date: April 5

text: April 5 – Wonjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1274)


section: Births

text: Umiliana de' Cerchi, Italian noblewoman (d. 1246)

source_section: Births


text: Baldwin of Avesnes, French nobleman (d. 1295)


text: Christopher I (or Christoffer), king of Denmark (d. 1259)


text: Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi, Moorish Sufi leader (d. 1287)


text: William Devereux, English nobleman (d. 1265)


text: Ariq Böke (or Buka), Mongol ruler (khagan) (d. 1266)


date: February 6

section: Deaths

text: February 6 – Robert of Courçon, English cardinal (b. 1160)

source_section: Deaths


date: February 13

text: February 13 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1192)


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Rudolph I, Count Palatine of Tübingen (b. 1160)


date: March 22

text: March 22 – Henryk Kietlicz, archbishop of Gniezno (b. 1150)


date: April 30

text: April 30 – Aldebrandus, bishop of Fossombrone (b. 1119)


date: May 1

text: May 1 – Raoul I of Lusignan, French nobleman and knight


date: May 2

text: May 2 – King Leo II (or Levon) of Armenian Cilicia dies, leaving only two daughters. The elder, Stephanie, is the wife of John I; the younger, Isabella, daughter of Princess Sibylla of Cyprus and Jerusalem, is three years old. Leo has promised the succession to his nephew, Raymond-Roupen of Antioch, but on his death-bed he names Isabella as his heir.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: May 2 – Leo II (or Levon), king of Armenian Cilicia (b. 1150)


date: June 17

text: June 17 – David of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (b 1152)


date: October 29

text: October 29 – Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn, Korean ruler (b. 1149)


date: November 3

text: November 3 – Saer de Quincy, English nobleman (b. 1170)


date: November 5

text: November 5 – Hugh IX (the Brown), French nobleman


date: December 17

text: December 17 – Conon de Béthune, French knight (b. 1150)


text: Peter II of Courtenay, Latin emperor of Constantinople


section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Emperor Hadrian orders that a 73-mile (117-kilometer) wall be built to mark the northern Roman Empire while personally visiting the area. Hadrian's Wall, as it comes to be known, is intended to keep the Caledonians, Picts and other tribes at bay.

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


section: Conflict & Security

text: Hadrian gives up the territories conquered in Scotland.


date: September 13

section: Technology & Infrastructure

text: September 13 – The building of Hadrian's Wall begins.


section: Crime & Justice

text: Vindolanda, a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) in northern England, is garrisoned by cohort VIII Batavorum.


section: Climate & Environment

text: Change of era name from Jianguang (2nd year) to Yanguang of the Chinese Eastern Han dynasty.


text: The rebuilding of York Minster begins.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


text: Dordrecht is granted city rights by William I, Count of Holland, making it the oldest city in present-day Netherlands.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


date: March

text: March – Mongol forces led by Genghis Khan besiege Samarkand, the city is defended by some 40,000 men, including a brigade of 20 war elephants. On the third day, the garrison launches a counter-attack, the defenders sent out their elephants, which panic, turn and trample their own men before escaping onto the open plain. Muhammad II attempts to relieve Samarkand twice but is driven back. After a week, the remainder of the garrison surrenders. The city's inhabitants, numbering some 100,000 are enslaved or slaughtered.

source_section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Battle of Lihula: Estonian forces encircle the Lihula stronghold, occupied by an invading Swedish Crusader army. The Swedish troops along with Karl the Deaf try to make their way out, but they are killed.


date: November

text: November – Genghis Khan dispatches his youngest son Tolui, at the head of an army (around 50,000 men), into the Khwarazmian province of Khorasan. His forces also include 300 catapults, 700 mangonels to discharge pots filled with naphtha, 4,000 storming-ladders, and 2,500 sacks of earth for filling up moats. Among the first cities to fall is Termez (captured after a two-day siege) and later Balkh.


text: Polish forces under Konrad I drive out the heathen Prussians, from the Masovian territory of Chełmno Land.


text: Summer – Raymond-Roupen, prince of Antioch, invades Armenian Cilicia, together with his mother, Alice, and establishes himself at Tarsus. There he waits for help from the Knights Hospitaller. Constantine of Baberon, a powerful Armenian nobleman and regent for Queen Isabella, marches with his forces to the Tarsus stronghold.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


text: Autumn – Genghis Khan moves against the wealthy city of Urgench. He is joined by his eldest son Jochi, now conqueror of half a dozen lesser towns who attacks it from the north. Despite a stout defense, the city is taken after a 5-months siege. The Mongols have to fight for Urgench street by street, razing many houses. Jochi is given the right to loot the city for himself, but prefers to negotiate with the locals to avoid property damage. This is refused by Genghis, who removes Jochi from command and appoints Ögedei instead.


date: April 26

section: Religion & Belief

text: April 26 – King Frederick II confirms rights of independence to the German bishops (the Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis) in an attempt to secure the election of his 9-year-old son, Henry VII as King of Germany.


date: May 17

text: May 17 – The 12-year-old Henry III is crowned at Westminster Abbey. He is reminded of his duties as king to maintain peace, defend the rights of the English crown, and the barons swear an oath of fealty.

source_section: Events › By place › United Kingdom


date: November 22

text: November 22 – Frederick II is crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome by Pope Honorius III. He makes Sicily an absolute monarchy and adopts Palermo as its principal seat.


text: The rebuilding of Amiens Cathedral begins.


text: The rebuilding of Oxford Cathedral begins.


text: The rebuilding of Cathedral of Chartres, which had been destroyed by a fire in 1194, is completed.


text: Early part of Toulouse Cathedral is completed.


text: The building of Salisbury Cathedral begins.


text: In France the medical school of the University of Montpellier is granted its first statutes by the German cardinal-bishop Conrad of Urach.

source_section: Events › By topic › Education


text: Spring – King Henry III makes large alterations to the Tower of London including new curtain walls, an improved water-filled ditch, and a water gate, so that he can enter the castle directly from the Thames.


text: Gothic architecture becomes increasingly popular in Europe:


text: Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince of Gwynedd, begins raiding Pembrokeshire to retake land that he accuses William Marshal (the Younger) of stealing. This also includes Wiston Castle.


date: July

section: Disasters & Accidents

text: July – The Crusaders, led by the Knights Hospitaller, raid Burlus, located in the Nile Delta in Egypt. The town is pillaged, but the knights are ambushed on their return, and several Hospitallers, including Grand Master Guérin de Montaigu, are captured. Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Kamil sends an Egyptian squadron down the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It sails to Cyprus, where it finds a Crusader fleet lying off Limassol. During the attack, they sink and capture all the ships, taking many thousands of prisoners.

source_section: Events › By place › Fifth Crusade


text: Summer – The Crusader army is trapped by a Nile flood at Damietta. Cardinal Pelagius sends a Venetian squadron to intercept the Egyptian fleet, and attacks the harbours of Rosetta and Alexandria, but to no effect. Lack of money prevents Pelagius from building a sufficient number of ships, and the papal treasury can not spare him anymore. In September more of the Crusaders return home.


date: March 7

text: March 7 – Giacomo Bianconi, Italian priest (d. 1301)


date: April 1

text: April 1 – Go-Saga, Japanese emperor (d. 1272)


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Ambrose of Sienna, Italian missionary (d. 1287)


date: November 11

text: November 11 – Alphonse II, count of Poitiers (d. 1271)


text: Walter Branscombe, bishop of Exeter (d. 1280)


text: Margaret of Bar, countess of Luxembourg (d. 1275)


text: Mieszko II (the Fat), duke of Kalisz-Wieluń (d. 1246)


text: Roger Bacon, English philosopher and writer (d. 1292)


text: Walram II, German nobleman and knight (d. 1276)


text: Adolf VII, German nobleman and knight (d. 1259)


text: Brunetto Latini, Italian notary and philosopher (d. 1294)


text: Campanus of Novara, Italian astronomer (d. 1296)


text: Joan of Dammartin, French noblewoman (d. 1279)


text: Tanhum of Jerusalem, Israeli lexicographer (d. 1291)


date: January 23

text: January 23 – Bogislaw II, duke of Pomerania (b. 1177)


date: February 17

text: February 17 – Theobald I, German nobleman (b. 1191)


date: February 25

text: February 25 – Albert II, margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1177)


date: March 11

text: March 11 – Isabel de Clare, English noblewoman (b. 1172)


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Adolf of Altena, archbishop of Cologne (b. 1157)


date: May 5

text: May 5 – Angelus of Jerusalem, Jerusalemite priest (b.1185)


date: May 8

text: May 8 – Rikissa of Denmark, queen of Sweden (b. 1180)


date: June 1

text: June 1 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Karl the Deaf, Swedish nobleman


date: November 2

text: November 2 – Radulf II, Scottish monk and abbot


date: November 3

text: November 3 – Urraca of Castile, queen of Portugal (b. 1186)


text: November 3 – Adelaide II, German noblewoman and abbess


text: Summer – Muhammad II flees westwards across northern Iran, hoping to find safety in the rugged and isolated region of Mazandaran on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. He is pursued by 20,000 Mongol forces led by Subutai and Jebe (the Arrow). Abandoned by the remnants of his panic-stricken troops, Muhammad seeks shelter on a small island near Astara. There he dies of pleurisy some weeks later. He is succeeded by his son Jalal al-Din Mangburni, who is forced to flee to India after the Mongol invasion (see 1219).


text: Muhammad II, Khwarezmid viceroy and ruler (b. 1169)


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Emperor Juntoku is forced to abdicate, and is briefly succeeded by his 2-year-old son Chūkyō on the throne of Japan. Ex-Emperor Go-Toba leads the unsuccessful Jōkyū War against the Kamakura shogunate.


date: February

text: February – The cities of Merv (perhaps the world's largest up to this date), Herat and Nishapur which have peacefully surrendered rise up in arms. Genghis Khan sends his son Tolui to spend an extra month to subdue the revolts. Contemporary scholars report over a million people are systematically killed in a genocide.


date: July 4

text: July 4 – Pelagius orders a three-days fast in preparation for the advance. King John I of Jerusalem arrives at Damietta to rejoin the Crusade at the command of Honorius III. The Crusader force moves towards Sheremsah, halfway between Faraskur and Mansoura on the east bank of the Nile, occupying the city on July 12. Sources tell of 630 ships of various sizes, 5,000 knights, 4,000 archers, and 40,000 men. A horde of pilgrims march with the army. They are ordered to keep close to the river, to supply the Crusaders with water. Pelagius plans a new offensive and leaves a large garrison at Damietta.


date: August 28

text: August 28 – Pelagius sues for peace and sends an envoy to Al-Kamil. The terms of surrender are accepted, which includes the retreat from Damietta – leaving Egypt with the remnants of the Crusader army and an 8-year truce. After prisoners are exchanged, Al-Kamil enters Damietta on September 8. The Fifth Crusade ends with nothing gained for the West, with much lost, men, resources and reputations. The Crusaders blame Frederick II for not being there. Pelagius is accused of ineffectual leadership and a misguided view, which has led to rejecting the sultan's peace offerings.


date: October

text: October – The Mongol army raids Georgia for the second time, and Subutai and Jebe allow their forces to pass through the Caucasus Mountains.


