text:
1137

Year 1137 (MCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * Spring – Emperor John II (Komnenos) leads a Byzantine expeditionary force into Cilicia (the Byzantine fleet guards his flank). He defeats the Armenians under Prince Leo I ("Lord of the Mountains"), and captures the cities of Mersin, Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra. Leo retreats to the great fortifications of Anazarbus – where its garrison resists for 37 days. The Byzantine siege engines batter down its walls, and the city is forced to surrender. Leo escapes into the Taurus Mountains, while the Byzantine forces march southward into the plain of Antioch.
 * August 29 – John II appears before the walls of Antioch, and encamps with the Byzantine army on the north bank of the Orontes River. For several days he besieges the city, Raymond of Poitiers (prince of Antioch) is forced to surrender. He recognizes John as his suzerain and becomes with Joscelin II (count of Edessa) a vassal of the Byzantine Empire.

Levant

 * March 25 – Bazwāj, a mamluk (slave) commander of Damascus, launches a military campaign against Tripoli, reaching Pilgrims' Mount. He defeats a Crusader army under Count Pons (protector of Tripoli). Pons is forced to flee into the mountains where native Christians capture him. Later, he is handed over and instantly put to death by Bazwāj.
 * Summer – Battle of Ba'rin: A Crusader force led by King Fulk of Jerusalem is scattered and defeated by Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk governor (atabeg) of Mosul. Fulk with a small bodyguard escapes into Montferrand Castle, which is surrounded and besieged by Zengi. After negotiations, Fulk is granted his freedom in exchange for the castle.

Europe

 * April 9 – William X (the Saint), duke of Aquitaine, dies while on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (modern Spain). On his deathbed, he expresses his wish to see King Louis VI (the Fat) of France as protector of his 15-year-old daughter Eleanor, and to find her a suitable husband.
 * July 25 – Louis VI sends his 16-year-old son Louis Capet with an escort of 500 knights to Bordeaux, along with Abbot Suger in charge of the wedding arrangements. Louis and Eleanor are married in the Cathedral of Saint-André. France unites Aquitaine and its territories to the Pyrenees.
 * August 1 – Louis VI dies of dysentery at Paris after a 29-year reign. He is succeeded by Louis Capet (known as Louis VII) as King of France. During his accession the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers revolt – who wish to organise communes (creating independent city-states).
 * August 11 – Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, is married to Princess Petronilla of Aragon (only 1-year-old) – whose father, King Ramiro II of Aragon, seeks aid from Barcelona against King Alfonso VII of Castile, abdicates the throne in favor of Ramon on November 13.
 * October 30 – Battle of Rignano: Sergius VII, duke (magister militum) of Naples, is defeated by the Sicilian forces under King Roger II of Sicily. Sergius is killed and Roger establishes direct control over Naples – nominating his 17-year-old son Alfonso of Capua as the new duke.
 * December 4 – Emperor Lothair III dies at Breitenwang in Tyrol, while retreating from Italy after a mutiny among his troops. His son-in-law Henry X (the Proud), duke of Bavaria, inherits the Duchy of Saxony.
 * An Almoravid fleet of 37 ships attack the coasts of southern Italy, under Norman rule.

Britain

 * Spring – King Stephen sails to Normandy to confront Geoffrey V (the Fair) and the Angevins, who are attacking the southern areas of Normandy. Although Stephen has some success, he is not able to recapture Normandy from Matilda, daughter and heiress of the late King Henry I.
 * King Gruffudd ap Cynan of Gwynedd dies after a 56-year reign, having rebuilt Welsh power overturned earlier by Henry I. He is succeeded by his son Owain Gwynedd who together with his other brothers, Cadwaladr and Cadwallon, work to revive the power of Gwynedd in Wales.
 * June 3 – A fire severely damages Rochester Cathedral, but it is soon rebuilt.
 * June 4 – A fire destroys much of the city of York, including 39 churches and York Minster.
 * June 27 – A fire severely damages the city of Bath.

Africa

 * In the first commercial treaty between the Almohad Caliphate and a Christian power, the Republic of Genoa obtains trading rights in the port of North Africa.
 * The Ethiopian Empire is established by Emperor Mara Takla Haymanot of the Zagwe Dynasty.

