taxation.


text: Kublai Khan introduces the baisha xiyue song and dance suite to the music of Yunnan.


date: March 1

text: March 1 – Mattia de Nazarei, Italian abbess and saint (d. 1319)


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Wareru, founder of the Martaban Kingdom (assassinated 1307)


date: September 11

text: September 11 – Dmitry Borisovich, Russian nobleman and prince of Rostov (d. 1294)


date: October 17

text: October 17 – Ivo of Kermartin, Breton priest and saint (d. 1303)


date: November 25

text: November 25 – Katherine of England, English princess (d. 1257)


text: Nikō, Japanese Buddhist monk and disciple (d. 1314)


text: Blanche of France, daughter of Louis IX ("the Saint") (d. 1323)


text: Everhardt I, count of Limburg and Hohenlimburg (d. 1308)


text: John II ("the One-Eyed"), count of Holstein-Kiel (d. 1321)


text: Berengaria of Castile, Spanish princess and regent (d. 1300)


text: Anna of Greater Poland, Polish princess and abbess (d. 1295)


text: Eschiva of Ibelin, Outremer noblewoman and regent (d. 1312)


text: Amir Khusrau, Indian Sufi musician, poet and scholar (d. 1325)


text: Hugh II (de Lusignan), Cypriot ruler and regent (d. 1267)


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Marino Morosini, doge of Venice (b. 1181)

source_section: Deaths


date: January 18

text: January 18 – King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat") dies and is succeeded by his son Hugh II, who is only a few months old. His mother, Queen Plaisance of Antioch, claims the regency of Cyprus and the titular regency of Jerusalem. The High Court of Cyprus confirms her position, but the barons of Outremer require her attendance in person before they will recognize her. John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa, remains as bailli, and Plaisance contemplates marrying John's youthful son Balian. Meanwhile, King Louis IX of France ("the Saint"), still staying at Acre, continues to administer the government.


date: April 3

text: April 3 – Richard of Chichester, English bishop (b. 1197)


date: April 22

text: April 22 – Elias of Cortona, Italian friar and vicar general


date: June 11

text: June 11 – Amadeus IV, Italian nobleman and knight (b. 1197)


date: June 12

text: June 12 – Boniface II ("the Giant"), king of Thessalonica (b. 1201)


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Theobald I, French nobleman and trouvère (b. 1201)