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Battle of the Indus: Left with some 20,000 men, Jalal al-Din Mangburni has headed for the Indus River where Genghis catches up with him. In a desperate battle the Khwarezmain forces are destroyed, completing the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, while Jalal al-Din flees across the river and escapes into India.


text: The Maya of the Yucatán revolt against the rulers of Chichen Itza.

source_section: Events › By place › Mesoamerica


text: Siege of Tallinn: An Estonian Crusader army tries to conquer the Danish stronghold of Tallinn with the help of Revalians, Harrians and Vironians. They besiege the stronghold for 14 days but finally retreat their forces.


date: July 24

text: July 24 – Pelagius moves the Crusader forces near Ashmun al-Rumman, on the opposite bank from Mansoura. Queen-Regent Alice of Cyprus and leaders of the military orders warn Pelagius of a large Muslim army being formed in Syria. Meanwhile, the Egyptian army under Al-Kamil crosses the Nile near Lake Manzaleh and establishes themselves between the Crusader camp and Damietta. In the Ushmum canal at Sheremsah, Al-Kamil's ships sail down the Nile and block the Crusaders' line of communications to Damietta. In August, Pelagius orders a retreat, but the route is cut off by Egyptians.


date: June 16

text: June 16 – The Jewish population of Erfurt (Duchy of Thuringia) is massacred after a ritual murder libel. A crowd storms the synagogue where the Jews have gathered with the threat of baptism or death. The Jewish quarter, including the synagogue, is razed: many Jews are tortured and killed.


date: June 21

section: Culture & Society

text: June 21 – 10-year-old Joan of England, eldest daughter of the late King John, marries the 21-year-old King Alexander II of Scotland at York Minster.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


date: July 29

text: July 29 – The 9-year-old Go-Horikawa ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan. He is a grandson of the late Emperor Takakura and a nephew of the exiled Go-Toba.


text: May 13 – Alexander Nevsky, Kievan Grand Prince (d. 1263)


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Przemysł I, Polish nobleman and knight (d. 1257)


date: October 9

text: October 9 – Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler (d. 1290)


text: November 2 – Saif al-Din Qutuz, Egyptian military leader (d. 1260)


date: November 23

text: November 23 – Alfonso X ("the Wise"), king of Castile (d. 1284)


text: Hugh XI of Lusignan, French nobleman and knight (d. 1250)


text: Bonaventure, Italian theologian and philosopher (d. 1274)


text: Barisone III, Sardinian judge of Logudoro (or Torres) (d. 1236)


text: Nisshō, Japanese Buddhist priest and teacher (d. 1323)


text: Theobald II, Count of Bar, French nobleman and knight (d. 1291)


text: Margaret of Provence, queen consort of France (d. 1295)


text: William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and knight (d. 1268)


text: Walter Devereux, Anglo-Norman nobleman and knight (d. 1292)


date: January 17

text: January 17 – Walter de Clifford, English nobleman (b. 1160)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen (b. 1162)


date: March 27

text: March 27 – Berengaria of Portugal, queen consort of Denmark (b. 1198)


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Baruch ben Samuel of Mainz, German rabbi


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Peter of Cornwall, English priest and writer (b. 1140)


date: August 6

text: August 6 – Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, canonized (b. 1170)


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Geoffrey of Rohan, French nobleman (b. 1190)


date: October 4

text: October 4 – William IV of Ponthieu (Talvas), Norman nobleman (b. 1179)


date: October 21

text: October 21 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (or Alis), Breton noblewoman (b. 1200)


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Ulrich II, Bishop of Passau, German abbot and prince-bishop


date: November

text: November – Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea (b. 1175)


date: December

text: December – Roger of San Severino, archbishop of Benevento


text: Spring – Mutukan commander of Mongol Empire


text: Adam of Perseigne, French Cistercian abbot (b. 1145)


text: Chiconquiauhtzin becomes Ruler of the City-state Azcapotzalco at the Valley of Mexico


text: Ottokar I of Bohemia reunites Bohemia and Moravia.


text: After the invasion and destruction of the Khwarezmian Empire in 1221, Genghis Khan returns to Mongolia, and a rebellion sparks in Helmand, to which the response is a large army led by Ögedei Khan sent into the region to put an end to the rebellion of Muhammad the Marghani, resulting in the killing of every man in Ghazni and Helmand, and the enslavement and selling of most of the women of the region.


text: The Ghurid dynasty capital of Firozkoh (in modern-day Afghanistan) is destroyed, by Mongol Emperor Ögedei Khan.


section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Livonian Crusade – The Danish fail in their attempt to conquer Saaremaa Island from the Estonians.


date: April 17

text: April 17 – Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury in England, opens a council at Osney Abbey, Oxford.


date: May 9

text: May 9 – Synod of Oxford – The 1222 Christian Synod of Oxford passes antisemitic laws that forbid social interactions between Jews and Christians, places a specific tithe on Jews and requires them to wear an identifying badge.


text: The Cistercian convent in Alcobaça, Portugal, is completed.


text: Genghis Khan’s armies were said to have killed approximately 1.6 million people in the city of Herat, in Northwestern Afghanistan.


date: May 11

text: May 11 – 1222 Cyprus earthquake.


date: December 25

text: December 25 – The 1222 Brescia earthquake is so powerful that the inhabitants of Brescia leave their city en masse and camp outside so that falling buildings would not crush them, according to chronicler Salimbene de Adam.


date: December 15

text: December 15 – The Golden Bull of 1222 is issued in Hungary, limiting the power of the monarchy over the nobility.


text: Approximate date – The Royal Standard of Scotland is adopted.


text: Traditional date – The University of Padua is founded in Italy, by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.


date: February 16

text: February 16 – Nichiren, founder of Nichiren Buddhism (d. 1282)


date: August 4

text: August 4 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (d. 1262)


text: Queen Jeongsun (Wonjong) of Korea (d. 1237)


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Alexios Megas Komnenos, first Emperor of Trebizond


date: March 10

text: March 10 – Johan Sverkersson, king of Sweden since 1216 (b. 1201)


date: June 23

text: June 23 – Constance of Aragon, Holy Roman Empress, queen consort of Hungary (b. 1179)


date: August 2

text: August 2 – Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse (b. 1156)


date: August 12

text: August 12 – Duke Vladislaus III of Bohemia


date: August

text: August – After the death of John I of Sweden on March 10, 6-year-old Erik Eriksson is elected new King of Sweden (sometime between this time and July 1223).


text: Theodore I Lascaris, founder of the Byzantine Empire of Nicaea


date: January 18

text: January 18 – After a failed attempt on December 28, the Mongol General Muqali leads a second attack on the Chinese fortress of Fengxiang and fails.

source_section: Events › January–March


date: January 29

text: January 29 – Battle of Viljandi: During a church service, the Sakalians attack the Germans inside the stronghold of Viljandi Castle. The Estonian forces kill members of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and many merchants.


date: February 6

text: February 6 – Dispatched by Genghis Khan, the Mongol General Muqali makes a third and final attempt to capture Fengxiang, but fails again, ending the Mongol attempts.


date: April

text: April – The Russian princes lead their separate armies from different parts of Russia, to assemble 60 kilometres downriver from Kiev. There are three main groups of princes taking part in the campaign; the Kievan army is represented by Grand Prince Mstislav Romanovich (the Old). The second group are the Chernigov and Smolensk armies under Prince Mstislav II. The third group is the Galician-Volhynian army under Mstislav Mstislavich with his son-in-law Daniel of Galicia, leaving from northern Ukraine.

source_section: Events › Other events, by place › Mongol Empire


date: May 15

text: May 15 – The Russian army gathers on the island of Khortytsia, later to become a famous Cossack base, at the mouth of the Dnieper River, next to modern-day Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine). The main Polovtsian forces led by Köten Khan, join the Russians here, which consist entirely of mounted archers. Compared to this, some 20,000–25,000 Mongols assemble and build a defensive encampment on the high ground, probably on the northern slopes of the Mohila Bel'mak hills, located near the Konka River.

source_section: Events › April–June


date: May 16

text: May 16 – Mstislav Mstislavich leads a small detachment of his own men, and some Polovtsians to the far bank of the Dnieper River – where they attack a part of the Mongol advance guard. The Mongols promptly fleeing into the steppes. Mstislavich pursues them and captures their commander named Gemyabek or Hamabek who seeks refuge behind a wooden fence surrounding a Polovtsian burial site. The captive's fate is sealed when the Polovtsians ask Mstislavich to hand him over – to execute.


date: May 31

text: May 31 – Battle of the Kalka River: The Russian cavalry successfully attacks the Mongol vanguard and crosses the Kalka River in what is now Ukraine. The Polovtsian and Volhynian cavalry led by Daniel of Galicia form the Russian vanguard. Meanwhile, the army of Kiev waits on the western side of the Kalka River. The Russians fail to co-ordinate their attacks, they advance in separate formations and become divided by the Kalka River. In the afternoon, the Russian army collapses under continuous Mongol attacks.


date: June

text: June – Mstislav Mstislavich escapes back to the Dnieper River with the remnants of his Galician army. Mstislav Romanovich (the Old) surrenders and is executed. According to sources, he and other Russian nobles are slowly suffocated to death during a Mongol 'drunken feast', they are tied up and laid flat on the ground beneath what is described as a wooden 'bridge' (or platform), on which Subutai, Jebe and their officers feast. This is revenge for killing the Mongol ambassadors.


date: October 8

text: October 8 – At Montgomery in Wales, King Henry III of England reaches a peaceful settlement with Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, the powerful ruler of the semi-independent Principality of Gwynedd, following a mediation by Ranulf de Blondeville, the Earl of Chester.

source_section: Events › October–December


text: The Mongol army invades Polovtsian territory and defeats the Polovtsians in a great battle near the Don River. Several Polovtsian leaders are killed – while the remainder flees westwards, across the Dnieper River, to seek support by various Russian princes. Steppe lands east of the Dnieper fall under Mongol control, Subutai and Jebe raise the wealthy city of Astrakhan on the Volga River. Subutai now parts his forces, he moves south to the Crimea (or Tauric Peninsula), while Jebe travels towards the Dnieper.


text: Late April – The Russian and Polovtsian armies march down the west bank of the Dnieper River. Within a few days of the march beginning, a second group of Mongol ambassadors appear in the Russian camp and again offer peace. When their offers are rebuffed, the ambassadors are allowed to leave unharmed. Meanwhile, Russian forces from Galicia arrive by boat or cart-loads of equipment and food, along the Black Sea coast and up the Dnieper River, screened by Mongol forces on the east bank.


text: Mongol forces capture the nominally Genoese trading outpost of Sudak, probably with the tacit approval of neighbouring rival Venetian outposts in the Crimea. Subutai promises to destroy any non-Venetian colonies in the area. In return, the Venetians provide Subutai with information about the kingdoms in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Köten Khan, Cuman/Kipchak chieftain of the Polovtsians, convinces Prince Mstislav Mstislavich of Galicia to form an alliance, and informs him of his plight against the Mongols.


text: Late May – The Mongol army under Subutai and Jebe establishes a defensive position on the Kalka River. Increasing disagreements amongst the Russian princes, about the wisdom of continuing to pursue the Mongols deeper into the steppes. By the end of May, the allied forces reach the banks of the Kalka River. The Polovtsian vanguard is way ahead of the rest of the Russian army, which gives them a triumphant feeling. Meanwhile, Subutai and Jebe set up a trap against the Russian forces.


text: Livonian Crusade: The Estonians revolt against the Livonian Brothers of the Sword and Denmark, and for a brief period reconquer all of their strongholds except for Tallinn.