Asia

 * In China during the Song Dynasty, a fire breaks out in the new capital of Hangzhou. The government suspends the requirement of rent payments, alms of 108,840 kg (120 tons) of rice are distributed to the poor, and items such as bamboo, planks and rush-matting are exempted from government taxation.

Births

 * Agnes of Poland, Grand Princess of Kiev (d. 1182)
 * Bretislav III, bishop of Prague (approximate date)
 * Ferdinand II, king of León and Galicia (d. 1188)
 * Henry VI, king of Germany (approximate date)
 * Ibn Qalaqis, Fatimid poet and writer (d. 1172)
 * Ludwig II, count of Württemberg (approximate date)
 * Saladin (the Lion), sultan of Egypt and Syria (d. 1193)
 * Walter Map, Welsh historian and writer (d. 1209)
 * Wenceslaus II, duke of Bohemia (approximate date)
 * William I of Blois, count of Boulogne (d. 1159)

Deaths

 * January 21 – Guarin, Norman chancellor
 * January 27 – John of Crema, Italian cardinal
 * March 6 – Olegarius, archbishop of Tarragona (b. 1060)
 * March 8 – Adela of Normandy, countess of Blois
 * March 25 – Pons, count of Tripoli (b. 1098)
 * April 9 – William X (the Saint), duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
 * May 5 – Asser Thorkilsson, archbishop of Lund
 * May 11 – Herlewin, English ascetic writer
 * June 20 – John I, bishop of Rochester
 * June 23 – Adalbert I, archbishop of Mainz
 * July 10 – Pain FitzJohn, Norman nobleman
 * August 1 – Louis VI (the Fat), king of France (b. 1081)
 * September 18 – Eric II, king of Denmark (b. 1090)
 * October 30 – Sergius VII, duke of Naples
 * December 4 – Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1075)
 * Amaury III de Montfort, French nobleman
 * Bruno II of Berg, archbishop of Cologne
 * Eustorge de Scorailles, bishop of Limoges
 * Gottfried II of Raabs, German nobleman
 * Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gwynedd
 * Gruffydd ap Rhys, king of Deheubarth
 * John XI bar Mawdyono, patriarch of Antioch
 * Lucienne de Rochefort, French princess (b. 1088)
 * Nicephorus Bryennius, Byzantine statesman (b. 1062)
 * Ramanuja, Indian Sri Vaishnavism philosopher (b. 1017)

title: 1137


text:
1138

Year 1138 (MCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Europe

 * March 7 – Conrad III is elected as King of Germany, in the presence of the papal legate Theodwin at Koblenz. He is crowned at Aachen six days later (on March 13), and acknowledged in Bamberg by several German princes of southern Germany. Henry X (the Proud), son-in-law and heir of the late King Lothair III, refuses his allegiance to Conrad. He is deprived of all his Saxon territories, which are given to Leopold IV (the Generous).
 * Summer – A civil war breaks out in the Holy Roman Empire, a struggle begins between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, while the family name Welf of Henry X will be corrupted into Guelph.
 * October 20 – Bolesław III (Wrymouth) dies after a 31-year reign. He divides Poland among his sons: Władyslaw II (the Exile) receives Silesia and the Senioral territories – which includes the Kraków and Łęczyca regions, as well as parts of Kujawy and Wielkopolska ("Greater Poland"). Bolesław IV (the Curly) receives Masovia and Mieszko III receives the newly established Duchy of Greater Poland. The 7-year-old Henry becomes duke of Sandomierz. Bolesław's last son, Casimir II receives nothing, as he is born after his father's death.

Britain

 * May – Earl Robert FitzRoy rebels against King Stephen, supporting Matilda (his step-sister) in her claim for the English throne. Matilda is given refuge by Earl William de Albini at Arundel Castle. Stephen builds siege works around the castle, but is unable to break the castle's defences. In France, Matilda's husband Duke Geoffrey V (the Fair) takes advantage of the situation by re-invading Normandy.
 * August 22 – Battle of the Standard: King David I of Scotland gives his full support to Matilda (daughter of the late King Henry I), and invades the north of England – travelling as far south as Lincolnshire. The Scottish army (some 15,000 men) is defeated by English forces under Earl William le Gros in Yorkshire. David retreats to Carlisle and reassembles an army.
 * The Earldom of Pembroke, created for Gilbert de Clare, becomes the first earldom created by Stephen within the borders in Wales. Gilbert receives the rape and Pevensey Castle.