source_section: Events › Other events, by place › Europe


text: Battle of Samara Bend: A Volga-Bulgarian army under Ghabdula Chelbir defeats the Mongols, probably led by Subutai, Jebe and Jochi. The Bulgars retreat during the battle but the Mongols pursue them. Then the main Bulgar forces ambush the Mongols. Subutai and Jebe retreat their forces near the city of Sarai (future capital of the Golden Horde), not far from where the Volga River empties into the Caspian Sea.


text: Spring – The Polovtsian army assembles on the Terek River lowlands and are joined by Alan, Circassian, and Don Kipchak/Cuman forces. The Mongol army crosses the Caucasus Mountains, but is trapped in the narrow mountain passes. The Mongol generals Subutai and Jebe (the Arrow) send an embassy to the Polovtsians and convince them to break their alliance with the Caucasian peoples. The Mongol cavalry invades the Caucasus region and devastates the local villages, seizing slaves, cattle and horses.


text: The Mongol leaders Subutai and Jebe receive news that Jochi, who camps north of the Caspian Sea, will not be able to provide the expected reinforcements due to Jochi's reported illness or suspected refusal to obey his father Genghis Khan's orders. Subutai sends an embassy to the Russian princes, to offer peace and perhaps attempt to break the Russian alliance with the Polovtsians. But the Mongol ambassadors are executed – a task eagerly carried out by Köten Khan's followers, by the end of April.


date: January 4

text: January 4 – Germanus II takes office as Patriarch of Constantinople, leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, after moving the patriarchate's capital 56 mi from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to Nicaea (now Iznik in Turkey), as the guest of John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea.


date: February

text: February – A council of Russian princes summons at Kiev; several princes are convinced by Köten Khan to assemble an allied army to drive the Mongols back. During the first half of March, Russian princes return to their principalities and begin to raise forces for the forthcoming campaign. The alliance has a combined force of some 60,000 men, mainly cavalry. Subutai unites his army with Jebe, and sends ambassadors to the Kievan Rus' princes, to tell them to stay out of the conflict as it didn't involve them.


date: March 23

text: March 23 – At a meeting in Ferentino at the imperial villa of the Papal States, Pope Honorius III hosts a meeting with the newly-widowed Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor; John I, King of Jerusalem; Patriarch Raoul of Mérencourt; and papal legate Pelagius Galvani to prepare for the Sixth Crusade by European Christians against the Muslims of the Middle East. Frederick agrees to lead the crusade in return for being able to marry John's daughter, Yolande of Brienne.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Pope Honorius III issues a papal bull relaxing the strict rules that had applied to monks of the Valliscaulian Order.


date: August 6

text: August 6 – The coronation of King Louis VIII of France takes place at the Reims Cathedral.

source_section: Events › July–September


date: August 10

text: August 10 – The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, whose followers are called the Mercedarians, is legally constituted in Barcelona by King James I of Aragon. It will receive papal approval 12 years later.


date: October 20

text: October 20 – Otto I, Duke of Merania, issues five charters for lavish donations to religious communities.


date: November 1

text: November 1 – King Louis VIII of France issues an ordinance prohibiting the kingdom's officials from registering debts owed to Jewish moneylenders, and limiting the lenders to a recovery of the principal amount owed, without interest.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – Pope Honorius III approves the Franciscan Rule (also called "Regula Bullata"). The rule sets regulations for discipline, preaching, and entering the order for Franciscan friars.


date: December 24

text: December 24 – Father Francis of Assisi (Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone), founder of the Order of the Franciscans with in the Roman Catholic Church, begins the tradition of celebrating Christmas with a nativity scene. Having received permission from Pope Honorius III, Francis arranges for a display in a cave near the Italian city of Greccio, with the representation of the events associated with the birth of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, using real people and animals.


text: Pope Honorius III gives his legate to France, Conrad d'Urach, free authority to negotiate a peace with Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, in France.


date: September 29

section: Economy & Finance

text: September 29 – King James I of Aragon halts the minting of new coins for the next seven years in order to prevent the devaluation of the kingdom's medium of exchange.


date: May 17

text: May 17 – Daniel of Galicia leads a reconnaissance in force east of the Dnieper River, using a bridge of boats. He defeats a Mongol detachment, who abandons their herds and local prisoners. Following these successful sorties, the entire Russian and Polovtsian armies start a 9 day march towards the main Mongol army. Numerous carts move across the steppes, loaded with mail, heavy armour, as well as shields, protected by Russian cavalry. The Mongol forces retreat towards the Kalka River.


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Henry I, Count of Schwerin, kidnaps the King of Denmark, Valdemar II and the king's 14-year-old son, Valdemar the Young, after landing with a group of soldiers on the island of Lyø, where King Valdemar had been hunting. King Valdemar will be held captive for three years until Easter Sunday of 1226, and released after payment of 44,000 silver marks and the surrendering of lands taken 20 years earlier in Holstein.


date: February 2

text: February 2 – Ireland enjoys its first dry day in almost five months, as rains that had started on September 14 halt by the celebration of the Purification of St. Mary, as noted by The Annals of Loch Se.


date: April 14

text: April 14 – On the island of Sri Lanka, King Chodaganga Deva lands at Trincomalee on the Tamil New Year's Day (the 1st of Chittirai of Shaka era year 1145) and makes a large donation to fund the Hindu Koneswaram Temple. The event is commemorated in an inscription in the Sanskrit language in the temple.


date: January 25

text: January 25 – Maud de Lacy, English noblewoman (d. 1289)

source_section: Births


text: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales (d. 1282)


text: Ichijō Sanetsune, Japanese nobleman (d. 1284)


text: Ibn Abd al-Zahir, Egyptian historian (d. 1293)


text: Michael VIII (Palaiologos), Byzantine emperor (d. 1282)


text: Stefan Uroš I (the Great), king of Serbia (d. 1277)


text: John Fitzalan II, English nobleman (d. 1267)


text: Guido I da Montefeltro, Italian nobleman (d. 1298)


text: Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (d. 1291)


text: Mugai Nyodai, Japanese Zen Master (d. 1298)


text: Hugh le Despencer, English nobleman (d. 1265)


text: Frederick of Castile, Spanish nobleman (d. 1277)


text: Baibars, Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria (d. 1277)


date: January 18

text: January 18 – Rusudan becomes the new Queen of Georgia after her brother, King George IV, dies of injuries received four months earlier in the Battle of Khunan against the Mongols.


date: March 8

text: March 8 – Wincenty Kadłubek, bishop of Kraków (b. 1150)

source_section: Deaths


date: March 25

text: March 25 – Afonso II (the Fat), king of Portugal (b. 1185)


text: March 25 – Sancho II "the Pious" becomes the new King of Portugal upon the death of his father, King Afonso II "the Fat".


date: May 31

text: May 31 – Mstislav Svyatoslavich, Kievan prince (b. 1168)


date: June 4

text: June 4 – Hugh of Beaulieu, English abbot and bishop


date: June 16

text: June 16 – The Mongol General Subutai withdraws eastward after the victory at the Battle of the Kalka River, after General Jebe has died.


date: July 7

text: July 7 – Ibn Qudamah, Umayyad theologian (b. 1147)


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Konoe Motomichi, Japanese nobleman (b. 1160)


date: July 14

text: July 14 – Philip II, King of France dies of a fever while traveling to Paris. He is succeeded by his son Louis "the Lion", who takes the name King Louis VIII.


text: Sancho (or Sanche), Aragonese nobleman (b. 1161)


text: Autumn – Mongol forces under Jochi, Subutai and Jebe attack and defeat the Qangl Turks (eastern Kipchaks or Wild Polovtsians), killing their ruler. During the winter, they continue eastwards across the Great Steppe. Jebe (possibly poisoned) suddenly dies of a fever near the Imil River.


text: Unkei, Japanese Buddhist monk and sculptor (b. 1150)


text: Gerald of Wales, Norman archdeacon and writer (b. 1146)


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Representatives of King Louis VIII of France and Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, sign a treaty at Catania, providing that neither of the monarchs would harbor rebels from the other.

source_section: Events › October – December


date: December

text: December – Theodore Komnenos (Doukas), ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, captures Thessaloniki – beginning the de facto Byzantine Empire of Thessalonica. Later, Theodore Komnenos was crowned Byzantine emperor but is not recognized as such by the rest of the Greek or Latin population.


date: May 5

text: May 5 – King Louis VIII (the Lion) declares war on King Henry III of England. He allies himself with Hugh X of Lusignan and invades first Poitou and then Northern Gascony. The English forces in Poitou are under-strength and lack support from the Poitevin nobles; as a result, the province quickly falls into French hands by the end of June.

source_section: Events › April – June


date: June 20

text: June 20 – The siege of Bedford Castle by King Henry III of England begins.


date: August 15

text: August 15 – The garrison at Bedford Castle, belonging to Falkes de Bréauté, surrenders to Henry III after a two-month siege that ends after the castle has been undermined by a fire and fallen. After the garrison surrenders, the defenders are all hanged by order of the king. Falkes is allowed to leave the country but loses all his possessions. Bedford Castle is badly damaged as a result.

source_section: Events › July – September


date: September

text: September – Abdallah al-Adil (the Just), governor in Al-Andalus, challenges the Almohad throne and captures Seville. He marches to Marrakesh to confront Abu Muhammad al-Wahid. Abdallah seizes the royal palace and deposes Muhammad al-Wahid, who is strangled to death.


date: October

text: October – Lý Huệ Tông, Emperor of Vietnam, cedes the throne to his second daughter, the Princess Chiêu Thánh, who becomes the Empress Regnant Lý Chiêu Hoàng. Trần Thủ Độ then arranges a marriage between the Empress and Trần Cảnh, the 8-year-old son of Trần Thừa, and ends the rule of the Lý dynasty by making the Empress pass the throne to Trần Cảnh the following year.


text: Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword defeat the Estonians and reconquer the captured strongholds on the Estonian mainland. With the surrender of the Tartu stronghold, only the islands of Saaremaa and Muhu remain under Estonian control.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


text: Spring – The Mongol army led by Subutai and Jochi cross the steppes of modern Kazakhstan, and returns to the horde of Genghis Khan on the Irtysh River. At a great kurultai or gathering of chiefs, Subutai reports on the Western campaign. Jochi submits to Genghis and his supposed 'insubordination' (see 1220) is forgiven. As a result of the Mongol invasion in 1219–1223, Kazakhstan and Central Asia become part of the Mongol Empire.

source_section: Events › By place › Asia


text: Spring – Falkes de Bréauté, English high sheriff and a rival of Henry III, refuses to relinquish his castles and starts a rebellion. Cardinal Stephen Langton and forces under Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent deal with Falkes and the castles are handed over. Falkes is found guilty of 16 counts of wrongful disseisin; he and his brother William are excommunicated by Langton.


date: February 20

text: February 20 – Jacopo Tiepolo (later: Doge of the Republic of Venice, 1229–1249), reaches an agreement in his capacity as Podestà, with Robert I, Emperor of Constantinople Latin Emperor, for favorable treatment for the Venetians in the Empire.

source_section: Events › January – March


date: March 1

text: March 1 – Pope Honorius III sends a letter to the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, Francisco Clemente Pérez Capera, notifying him that the armies and navies of the Holy Roman Empire, the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Sicily will be departing soon to begin the Sixth Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the Arab rulers.


date: June 5

text: June 5 – The University of Naples is founded by Emperor Frederick II. Frederick's main purpose is to create an institution of higher learning that will put an end to the predominance of the universities of northern Italy, most notably these of Bologna and Padua, which are considered either too independent or under the strong influence of \Pope Honorius III.


date: September 14

text: September 14 – Francis of Assisi, while praying on the mountain of La Verna during a 40-day fast, has a vision, as a result of which he receives the stigmata. Brother Leo, who is with Francis at the time, leaves a clear and simple account of this event, the first definite account of the phenomenon of stigmata.


date: April 23

text: April 23 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, one of the enforcers of the Magna Carta, marries Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester, the nine-year-old daughter of the late King John of England and sister of King Henry III, in order to strengthen the Marshal family's connection with the House of Plantagenet.


date: March 5

text: March 5 – Kinga of Poland, high duchess of Poland (d. 1292)


date: March 20

text: March 20 – Sophie of Thuringia, duchess of Brabant (d. 1275)


date: June 14

text: June 14 – Matilda of Brabant, countess of Artois (d. 1288)


text: Maud de Braose, English noblewoman (d. 1301)


text: Margery de Burgh, Norman noblewoman (d. 1252)


text: Isabelle of France, French princess and nun (d. 1270)


text: Jean de Joinville, French historian and writer (d. 1317)


text: Hōjō Tsunetoki, Japanese regent (shikken; d. 1246)


text: Pribislaw I, German nobleman and knight (d. 1275)


text: Elena of Bulgaria, empress of Nicaea (d. 1258)


text: Alice de Lusignan, countess of Surrey (d. 1256)


text: Teruko, Japanese princess and empress (d. 1262)


text: Herman I, German nobleman and knight (d. 1290)


text: William II, French nobleman and knight (d. 1251)


date: January 14

text: January 14 – Xuan Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1163)


text: January 14 – Emperor Xuan Zong of the Chinese Jurchen-led Jin dynasty dies after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his 25-year-old son, Ai Zong, who conquers more Song territory during the Jin–Song Wars.


date: February

text: February – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) announces his intention to resume the Reconquista against the realm of the Almohad Caliphate. Caliph Yusuf II al-Mustansir dies and is succeeded by Abu Muhammad al-Wahid, but in Al-Andalus, two competing pretenders also claim their rights to the throne: Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Mansur al-Adil in Seville and Abu Muhammad abu Abdallah al-Bayyasi in Córdoba. The chronic political instability on the Almohad site allows Ferdinand to begin his campaign victoriously in October, with the capture of Quesada in Spain.


date: March 24

text: March 24 – Conrad III, German cleric and bishop (b. 1165)


date: March 27

text: March 27 – William of Sainte-Mère-Église, Norman bishop


date: April 14

text: April 14 – Matilda of Dendermonde, Flemish noblewoman


date: April 30

text: April 30 – Bernard II, German nobleman and knight (b. 1140)


date: July 1

text: July 1 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, Japanese regent (shikken; b. 1163)


date: July 16

text: July 16 – (28th day of 6th month of Gennin 1); Hōjō Yasutoki becomes the new regent (shikken) for the Kamakura shogunate in Japan after the death of his father, Hōjō Yoshitoki.


date: July 24

text: July 24 – Christina the Astonishing, Flemish saint (b. 1150)


date: August 15

text: August 15 – Marie of France, duchess of Brabant (b. 1198)


date: September 17

text: September 17 – Emperor Ning Zong of the Chinese Song dynasty dies at Hangzhou, possibly from poisoning, after a 30-year reign. He is succeeded by his relative, Li Zong, as all of Ning Zong's children have died.


text: September 17 – Ning Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1168)


text: Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, king of Connacht (b. 1153)


date: February 11

text: February 11 – The Charter of the Forest is restored to its traditional rights by King Henry III. 'Free men' are allowed to find pasture for their pigs, collect firewood, graze animals, or cut turf for fuel. At this time, however, only about 10 percent of the population is 'free', the rest are locked into service to a local landowner, some of them little more than slaves.


text: The Teutonic Knights are expelled from Transylvania by King Andrew II, because they wanted to separate from Hungary.


date: May 30

text: May 30 – King Louis VII of France meets in Péronne with a hermit who claims to be Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders and the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, who had not been seen in public since being taken a prisoner in Bulgaria. Concluding that the hermit is an impostor, King Louis gives the man three days to leave France, and the "false Baldwin" instead leads a rebellion, eventually losing and being executed.


date: July 25

text: July 25 – Jalal al-Din Mangburni dethrones Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek, ruler (atabeg) of the Eldiguzids, and sets himself up in the capital of Tabriz (modern Iran).


date: November 17

text: November 17 – After being taken prisoner of war at the Battle of Mölln in January, the Danish governor Albrecht signs the Peace of Bardowick in order to obtain his freedom, ceding Holstein to Adolf of Schauenberg, in addition to releasing King Valdemar II of Denmark and his son Valdemar the Younger, who both had been kidnapped in 1223 and held as prisoners.


text: Summer – Battle of Garni: Khwarezmid forces led by Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeat the Georgian army (some 70,000 men) at Garni. The royal court of Queen Rusudan moves to Kutaisi, while the Georgian capital Tbilisi is besieged by the Khwarezmians.

source_section: Events › By place › Middle East


text: Autumn – Subutai is assigned a new campaign by Genghis Khan against the Tanguts. He crosses the Gobi Desert with a Mongol army and advances south into the Western Xia (or Xi Xia). Meanwhile, Genghis, in his mid-sixties, becomes wounded during hunting. His injury – a dislocated shoulder, perhaps, or a bruised rib – forces him to take some rest.

source_section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire


text: Iltutmish, Ghurid ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, repels a Mongol attack and invades Bengal. His rival, Ghiyasuddin, leads an army to halt Iltutmish's advance, but decides to avoid a conflict by paying him tribute and accepting his suzerainty.


date: March 23

text: March 23 – Prince Richard of Cornwall, brother of King Henry III of England, and his uncle William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, depart England on with 77 warriors on an expedition to fight in Aquitaine in France, and soon land at Bordeaux, then on to capture La Rochelle. As the expedition progresses, Richard's expedition captures La Réole and Bergerac by November.


text: February 11 – The Magna Carta is reaffirmed (for the third time) by Henry III, in return for issuing a property tax. It becomes the definitive version of the text.


date: March 3

text: March 3 – As the envoy of Pope Honorius III, Romanus, Cardinal-deacon of San Angelo, leaves Rome to travel to France to the court of King Louis XIII.


date: April 15

text: April 15 – Pope Honorius III issues the papal bull Magistro Andree canonico Palentino, granting the Andree, a former Jew who converted to Christianity, the title of canon of Palencia, with full eccleastical dignities.


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Gerold of Lausanne, French bishop of Valence, becomes the new Latin patriarch of Jerusalem (until 1239).


date: May 15

text: May 15 – Pope Honorius exhorts Hungarian Catholics to launch the Bosnian Crusade against the autonomous Bosnian Church Christians.


date: June 10

text: June 10 – Pope Honorius III issues the bull Vineae Domini custodes in which he approves the mission of two friars to Morocco. The bull is reissued in October when Honorius III exhorts the Dominican and Franciscan order to participate in that mission.


text: July 25 – Emperor Frederick II takes an oath at San Germano (near Cassino) and promises to depart on a Crusade (the Sixth Crusade), for the Near East in August 1227. He sends 1000 knights to the Levant and provides Rome with 100,000 ounces of gold, to be forfeited to the Catholic Church should he break his vow. These funds will be returned to Frederick once he arrives at Acre.


text: July 25 – The Agreement of San Germano is signed between the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Honorius III, with the Emperor Frederick agreeing to lead the Sixth Crusade to recapture Jerusalem and the rest of the Christian Holy Land in the Middle East from the Muslims. In return for the financing and the provision of soldiers by the Catholis Church in Syria, Frederick agrees to launch the Crusade on or before August 15, 1227.


date: July 27

text: July 27 – Visby Cathedral in Sweden is consecrated.


date: September 11

text: September 11 – The Republic of Massa is founded in Central Italy with Bernardino del fu Losco as its first podesta appointed by the council of nine lords to serve as executive of the independent state.


text: The 8-year-old Henry I (the Fat) is crowned as king of Cyprus in the Cathedral of Saint Sophia at Nicosia. His uncle Philip of Ibelin orders the coronation, so that when Henry comes of age at fifteen a regency could not be prolonged on the ground that he is not yet crowned.

source_section: Events › By place › Levant


date: May 25

text: May 25 – At his royal palace in Bergen, King Haakon IV of Norway marries Margaret Skulesdatter, daughter of Haakon's rival for the throne, Skule Bårdsson.


date: November 9

text: November 9 – Frederick II marries the 14-year-old Queen Yolande, heiress to the kingdom of Jerusalem, and adds the Crusader States to his dominions.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – The 12-year-old Henry VII, by order of his father Frederick II, marries Margaret of Austria, daughter of Duke Leopold VI the Glorious.


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Lý Chiêu Hoàng, the only empress regnant in the history of Vietnam, marries Trần Thái Tông, making him the first ruler of the Trần dynasty.


text: Guigues VII, ruler (dauphin) of Viennois (d. 1269)


text: Walter Giffard, English Lord Chancellor (d. 1279)


text: Saionji Kisshi, Japanese empress consort (d. 1292)


text: Todros ben Joseph Abulafia, Spanish rabbi (d. 1285)


text: Amato Ronconi, Italian nobleman and monk (d. 1292)


text: Thomas Aquinas, Italian friar and theologian (d. 1274)


text: Chabi, Mongol empress and wife of Kublai Khan (d. 1281)


text: Gaston VII (Froissard), viscount of Béarn (d. 1290)


text: Guido Guinizelli, Italian poet and writer (d. 1276)


text: Beatrice of Bohemia, German noblewoman (d. 1290)


text: Beatrice of Brabant, countess of Flanders (d. 1288)


text: Fujiwara no Kitsushi, Japanese empress (d. 1292)


text: David VI Narin (the Clever), king of Georgia (d. 1293)


text: Sanchia of Provence, queen of Germany (d. 1261)


date: January 3

text: January 3 – Adolf III of Holstein, German nobleman (b. 1160)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Hugh Bigod, English nobleman (b. 1182)


date: March 30

text: March 30 – Gertrude of Dagsburg, French noblewoman


date: May 6

text: May 6 – John of Fountains, English prelate and bishop


date: June 8

text: June 8 – Sabrisho IV, patriarch of the Church of the East


date: June 21

text: June 21 – Conrad of Krosigk, German prelate and bishop


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Ōe no Hiromoto, Japanese nobleman (b. 1148)


date: August 16

text: August 16 – Hōjō Masako, Japanese noblewoman (b. 1156)


date: September 17

text: September 17 – William VI, marquis of Montferrat (b. 1173)


date: September 29

text: September 29 – Arnaud Amalric, French abbot and bishop


date: October 5

text: October 5 – Caliph Al-Nasir dies from dysentery at Baghdad after a 45-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Zahir as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.


text: October 5 – Al-Nasir, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (b. 1158)


date: October 28

text: October 28 – Jien, Japanese poet and historian (b. 1155)


date: November 7

text: November 7 – Engelbert II of Berg, archbishop of Cologne


date: January 11

text: January 11 – At Đông Kinh (now Hanoi), Trần Thái Tông begins a 32-year reign as the Vietnamese Emperor of Dai Viet, beginning the Trần dynasty.


date: April 5

text: April 5 – The Treaty of Melun is concluded between France (ruled by King Louis VIII) and Flanders, ruled jointly of by Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Hainaut, with France agreeing to release her husband Count Ferrand


text: The Teutonic Knights undertake a new Crusade, attempting to subdue the pagan Prussians, who occupy a part of the Baltic coast. They are invited to Poland by High Duke Konrad I of Masovia, a grandson of Bolesław III Wrymouth. Their task is to defend Masovia against raids of the Prussians. After defeating them, the German knights set up their own state, which they named after the pagan people they have all but annihilated – Prussia.


date: February 25

text: February 25 – (Karoku 2, 27th day of 1st month) In Japan, 8-year-old Kujō Yoritsune is raised to the status of the Shōgun Fujiwara no Yoritsune of the Kamakura shogunate by the Emperor Go-Horikawa, but the power over the Imperial military remains with the regent Hōjō Yoshitoki.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Khwarazmian Empire forces commanded by the Muslim Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni capture Tbilisi, capital of the Kingdom of Georgia. After the capture, the massacre of thousands of its Christian inhabitants begins as residents are given the choice between converting to Islam or being put to death.


date: June 7

text: June 7 – King Louis VIII of France begins the Crusade against the Cathars (Albigensians) in southern France and against Raymond VII, count of Count of Toulouse. Over the next three months, the Crusaders capture the cities of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire and Marseille and by Avignon's surrender on September 9, Louis forces the region of Languedoc into submission, and reasserts his authority upon the autonomous municipalities of his estates. Most cities have to accept the authority of Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence, but Marseille and Nice rebel.