Middle East

 * Spring – Emperor John II (Komnenos) leads a Byzantine expeditionary force into Syria and arrives before the walls of Aleppo on April 20. The city proves too strong to attack, but the fortresses of Biza'a, Athareb, Ma'arrat Nu'man and Kafartab are taken by assault. While the Byzantines besiege the city of Shaizar, the Crusader allies Prince Raymond of Poitiers of Antioch and Count Joscelin II of Edessa remain in their camp playing dice.
 * Siege of Shaizar: The Byzantines under John II besiege the capital of the Munqidhite Emirate. They capture the lower city on May 20, but fail to take the citadel. John negotiates with Emir Abu'l Asakir Sultan – who sends him an offer to pay a large indemnity and becoming a vassal of the Byzantine Empire. John, disgusted by his Crusader allies, accepts the terms and raises the siege on May 21.
 * October 11 – An earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills about 230,000 people.
 * Al-Rashid Billah (Deposed caliph of Baghdad) fled to Isfahan where he was assassinated by a team of four Nizari Ismailis (Assassins) in June 1138. This was celebrated in Alamut for a week by Shias.

Asia

 * November 5 – Lý Anh Tông is enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt at the age of two, starting a 37-year reign.

Religion

 * April 10 – Robert Warelwast is nominated as bishop of Exeter at a royal council in Northampton, England.

Births

 * Casimir II (the Just), duke of Poland (d. 1194)
 * Conan IV (the Young), duke of Brittany (d. 1171)
 * Fujiwara no Narichika, Japanese nobleman (d. 1178)
 * Hōjō Tokimasa, Japanese nobleman and regent (d. 1215)
 * Saladin (the Lion), sultan of Egypt and Syria (d. 1193)
 * Taira no Shigemori, Japanese nobleman (d. 1179)
 * Tancred ("the Monkey King"), king of Sicily (d. 1194)

Deaths

 * January 13 or January 14 – Simon I, duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
 * February 19 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine empress
 * May 11 – William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
 * May 27 – Hadmar I of Kuenring, German nobleman
 * June 6 – Al-Rashid, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (b. 1109)
 * August 12 – Suero Vermúdez, Asturian nobleman
 * October 28 – Bolesław III (Wrymouth), duke of Poland (b. 1086)
 * Amhlaoibh Mór mac Fir Bhisigh, Irish poet and cleric
 * Arwa al-Sulayhi, queen and co-ruler of Yemen (b. 1048)
 * Avempace, Andalusian polymath and philosopher (b. 1085)
 * Chen Yuyi, Chinese politician of the Song Dynasty (b. 1090)
 * David the Scot, bishop of Bangor (approximate date)
 * Kiya Buzurg Ummid, ruler of the Nizari Isma'ili State
 * Rodrigo Martínez, Leonese nobleman and diplomat
 * Rudolf of St. Trond, French Benedictine chronicler
 * Someshvara III, ruler of the Western Chalukya Empire
 * Vakhtang (or Tsuata), Georgian nobleman (b. 1118)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: 1138


text:
1140

Year 1140 (MCXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Levant

 * Spring – King Fulk of Jerusalem confronts Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Mosul, near Dara'a in southern Syria. Turkish forces under Mu'in al-Din (supported by the Crusaders) besiege Banias.

Europe

 * Spring – King Conrad III enfeoffs Henry II (Jasomirgott), a member of the House of Babenberg, with the County Palatine of the Rhine (belonging to the Holy Roman Empire).
 * Summer – King Roger II promulgates the Assizes of Ariano (a series of laws to rule the Norman Kingdom of Sicily) after the pacification of southern Italy.
 * December 21 – Siege of Weinsberg: Conrad III captures the castle at Weinsberg during the civil war between the Staufers and the Welfs in Germany.

England and Scotland

 * Summer – King Stephen appoints Geoffrey de Mandeville as Earl of Essex for his support during the civil war against Matilda (Stephen's cousin).
 * The town of Lanark in Scotland is made a Royal Burgh by King David I, giving it merchant privileges relating to government and taxation.

Asia

 * August 21 – Jin–Song Wars – Battle of Yancheng: Chinese forces under the command of Yue Fei defeat a numerically superior Jin army led by Wuzhu.

Religion

 * June 3 – Pierre Abelard, a French theologian, is condemned for heresy by the Council of Sens. He sets out for Rome to present his defense to Pope Innocent II.
 * September 8 – Sephardi Jewish philosopher Judah Halevi, having completed the Kuzari, arrives in Alexandria on a pilgrimage to Palestine.
 * The first Cistercian monastery in Spain is founded in Fitero. The order enjoys a rapid expansion in the region in the following 15 years.

Literature

 * Gratian, an Italian monk and canon lawyer, founds the science of Canon law with the publication of the Decretum Gratiani (approximate date).

Births

 * May 28 – Xin Qiji, Chinese military leader (d. 1207)
 * Adela of Champagne, queen of France (d. 1206)
 * Alan Fitz Walter, Scottish High Steward (d. 1204)
 * Cadfan ap Cadwaladr, Welsh nobleman (d. 1215)
 * Davyd Rostislavich, Kievan Grand Prince (d. 1197)
 * Domhnall Caomhánach, king of Leinster (d. 1175)
 * Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi, German rabbi (d. 1225)
 * Fujiwara no Tashi, Japanese empress (d. 1202)
 * Gerard de Ridefort, Flemish Grand Master (d. 1189)
 * Hedwig, margravine of Meissen (approximate date)
 * Hugh de Paduinan, Norman nobleman (d. 1189)
 * John I, archbishop of Trier (approximate date)
 * John I, Norman nobleman (approximate date)
 * John of Ford, English Cistercian abbot (d. 1224)
 * Manfred II, marquess of Saluzzo (approximate date)
 * Minamoto no Yoshihira, Japanese nobleman (d. 1160)
 * Peter Waldo, French spiritual leader (d. 1205)
 * Raymond III, crusader and count of Tripoli (d. 1187)
 * Raymond the Palmer, Italian pilgrim (d. 1200)
 * Simon II, duke of Lorraine (approximate date)
 * Sophia of Minsk, queen of Denmark (d. 1198)
 * Walter Map, Welsh clergyman and writer (d. 1210)
 * William FitzRalph, English High Sheriff (d. 1200)
 * Yuan Cai, Chinese scholar and official (d. 1195)

Deaths

 * January 12 – Louis I, German nobleman
 * February 6 – Thurstan, archbishop of York
 * February 14
 * Leo I, prince of Armenia
 * Soběslav I, duke of Bohemia
 * August 21 – Yang Zaixing, Chinese general
 * August 31 – Godebold, bishop of Meissen
 * September 15 – Adelaide, duchess of Bohemia
 * November 16 – Wulgrin II, count of Angoulême
 * Aibert, French monk and hermit (b. 1060)
 * Baldwin of Rieti, Italian Benedictine abbot
 * Diego Gelmírez, Galician archbishop (b. 1069)
 * Gaucherius, French priest and hermit (b. 1060)
 * Hugh the Chanter, English historian and writer
 * Kumarapala, Indian ruler of the Pala Empire
 * Lhachen Naglug, Indian ruler of Ladakh (b. 1110)
 * Li Gang, Chinese Grand Chancellor (b. 1083)
 * Toba Sōjō, Japanese artist-monk (b. 1053)
 * Wanyan Xiyin, Chinese chief adviser

title: 1140


text:
1145

Year 1145 (MCXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Levant

 * Spring – Seljuk forces led by Imad al-Din Zengi capture Saruj, the second great Crusader fortress east of the Euphrates. They advance to Birejik and besiege the city, but the garrison puts up a stiff resistance. Meanwhile, Queen-Regent Melisende of Jerusalem joins forces with Joscelin II, count of Edessa and approaches the city. Zengi raises the siege after hearing rumours of trouble in Mosul. He rushes back with his army to take control. There, Zengi is praised throughout Islam as "defender of the faith" and al-Malik al-Mansur, the "victorious king".
 * Raymond of Poitiers, prince of Antioch, travels to Constantinople to ask Emperor Manuel I Komnenos for help to support his campaign against the Seljuks. When he arrives, Raymond is forced to accept the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. Manuel treats him graciously, gives him gifts and promises him a money subsidy.