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Siege of Avignon: After two months without forcing the defenders of Avignon to surrender from lack of food, King Louis VIII gives the order to assault the walls of the city and Guy II, Count of Saint-Pol, begins the second phase of the siege, digging trenches facing the city walls – which are connected on both sides of the Rhône with pontoon bridges. Firing from the fortress towers, the defenders repulse the attack and Count Guy is killed by a catapulted stone on the same day.


date: September 9

text: September 9 – After Avignon's defenders negotiate a peaceful resolution with the French Army by the payment of an indemnity of 6,000 marks, the gates of the walled city are opened and Louis enters the city without violence.


date: October 30

text: October 30 – Trần Thủ Độ, head of the Trần dynasty of Vietnam, forces Lý Huệ Tông, the last emperor of the Lý dynasty, to commit suicide.


text: Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson is overthrown as ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles, and is replaced by his half-brother, Olaf the Black.


text: King Sancho II of Portugal ("the Pious") launches an offensive against the Almohad Caliphate during the Reconquista, and takes the city of Elvas.


date: January 30

text: January 30 – Pope Honorius III approves the "Rule of Saint Albert (written by Saint Albert Avoggadro of Vercelli as the guide for the Carmelites (the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel) with the papal bull Ut vivendi normam.


text: January 30 – King Louis VIII of France takes the cross to resume the Albigensian Crusade against the Catharism movement in Languedoc in southern France.


date: February 20

text: February 20 – Pope Honorius III directs the Franciscan Archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, to lead the Franciscans in converting Moroccan Muslims to Christianity.


date: March 26

text: March 26 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor issues the Golden Bull of Rimini, in which he grants Teutonic Knights the right to all of the lands they will get during the mission in Prussia; he also declares himself a senior of the Teutonic Order and Poland, as well as the universal ruler of Christian Europe.


date: May 17

text: May 17 – Ralph Neville is appointed as the new Lord Chancellor of England by the Great Council of Regency, regent for the Kingdom of England during the reign of King Henry III.


date: September 11

text: September 11 – The Catholic Church practice of eucharistic adoration among lay people formally begins in Avignon, Provence.


date: November 29

text: November 29 – The coronation of Louis IX as King of France takes place at the Reims Cathedral at the direction of Queen Blanche, who also orders the defeated French nobles from the Albigensian Crusade to swear allegiance to her son.


date: December 23

text: December 23 – Jean Halgrin, the French Roman Catholic archbishop of Besançon, is offered the opportunity to be the Catholic patriarch of Constantinople, but declines the position because of health issues.


text: Brother Robert writes the Old Norse Tristrams saga ok Ísöndar, one of the rare fully surviving versions of the legend of Tristan and Iseult.

source_section: Events › By topic › Art and culture


text: The Carmelite Order is approved by Pope Honorius III in the bull Ut vivendi normam.

source_section: Events › By topic › Religion


date: March 4

section: Science & Discovery

text: March 4 – Just before dawn, a great conjunction between Saturn and Jupiter is observed from Earth. The conjunction is more significant than other occurrences because the separation of the two planets as visible in the sky of Earth (2.1 arcminutes or 1/30th of one degree of arc) will not be closer again until March 8, 4523 CE, and the close conjunction is the most easily visible from Earth until the conjunction of December 21, 2020.


date: May 14

text: May 14 – At the age of 11, Queen Isabella (Zabel), daughter of the dead King Leo, is formally crowned as the Queen of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, in a ceremony at the Armenian capital, Sis.


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Mugaku Sogen, Chinese monk and adviser (d. 1286)


date: June 21

text: June 21 – Bolesław V the Chaste, Polish nobleman (d. 1279)


date: November 2

text: November 2 – Isabella de Clare, English noblewoman (d. 1264)


text: Dietrich VI, German nobleman and knight (d. 1275)


text: Amato Ronconi, Italian nobleman, monk and hermit (d. 1292)


text: Bai Renfu (or Bai Pu), Chinese poet and playwright (d. 1306)


text: Bar Hebraeus, Syrian scholar, historian and bishop (d. 1286)


text: Maria of Brabant, Duchess of Bavaria, German noblewoman (d. 1256)


text: Ulrich I, Count of Württemberg ("the Founder"), German nobleman (d. 1265)


text: Blanche of Navarre (or Champagne), duchess of Brittany (d. 1283)


text: Angelo da Foligno (or Conti), Italian cleric and priest (d. 1312)


text: Gertrude of Austria, Austrian noblewoman (d. 1288)


text: Ata-Malik Juvayni, Persian governor and historian (d. 1283)


text: Herman VI, Margrave of Baden, German nobleman and knight (d. 1250)


date: May 2

text: May 2 – Amaury I de Craon, French nobleman and knight (b. 1170)


date: May 10

text: May 10 – Beatrice d'Este, Italian Benedictine nun and saint (b. 1192)


date: June 5

text: June 5 – Henry Borwin II, Lord of Mecklenburg (or Burwy), German nobleman (b. 1170)


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Waleran III (or Walram), duke of Limburg (b. 1165)


date: July 10

text: July 10 – In Baghdad, Al-Mānsūr al-Mustansir bi-llah (known as Al-Mustansir I) becomes the new Caliph of the adherents of Islam (and the 36th of the Abbasid dyansty), succeeding his father, al-Zahir bi-Amr Allah, who died only nine months after succeeding to the Caliphate.


date: July 11

text: July 11 – Al-Zahir bi-Amr Allah, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (b. 1175)


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Guy II, Count of Saint-Pol, French nobleman and knight


date: August

text: August – At Xingqing in what is now China's Yinchuan province, Emperor Xianzong of the Western Xia Empire dies after a three-year reign, and is succeeded by his nephew, Li Xian. The Mongols under Genghis Khan force the surrender of Western Xia the following year, bringing an end to the Yinchuan province as a separate nation.


date: September 9

text: September 9 – Rudolf von Güttingen, Swiss abbot and bishop


date: September 16

text: September 16 – Pandulf Verraccio, Italian bishop and politician


date: October 7

text: October 7 – Louis IV, Count of Chiny ("the Young"), French nobleman (b. 1173)


date: November 8

text: November 8 – At the age of 12, Louis IX becomes the new King of France when his father, King Louis VIII, dies of dysentery at the Château de Montpensier while on his way back home after victory in the Albigensian Crusade. The boy's mother, Queen Blanche of Castile, rules the kingdom as regent during his minority.


date: November 15

text: November 15 – Frederick of Isenberg, German nobleman


date: December 18

text: December 18 – Benedict of Sausetun, bishop of Rochester


text: Spring – The 19-year-old Henry III assumes control of the government. He appoints Hubert de Burgh as Governor of Rochester Castle and rewards him with the title Earl of Kent.

source_section: Events › By place › England


text: Northleach in the Cotswolds, U.K. is granted a charter by King Henry III.

source_section: Events › By topic › Cities and Towns


date: July 22

text: July 22 – Battle of Bornhöved: Count Adolf IV of Holstein – leading a coalition army from the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, defeats the Danish-German forces of King Valdemar II, and the Welf nobleman Otto I (the Child). Adolf shakes off Danish supremacy and accepts an overlordship by the Archbishopric of Bremen under Archbishop Gerhard II of Lippe. Adolf expands his power and establishes new frontiers within the Holy Roman Empire.


date: July 28

text: July 28 – Battle of Ane: Forces of the Bishopric of Utrecht are defeated by the rebellious Drenths led by Rudolph van Coevorden near Ane (modern Netherlands). The Drenths lure the Bishop's forces, supported by heavily armoured knights, in an ambush into a swampy area and kill Bishop Otto II of Lippe. After the battle, Otto's successor, Wilbrand van Oldenburg, rouses the Frisian people into supporting the war against the Drenths.


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Prince Leszek I (the White) is assassinated in an ambush on a council of Polish dukes in the city of Gąsawa, an event which later becomes known as the Gąsawa Massacre.


text: Spring – Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and their Crusader allies (some 20,000 men) cross the sea ice from mainland Estonia, and defeat the last Estonian strongholds in the Battle of Muhu and the siege of the Valjala Stronghold in the Saaremaa islands. This marks the end of the Estonian campaign in the Livonian Crusade. The Sword Brothers conquer Danish Estonia, and Tallinn is given town rights under Riga law.


text: Siege of Yinchuan: Mongol forces eliminate the Western Xia (or Xi Xia) and execute Emperor Mo (or Li Xian). Genghis Khan dies during the siege under debated circumstances, but this is kept secret from the army until the siege's end. Yinchuan is pillaged and its entire population is slaughtered or sold into slavery. Genghis orders the imperial family to be executed, effectively ending the Tangut royal lineage.


text: Swedish-Novgorodian War: Grand Prince Yaroslav II of Vladimir leads an attack from the Novgorod Republic on Baltic Finnic peoples in eastern Fennoscandia, called "Yem", whom he devastates.


date: January 11

text: January 11 – The city of Požga in Croatia is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary.


date: September 29

text: September 29 – Gregory IX excommunicates Frederick II, due to his broken promises and delay of the Sixth Crusade.


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Frederick II recovering at Pozzuoli, receives a letter from Pope Gregory IX, announcing his ex-communication. Frederick is branded a wanton violator of his sacred oath taken many times, at Aachen, Ferentino, Veroli and San Germano. Meanwhile, the Crusader army fortifies Sidon Sea Castle and rebuilds Montfort Castle, northeast of Acre, as a new headquarter castle for the Teutonic Knights, who called it Starkenburg.


text: Dōgen Zenji receives Dharma transmission and inka from his master Rujing in China, settling his "life's quest of the great matter", going on to introduce Sōtō Zen Buddhism into his native Japan.


section: Health & Medicine

text: August – Emperor Frederick II musters a German expeditionary force in Apulia. The crowded conditions and high heat contribute to discontent and disease among the assembled troops. On September 24, an epidemic of malaria enfeebles the army at Brindisi. Several thousand Crusaders led by Henry IV, duke of Limburg, and French and English mercenaries under the bishops Peter des Roches and William Briwere, arrive at Acre.


date: January 1

text: January 1 – Mujū Dōkyō, Japanese Buddhist monk (d. 1312)


date: June 29

text: June 29 – Hōjō Tokiyori, Japanese regent (shikken) (d. 1263)


date: September 30

text: September 30 – Nicholas IV, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1292)


text: Hu Zhiyu, Chinese Sanqu poet and writer (d. 1293)


text: Gertrude of Aldenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1297)


text: William II of Holland, anti-king of Germany (d. 1256)


text: Chomden Rigpe Raldri, Tibetan scholar and writer (d. 1305)


text: Aju (or Achu), Mongol military leader and chancellor (d. 1287)


text: Fang Hui (or Xugu), Chinese scholar and politician (d. 1307)


text: Hōjō Nagatoki, Japanese samurai and regent (d. 1264)


text: Elisabeth of Bavaria, queen consort of Germany (d. 1273)


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Henry Borwin I, German nobleman and knight


date: March 18

text: March 18 – Pope Honorius III dies at Rome after a pontificate of nearly 11 years. He is succeeded by Gregory IX as the 178th pope of the Catholic Church.


date: April 28

text: April 28 – Henry V (the Elder), German nobleman (b. 1173)


date: July 23

text: July 23 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist religious leader (b. 1148)


date: August 18

text: August 18 – Genghis Khan dies during the fall of Yinchuan after a 21-year reign. His exact cause of death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to being killed in action against the Western Xia, illness, falling from his horse, or wounds sustained during hunting. Genghis is succeeded by his third son, Ögedei Khan, who becomes the "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire.


date: September 11

text: September 11 – Louis IV (the Saint), landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1200)


text: September 11 – Oliver of Paderborn, German bishop and chronicler


text: September 29 – Conrad of Urach, German cardinal-bishop


date: September

text: September – A second contingent joined by Frederick II, departs from Brindisi to the Levant. On September 11, during the second day of the voyage, one of Fredericks' companions, Louis IV of Thuringia, dies of an illness (possibly cholera) at Otranto. Frederick also becomes sick and decides to return home, while sending the rest of the Crusader fleet (20 galleys) to Acre. There, they fortify the coastal towns of Caesarea and Jaffa.


date: October 4

text: October 4 – Abdallah al-Adil, Almohad governor and caliph


text: October 10 – Daniel and companions, Franciscan martyrs


date: November 12

text: November 12 – Al-Mu'azzam Isa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, dies after a 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his 21-year-old son, An-Nasir Dawud, who faces opposition from his uncle, Sultan Al-Kamil of Egypt.


text: November 12 – Al-Mu'azzam Isa, Ayyubid ruler (b. 1176)


text: November 24 – Leszek I (the White), High Duke of Poland


text: King James I (the Conqueror) launches a major offensive against the Almohads in Majorca. At the same moment, Emir Ibn Hud al-Yamadi (confronted by increasing Christian pressure) denounces Almohad rule in Murcia (modern Spain) and acknowledges the Abbasid Caliphate as legitimate overlord, in effect declaring independence. Other notable Christian success: King Alfonso IX of León conquers Mérida.


date: November

text: November – Frederick II puts pressure on the negotiations by a military display. He assembles his Crusader army and marches down the coast to Jaffa – which he proceeds to refortify. At the same moment, Ayyubid forces under An-Nasir Dawud, who are not participating in the revolt at Damascus, move to Nablus, to intercept Al-Kamil's supply lines. Al-Kamil breaks off the negotiations, saying that the Crusaders have pillaged several Muslim villages, and only resumes them again when Frederick pays out compensation to the victims.

source_section: Events › By place › Sixth Crusade


text: King Sukaphaa establishes the Ahom Dynasty and becomes the first Ahom ruler in Assam (until 1268).


text: Autumn – Frederick II receives an embassy of Egypt's Sultan Al-Kamil, including Fakhr al-Din ibn as-Shaikh, at the Hospitaller camp at Recordane, near Acre. Meanwhile, Al-Kamil is engaged in suppressing a rebellion in Syria and has concentrated his forces on a siege at Damascus. Frederick is pressed for time, because his army is not large enough for a major campaign. Al-Kamil, who has full control of Jerusalem, starts diplomatic negotiations.


text: Battle of Bolnisi: Khwarazmian forces led by Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeat a coalition of Georgians, Kipchaks, Alans, Vainakhs and Laks (some 40,000 men) at Bolnisi (modern Georgia).


text: The first evidence is uncovered of the use of the Knights Templar as cashiers by King Henry III of England, to safely transfer important sums to the continent, using letters of exchange. This shows that large transfers could take place across Europe, even before the emergence of important networks of Italian merchant-bankers.

source_section: Events › By topic › Markets


text: The Transylvanian town of Reghin is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary.


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Saint Francis of Assisi is canonized by Gregory IX.


date: December 23

text: December 23 – Stephen of Anagni, Italian papal chaplain, is commissioned to collect a special tax in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to finance Gregory X's War of the Keys against Frederick II.


text: The city of Tournai emits its first recorded life annuity, thus confirming a trend of consolidation of public debts started ten years earlier, in Reims.


date: April 25

text: April 25 – Conrad IV (or Conrad II), king of Germany (d. 1254)

source_section: Births


text: Takatsukasa Kanehira, Japanese nobleman (kugyō) (d. 1294)


text: Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi, Egyptian scholar and jurist (d. 1285)


text: Wang Yun, Chinese politician, poet and writer (d. 1304)


text: Ibn Daqiq al-'Id, Egyptian scholar, jurist and writer (d. 1302)


text: Bartolo da San Gimignano, Italian Franciscan priest (d. 1300)


text: Alfonso of Brienne, Norman nobleman and knight (d. 1270)


text: Eleanor de Braose, Cambro-Norman noblewoman (d. 1251)


date: January 13

text: January 13 – Yvette of Huy, Belgian anchoress (b. 1158)

source_section: Deaths


date: January 31

text: January 31 – Guy de Montfort, French nobleman and knight


date: February 17

text: February 17 – Henry I, German nobleman and knight (b. 1155)


date: February 18

text: February 18 – Vladislaus II, margrave of Moravia (b. 1207)


text: April 25 – The 16-year-old Isabella II, Holy Roman Empress and wife of Frederick II, dies after giving birth to her second child, Conrad IV, at Andria. He receives the title King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) – with Frederick as regent. By his father, Conrad is the grandson of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Henry VI and great-grandson of the late Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa).


text: April 25 – Isabella II, queen and regent of Jerusalem (b. 1212)


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Mathilde of Bourbon, French noblewoman (b. 1165)


date: August 8

text: August 8 – Rujing, Japanese Sōtō Zen patriarch (b. 1163)


date: September 24

text: September 24 – Stefan the First-Crowned, king of Serbia


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Shichijō-in, Japanese noblewoman (b. 1157)


date: October 31

text: October 31 – Eustace of Fauconberg, bishop of London


date: December 4

text: December 4 – Bruno von Porstendorf, bishop of Meissen


date: December 8

text: December 8 – Geoffrey de Burgh, bishop of Ely (b. 1180)


text: Emperor Robert I (or Courtenay) dies after a 7-year reign in Morea (Southern Greece). He is succeeded by his 11-year-old brother, Baldwin II, as ruler of the Latin Empire in Constantinople, with John of Brienne as regent.


date: April 12

text: April 12 – Treaty of Paris: Count Raymond VII is forced to sign a peace treaty (also known as the "Treaty of Meaux"). This brings the Albigensian Crusade to an end. Raymond regains his feudal rights but has to swear his allegiance to King Louis IX (the Saint). The fortifications, such as these of Avignon and Toulouse, are dismantled.


date: March 6

text: March 6 – University of Paris strike: Students begin to riot, after a dispute over a bill with a tavern proprietor. Queen Blanche of Castile demands retribution, and allows the city guard to punish the student rioters. She puts an economic strain upon the student quarter of Paris (the Latin Quarter), where Latin is commonly heard in the streets.


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Frederick II enters Jerusalem, escorted by German and Italian troops. Of the Military Orders only the Teutonic Knights are represented and some clergy. He receives the formal surrender of the city by Al-Kamil's governor (or Qadi), who hands him the keys of Jerusalem. The procession then passes through streets to the old building of the Hospital (or the Muristan), where Frederick takes up his residence in the Christian Quarter.


date: May 1

text: May 1 – Frederick II departs from Acre, while he and his suite pass down the "Street of the Butchers" to the harbour, the people crowd out of the doors, and pelts him with entrails and dung. Meanwhile, Odo of Montbéliard (or Eudes), commander of the Crusader army, and John of Ibelin, lord of Beirut, are left behind to quell the unrest in Palestine.


date: May

text: May – Frederick II arrives at Cyprus, where he attends the wedding proxy of the 12-year-old King Henry I (the Fat) to Alice of Montferrat – whose father is one of his staunch supporters in Italy. On June 10, Frederick lands at Brindisi, where the papal army under his father-in-law John of Brienne has invaded the Italian territories in Campania (→ War of the Keys).


date: June

text: June – Emir Al-Ashraf Musa captures Damascus and acknowledges the supremacy of his elder brother Al-Kamil. His other brother, An-Nasir Dawud, is compensated with the lordship of Al-Karak in the Transjordan region.


date: November 28

text: November 28 – Battle of Olustra: Eric XI (the Lisp and Lame) is defeated and deposed as king of Sweden by Canute II (the Tall), who proclaims himself the new ruler.


text: Abu Zakariya Yahya expands his influence by conquering the cities of Constantine and Béjaïa (modern Algeria). He becomes the founder and first ruler of the Hafsid Dynasty in Ifriqiya.

source_section: Events › By place › Africa


date: September 5

text: September 5 – A Catalan-Aragonese expeditionary army under King James I (the Conqueror) embarks with 155 ships, 1,500 knights and 15,000 men from Tarragona, Salou, and Cambrils, in southern Catalonia. He sets sail to conquer Majorca. On December 31, James finally conquers the island from the Almohad ruler, Abu Yahya.


date: October 13

text: October 13 – King Henry III calls for an army to be assembled at Portsmouth to be transported to Normandy to regain lost territories from the French. A large army of knights turns up ready to go but not enough ships have been provided. Henry blames Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent for the fiasco and in his rage will have killed him if Ranulf of Chester has not intervened. This marks the beginning of the rift between Henry and Hubert de Burgh. Meanwhile, the expedition is postponed until mid-1230.


date: January 23

text: January 23 – The episcopal seat is moved from Nousiainen to Koroinen (located near the current centre of Turku) by the permission of Pope Gregory IX. The date is starting to be considered as the founding of Turku.


date: September 13

text: September 13 – Ögedei Khan, the third son of Genghis Khan is proclaimed "Great Khan" of the Mongol Empire, at a Kurultai council.


text: Council of Toulouse: The Catholic Church permanently establishes the Inquisition, in the charge of the Dominican Order in Rome.


text: Autumn – Frederick II recovers the lost Italian territories and tries to condemn the leading rebel barons, but avoids crossing the frontiers of the Papal States. Meanwhile, a first serious raid on Jerusalem is made by a mass of unorganized Beduins and plunderers of pilgrims. An advance guard encouraged the Christians to expel the Muslims.


date: March 18

text: March 18 – Frederick II crowns himself as King of Jerusalem in an impromptu ceremony in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After the ceremony, he proceeds to the palace of the Hospitallers – where he holds a council to discuss the defense of Jerusalem. Frederick orders the Tower of David and the Gate of St. Stephen are to be repaired at once and he hands over the royal residence attached to the Tower of David to the Teutonic Order.


text: The University of Toulouse is founded in France. Raymond VII is forced to finance the teaching of theology.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Louis II (the Strict), German nobleman (d. 1294)


text: Oberto D'Oria, Italian nobleman and admiral (d. 1306)


text: Beatrice of Provence, queen consort of Sicily (d. 1267)


text: Kujō Tadaie, Japanese nobleman and regent (d. 1275)


text: Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid prince (emir) and ruler (d. 1263)


date: January 17

text: January 17 – Albert of Buxhoeven, bishop of Riga (b. 1165)


date: February 8

text: February 8 – Ali ibn Hanzala, Arab imam and theologian


date: February 14

text: February 14 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, ruler of the Isles


date: March 13

text: March 13 – Blanche of Navarre, countess and regent of Champagne


date: June 24

text: June 24 – Walter III (or de Brisebarre), lord of Caesarea


date: August 21

text: August 21 – Iwo Odrowąż, Polish bishop and statesman


date: September

text: September – Guillem II de Montcada, Spanish nobleman and knight


date: October 10

text: October 10 – Henry de Beaumont, English nobleman


date: October 22

text: October 22 – Gerard III, Dutch nobleman and knight


date: October 26

text: October 26 – Fulk of Pavia, Italian prelate and bishop


date: November 14

text: November 14 – Martin of Pattishall, English chief justice


date: December 25

text: December 25 – Herman II, Lord of Lippe, German nobleman and knight (b. 1175)


text: unknown date – Yaqut al-Hamawi, Arab geographer and writer (b. 1179)


text: Emperor Hadrian averts a war with Parthia by a personal meeting with Osroes I (according to the Historia Augusta, disputed).

source_section: Events › By place › Roman Empire


text: In China, Ban Yong, son of Ban Chao, reestablishes the Chinese control over the Tarim Basin.


text: Hadrian leads a punitive campaign against Berbers who had been raiding Roman towns in Roman Mauretania.


text: The Chinese government establishes Aide of the Western Regions over the Tarim Basin.


text: The Temple of Al-Lat in Palmyra is dedicated somewhere between this year and 164 AD.


text: Housesteads Fort is constructed on Hadrian's Wall north of Bardon Mill.


text: Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli is built.


text: Chinese scientist Zhang Heng adjusts the calendar to bring it into line with the four seasons.

source_section: Events › By topic › Arts and sciences


text: Annia Cornificia Faustina, sister of Marcus Aurelius (d. 158)


date: August

text: August – Treaty of Ceprano: Emperor Frederick II returns from the Sixth Crusade and signs a peace agreement with Pope Gregory IX at Ceprano. He agrees not to violate any territories held by the Papal States in return for Frederick's concessions in Sicily.

source_section: Events › By place › Europe


date: April 30

text: April 30 – English invasion of France: King Henry III embarks from Portsmouth with a large expeditionary force. On May 2, he arrives on the island of Guernsey, and the next day the English army lands at Saint-Malo, where Peter I (de Dreux), duke of Brittany, meets Henry to pay him homage. The English forces march through the County of Anjou, taking the castle of Mirebeau in late July.


date: October 27

text: October 27 – Henry III signs a truce with King Louis IX of France ("the Saint") and returns to Portsmouth. He leaves a small force under Peter I and Ranulf de Blondeville, to act against the French in Brittany and Normandy.


text: Reconquista – King Alfonso IX of León defeats Ibn Hud al-Yamani (known as Almogàver by the Christians). This success opens the road to Badajoz to the Leonese troops. The Portuguese king Sancho II continues his offensive southward and takes Beja, Juromenha, Serpa and Moura.


text: Siege of Galway in Ireland: Norman forces under Richard Mór de Burgh invade Connacht and desolate a large portion of the country. He besieges Galway, but is forced to retreat after a week-long inconclusive battle.


text: Battle of Yassıçemen: A Seljuk-Ayyubid coalition (some 40,000 men) defeats the Khwarazmians under Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni at Erzincan on the Upper Euphrates.


text: Pluscarden Priory is founded in Scotland; it will be revived to become an abbey in 1974.


text: Frederick II bestows on the Teutonic Order a special privilege for the conquest of Prussia, including Chełmno Land, with papal sovereignty. He allows the Teutonic Knights to forcibly convert the Prussians to Christianity.


text: The Carmina Burana poetry and song collection is created (approximate date).

source_section: Events › By topic › Literature


date: March

text: March – Henry of Castile the Senator, Spanish prince (d. 1303)


text: Edmund de Lacy, English nobleman and knight (d. 1258)


text: Anna of Hohenstaufen, empress of Nicaea (d. 1307)


text: Yaroslav III of Tver, Kievan Grand Prince (d. 1271)


text: Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville, Norman-Irish noblewoman (d. 1304)


text: Guillaume Durand, French bishop and writer (d. 1296)


text: Odo, Count of Nevers (or Eudes), French nobleman and knight (d. 1266)


text: Bentivenga dei Bentivenghi, Italian cardinal (d. 1289)


text: Peter Quinel, English archdeacon and bishop (d. 1291)


text: Margaret Sambiria, Danish queen consort (d. 1282)


text: Hermann of Buxhoeveden, Bishop of Ösel-Wiek, German churchman (d. 1285)


text: Guillaume de Beaujeu, French Grand Master (d. 1291)


text: Jacobus de Voragine, Italian archbishop (d. 1298)


text: Adelaide of Holland, Dutch countess and regent (d. 1284)


date: January 30

text: January 30 – Pelagio Galvani, Leonese cardinal (b. 1165)


date: February 1

text: February 1 – Matsudono Motofusa, Japanese nobleman


date: May 2

text: May 2 – William de Braose, English nobleman and knight


date: May 13

text: May 13 – Casimir I of Opole, Polish nobleman and knight


date: July 12

text: July 12 – Margaret, Countess of Blois, French noblewoman (b. 1170)


date: July 19

text: July 19 –Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland, Norman nobleman (b. 1200)


date: July 28

text: July 28 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, German nobleman and knight (b. 1176)


date: September 9

text: September 9 – Siegfried II, archbishop of Mainz (b. 1165)


date: September 24

text: September 24 – Alfonso IX dies after a 42-year reign and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand III, who receives the Kingdom of León in return for compensation in cash and lands for his half-sisters Sancha and Dulce.


date: October 25

text: October 25 – Gilbert de Clare, 5th Earl of Gloucester, English nobleman (b. 1180)


date: November 20

text: November 20 – Nicola de la Haye, English noblewoman


date: November 24

text: November 24 – Matthew II of Montmorency, French nobleman and knight


date: December 15

text: December 15 – Ottokar I of Bohemia, German nobleman


date: December 23

text: December 23 – Berengaria of Navarre, queen consort of England


date: August 13

text: August 13 – King Henry III orders the sheriffs of Hampshire, Dorsetshire and Wiltshire to give Simon de Montfort the possession of the lands of his father, Simon de Montfort the elder.

source_section: Events › By place › Britain


date: December

text: December – Henry III ends his Welsh campaign and makes peace with Llywelyn the Great.


text: Emperor Frederick II promulgates the Constitutions of Melfi (Liber Augustalis), a collection of laws for Sicily, as well as the Edict of Salerno, regulating the exercise of medicine and separating the professions of physician and apothecary, and requiring medical schools to practice dissection.


date: August

text: August – Ögedei Khan orders the invasion of Korea. A Mongol army crosses the Yalu River and quickly secures the surrender of the border town of Uiju. The Mongols are joined by Hong Pok-wŏn, a Goryeo general, who takes their side with his subordinates numbering some 1500 families.


text: War of the Lombards: Richard Filangieri sails for Beirut, where the town is handed over to him. He occupies Sidon and Tyre – while other Lombard forces appear before Acre. At Acre, Filangieri summons a meeting of the High Court and shows letters from Frederick II appointing him as ambassador (baili).


text: Siege of Kuju: Mongol forces besiege the city of Kuju. They deploy assault teams who man siege towers and scale ladders. Despite the fact the Goryeo army is heavily outnumbered, the garrison refuses to surrender.


text: Castillian forces under King Ferdinand III ("the Saint") re-conquer the city of Quesada.


text: Spring – Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent becomes a powerful lord in the Welsh Marches, controlling the castles at Cardigan and Carmarthen. He begins to threaten the local Welsh leaders, Llywelyn the Great launches a campaign against Norman lordship in Wales.


text: Battle of Jerez: Ferdinand III defeats Emir Ibn Hud of the Taifa of Murcia.


text: Autumn – Frederick II appoints Marshal Richard Filangieri as his imperial legate, and sends an expeditionary army of mostly Lombards for the defense of Jerusalem. He gathers some 600 knights, 100 "sergeants-at-arms", 700 armed infantrymen, and 3,000 marines. The army is supported by 32 war-galleys.


date: April 13

text: April 13 – Pope Gregory IX issues Parens scientiarum. The bull assures the independence and self-governance of the University of Paris.


text: Peter des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, negotiates a 3-year truce between England and France.


date: April 9

text: April 9 – A huge fire breaks out at night in the southeast of Hangzhou during the Song dynasty. Fighting the flames is difficult due to limited visibility. When the fires are extinguished, it is discovered that an entire district of the city (some 10,000 houses) has been consumed by the flames.

source_section: Events › By place › China


text: The University of Cambridge is recognised by a writ of authority over its townspeople from Henry III.


date: March 17

text: March 17 – Shijō (Mitsuhito), emperor of Japan (d. 1242)


text: Roger Mortimer, English nobleman and knight (d. 1282)


text: John of Burgundy, French nobleman and knight (d. 1268)


text: Philip of Castile, Spanish prince and archbishop (d. 1274)


text: John de Warenne, English nobleman and knight (d. 1304)


text: Yolanda of Vianden, Luxembourgish prioress (d. 1283)


text: James Salomoni, Italian Dominican priest and prior (d. 1314)


text: Guo Shoujing, Chinese astronomer and engineer (d. 1316)


text: Tommaso degli Stefani, Italian painter and artist (d. 1310)


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Beatrice II, French countess palatine (b. 1193)


date: June 13

text: June 13 – Anthony of Padua, Portuguese priest (b. 1195)


date: July 2

text: July 2 – Henry I, German nobleman (House of Zähringen)


date: August 3

text: August 3 – Richard le Grant, archbishop of Canterbury


date: August 28

text: August 28 – Eleanor of Portugal, queen consort of Denmark


date: September 15

text: September 15 – Louis I, German nobleman (b. 1173)


date: September

text: September – Ibn Muti al-Zawawi, Almohad jurist, philologian and writer


date: November 3

text: November 3 – Władysław III, Polish nobleman (b. 1167)


date: November 9

text: November 9 – Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Abbasid physician (b. 1162)


date: November 17

text: November 17 – Elizabeth, Hungarian princess (b. 1207)


date: November 28

text: November 28 – Valdemar the Young, king of Denmark


date: December 7

text: December 7 – Richardis, German noblewoman (b. 1173)


date: December 11

text: December 11 – Ida of Nivelles, Flemish nun and mystic


date: December 25

text: December 25 – Folquet de Marselha, French bishop


date: August 27

text: August 27 – The Goseibai Shikimoku code of law is promulgated.

source_section: Events › By place › Japan


text: November 17 – Emperor Go-Horikawa abdicates in favor of his 1-year-old son, Shijō, after an 11-year reign. Because he is very young, most of the actual leadership is held by his relatives.


date: April 8

text: April 8 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan and his brother Tolui begins the Siege of Kaifeng (1232), capital of the Chinese Jin dynasty. During the summer, the Jurchens try to end the siege by negotiating a peace treaty, but the assassination of a Mongol embassy makes further talks impossible. While the negotiations are going on, a plague is devastating the population of the city. In the meantime, supplies stored at Kaifeng are running out, and several residents of the city are executed on the suspicion that they are traitors.

source_section: Events › By place › Mongol Empire


date: June 15

text: June 15 – Battle of Agridi: The Cypriot army under King Henry I ("the Fat") defeats the Lombard forces of Emperor Frederick II. After the battle, John of Beirut (supported by funds from Henry), hires 13 Genoese war-galleys to aid in the siege of Kyrenia.


date: June

text: June – Mongol invasion of Korea: Choe Woo, Korean military dictator of Goryeo, orders against the pleas of King Gojong and his senior officials, the royal court, and most of Songdo's population to be moved to Ganghwa Island. Woo starts the construction of strong defenses on Ganghwa Island, which becomes a fortress. The government orders the common people to flee the countryside and take refuge in major cities, mountain citadels, or nearby islands. The Mongols occupy much of northern Korea, but fail to capture Ganghwa Island.


date: July 16

text: July 16 – Muhammad I is elected as ruler of the Taifa of Arjona. He revolts against Ibn Hud, the independent ruler of Al-Andalus, and takes control of the city, beginning the foundation of the Nasrid dynasty.


date: July 29

text: July 29 – King Henry III dismisses his justiciar (chief justice minister) and regent Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, and replaces him with the Frenchmen Peter des Roches and Peter de Rivaux, thereby irritating his barons.


date: December 16

text: December 16 – Battle of Cheoin: Korean forces defeat a Mongol attack at Cheoin (modern-day Yongin). The Mongol Empire concludes a peace treaty with Goryeo and withdraws its forces.


text: The original set of woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana is destroyed by fire during the Second Mongol invasion of Korea.


text: The northern French city of Troyes issues its first recorded life annuities, confirming the trend of consolidation of local public debts initiated in 1218, by the neighboring city of Reims.


date: May 30

text: May 30 – Anthony of Padua is canonized by Pope Gregory IX at Spoleto, less than a year after his death. He becomes the patron saint of lost items.


date: October 29

text: October 29 – Gregory IX orders the Stedinger Crusade to be proclaimed in northern Germany.


text: The Domus Conversorum ("House of the Converts"), a building and institution in London for Jewish converts to Christianity, is established by Henry III.


text: The Almohad army besieges the city of Ceuta, where Abu Musa, rebellious brother of Caliph Idris al-Ma'mun, has received shelter and the support of the population. The Genoese rent a part of their fleet to the rebels, who successfully resist the forces of the caliph. The consequences of this revolt are threefold: the city becomes de facto independent from the Almohads, but its reliance on the Italian maritime powers increases, and the Trans-Saharan trade routes begin to shift eastward, due to the local turmoil.


date: August

text: August – Gregory IX is forced to remain in his summer residence at Anagni by Lombard forces from Rome.


text: Peter de Rivaux, nephew of Peter des Roches, is made Lord Treasurer of Henry III's household and keeper of the king's wardrobe. This moves him into an important position for controlling the king's affairs.


date: March 9

text: March 9 – Chen Wenlong, Chinese scholar-general (d. 1277)


date: November 10

text: November 10 – Haakon the Young, king of Norway (d. 1257)


text: probable – Bernard Saisset, French nobleman and bishop (d. 1314)


text: unknown date – Manfred, king of Sicily (House of Hohenstaufen) (d. 1266)


date: January 28

text: January 28 – Peire de Montagut, French Grand Master


date: February 21

text: February 21 – Myōe, Japanese Buddhist monk (b. 1173)


date: April 10

text: April 10 – Rudolf II, Count of Habsburg ("the Kind"), German nobleman


date: June 7

text: June 7 – Wawrzyniec (bishop of Wrocław) (or Lawrence), Polish bishop


date: July 18

text: July 18 – John de Braose, English nobleman and knight


date: August 24

text: August 24 – Ralph of Bristol, English cleric and bishop


date: October 11

text: October 11 – Gebhard I of Plain, German bishop (b. 1170)


date: October 15

text: October 15 – Albert I of Käfernburg, German archbishop


date: October 17

text: October 17 – Idris al-Ma'mun, ruler of the Almohad Caliphate


date: October 26

text: October 26 – Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, English nobleman (b. 1170)


date: December 31

text: December 31 – Patrick I, Earl of Dunbar, Scottish nobleman and knight (b. 1152)


text: Marianus II of Torres, Sardinian Judge of Logudoro


date: May 29

text: May 29 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan captures Kaifeng, capital of the Jin dynasty ('Great Jin'), after the 13-month Siege of Kaifeng (1232). The Mongols plunder the city, while Emperor Aizong of Jin flees for the town of Caizhou. Meanwhile, Ögedei departs and leaves the final conquest to his favoured general, Subutai.


text: August – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, signs an alliance with Llywelyn the Great, to join forces to revolt against King Henry III. Richard is faced by demands from royal bailiffs in September – where the garrison of Usk Castle is forced to surrender.


date: November

text: November – Henry III's army camped at Grosmont Castle is attacked in the night, by a force of Welsh and English rebels. Several of Henry's supporters are captured, and the castle is returned to Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, one of the rebels.


date: December

text: December – Siege of Caizhou: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan besiege Caizhou and ally themselves with the Chinese Song dynasty to eliminate the Jin Dynasty.


text: Winter – Reconquista: King Ferdinand III of Castile ("the Saint") conquers the cities of Trujillo and Úbeda. The Castilian army besieges the city of Peniscola. Ferdinand forces Ibn Hud, ruler of the Taifa of Zaragoza, to sign a truce.


text: Gendt receives its city rights from Otto II ("the Lame"), count of Guelders (modern Netherlands).


text: War of the Lombards: Lombard forces at Kyrenia surrender to John of Beirut, after a 10-month siege. The defenders, with their personal belongings, are allowed to retire to Tyre. Captured prisoners are exchanged for those held by Richard Filangieri, commander of the Lombards, at Tyre. Cyprus is wholly restored under the rule of the 16-year-old King Henry I ("the Fat"). His vassals are rewarded, and loans that they have made are repaid.


date: August 20

text: August 20 – Oath of Bereg: King Andrew II of Hungary vows to the Holy See that he will not employ Jews and Muslims to administer royal revenues, which causes diplomatic complaints and ecclesiastical censures.


text: Pope Gregory IX establishes the Papal Inquisition, to regularize the persecution of heresy.


date: June

text: June/July – Ibn Manzur, Arab lexicographer and writer (d. 1312)


date: August 15

text: August 15 – Philip Benizi de Damiani, Italian religious leader (d. 1285)


date: October

text: October – Al-Nawawi, Syrian scholar, jurist and writer (d. 1277)


text: Choe Ui, Korean military leader and dictator (d. 1258)


text: Sancho of Castile, archbishop of Toledo (d. 1261)


text: Adelaide of Burgundy, duchess of Brabant (d. 1273)


text: Ibn al-Quff, Ayyubid physician and surgeon (d. 1286)


date: January 6

text: January 6 – Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon (or Maud), English noblewoman (b. 1171)


date: January 18

text: January 18 – Yang (or Gongsheng), Chinese empress (b. 1162)


date: February 12

text: February 12 – Ermengarde de Beaumont, queen of Scotland


date: March 1

text: March 1 – Thomas I (or Tommaso), count of Savoy (b. 1178)


date: May

text: May – Simon of Joinville, French nobleman and knight (b. 1175)


text: June – Yolanda de Courtenay, queen consort of Hungary


date: July 8

text: July 8 – Konoe Motomichi, Japanese nobleman (b. 1160)


date: July 26

text: July 26 – Wilbrand of Oldenburg, prince-bishop of Utrecht


date: July 29

text: July 29 – Savari de Mauléon, French nobleman (b. 1181)


date: July 30

text: July 30 – Konrad von Marburg, German priest (b. 1180)


date: October 8

text: October 8 – Ugo Canefri, Italian health worker (b. 1148)


date: November 22

text: November 22 – Helena, duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg


date: November 27

text: November 27 – Shi Miyuan, Chinese politician (b. 1164)


text: Bohemond IV ("the One-Eyed"), prince of Antioch (b. 1175)


text: The Manden region rises against the Kaniaga Kingdom. This is the beginning of a process that will lead to the rise of the Mali Empire.


text: King Andrew II of Hungary proclaims his son, Coloman of Galicia, as ruler (or ban) of Bosnia, who passes it on to Prijezda, a cousin of Matej Ninoslav, despite Matej being the legitimate ruler.


date: February 9

text: February 9 – Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan captures the Jin capital at Caizhou, after the two-month Siege of Caizhou). Emperor Aizong of Jin abdicates the throne to Wanyan Chenglin, a descendant of the Jin imperial clan. After the Mongol and Song forces have breached the city walls, Aizong tries to escape, but commits suicide to avoid being captured. This marks the end of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) ('Great Jin') in China.


text: Reconquista – King Sancho II of Portugal conquers the cities of Aljustrel and Mértola from the Moors.


date: July 3

text: July 3 – Saint Dominic is canonized by Pope Gregory IX.


date: November

text: November – Pope Gregory IX proclaims war on the city of Rome after a local revolt forces him into exile. He issues the papal bull Rachel suum videns, calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land.


text: Lund Cathedral in Sweden is heavily damaged in a catastrophic fire. Large donations are made to the church, to rebuild the cathedral.


date: February 27

text: February 27 – Abaqa Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (d. 1282)


text: Christina of Norway, Infanta of Castile, princess (d. 1262)


text: Conrad of Ascoli, Italian friar and missionary (d. 1289)


text: Margaret of Holland, Dutch noblewoman (d. 1276)


text: Ippen (or Zuien), Japanese Buddhist monk (d. 1289)


text: Manuel of Castile, Spanish prince (infante) (d. 1283)


text: Ou Shizi, Chinese Confucian scholar (d. 1324)


text: Kaliman I, emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria (d. 1246)


date: January 7

text: January 7 – Robert of Auvergne, bishop of Clermont


text: February 9 – Mo of Jin (or Hudun), Chinese emperor


text: February 9 – Aizong of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 1198)


date: April 7

text: April 7 – Sancho VII ("the Strong"), king of Navarre


date: April 16

text: April 16 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English nobleman (b. 1191)


date: May 7

text: May 7 – Otto I, Duke of Merania, German nobleman and knight (b. 1180)


date: June 18

text: June 18 – Chūkyō, emperor (tennō) of Japan (b. 1218)


date: July 19

text: July 19 – Floris IV, Count of Holland, Dutch nobleman and knight (b. 1210)


text: July 29 – William Pinchon, French prelate and bishop


date: August 7

text: August 7 – Hugh Foliot, bishop of Hereford (b. 1155)


date: September 6

text: September 6 – Milo of Nanteuil, bishop of Beauvais