Europe

 * Spring – Arnold of Brescia, an Italian priest from Lombardy, turns Rome into a republic with a government patterned on that of the Roman Republic. Arnold becomes the intellectual leader of the Commune of Rome, calling for liberties and democratic rights after the deposition of Giordano Pierleoni.

Africa

 * Spring – Almohad forces under Abd al-Mu'min defeat a Muslim Almoravid army at Tlemcen. Almoravid ruler Tashfin ibn Ali dies while escaping his enemies near Oran. He is succeeded by his son Ibrahim ibn Tashfin.
 * The Merinids of Maghrib al-Aqsa attempt to resist the Almohads but are forced into the desert areas around the Tafilalt. Oran falls to the Almohads. A Norman raid against the Tripolitania region succeeds.

Asia

 * Estimation: Merv (in the Seljuk Empire) becomes the largest city in the world, surpassing Constantinople.

Art and Culture

 * Kim Pusik and his team of historians finish the compilation of the Korean historical text Samguk Sagi.
 * Construction begins on Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France.

Religion

 * February 15 – Pope Lucius II dies at Rome after having been hit by a stone missile during the fighting against Senatorial forces led by Giordano Pierleoni. He is succeeded after an 11-month pontificate by Eugene III who becomes the 167th pope of the Catholic Church. Eugene is forced into exile by Arnold of Brescia.
 * Woburn Abbey is founded by the Cistercians in England. A colony of monks arrive from Fountains Abbey to establish a community that will survive until 1234.
 * December 1 – Eugene III issues the bull Quantum praedecessores, calling for the Second Crusade. At Christmas, King Louis VII announces his intention of making a pilgrimage which becomes part of the Crusade.

Births

 * Al-Adil I, Ayyubid general and sultan (d. 1218)
 * Adalbert III, archbishop of Salzburg (d. 1200)
 * Adam of Perseigne, French Cistercian abbot (d. 1221)
 * Aoife MacMurrough (or Eva), Irish princess (d. 1188)
 * Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, Arab historian (d. 1234)
 * Christina Hvide, queen of Sweden (approximate date)
 * Elizabeth of Hungary, German duchess (d. 1189)
 * Gregory IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1241)
 * Ibn Jubayr, Andalusian geographer and traveller (d. 1217)
 * Margaret of Huntingdon, Scottish princess (d. 1201)
 * Maria of Antioch, Byzantine empress and regent (d. 1182)
 * Marie of Champagne, French noblewoman (d. 1198)
 * Manuel Komnenos, son of Andronikos I (d. 1185)
 * Najmuddin Kubra, founder of the Kubrawi order (d. 1221)
 * Reginald FitzUrse, English knight and assassin (d. 1173)
 * Ruben III, ruler of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (d. 1187)
 * Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi, Persian scholar (d. 1234)
 * Theodora Komnene, queen of Jerusalem (approximate date)

Deaths

 * February 15 – Lucius II, pope of the Catholic Church
 * March 23 – Tashfin ibn Ali, Almoravid emir
 * April 5 – Gabriel II, patriarch of Alexandria
 * October 6 – Baldwin, archbishop of Pisa
 * November 26 – Bellinus of Padua, Italian bishop
 * Fujiwara no Tamako, Japanese empress (b. 1101)
 * Magnus Haraldsson, king of Norway (approximate date)
 * Sophia of Bavaria, German noblewoman (b. 1105)
 * William of Malines, Flemish priest (approximate date)
 * Zhang Zeduan, Chinese landscape painter (b. 1085)

title: 1145


text:
1148

Year 1148 (MCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Second Crusade

 * January 1 – The French crusaders under King Louis VII defeat a Turkish ambush next to the Meander River. Three days later they arrive at Laodicea – passing the spot where the German contingent led by Otto of Freising has been so disastrously ambushed (see 1147). The Crusaders are badly mauled as they cross Mount Cadmus (around January 8) before reaching Adalia on January 20.
 * January 8 – Battle of Mount Cadmus: The French crusaders under Louis VII are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. The vanguard led by Geoffrey de Rancon ignores orders to pause and moves too far ahead, losing touch with the main army. The French are attacked by the Turks with the baggage train (almost 10 km long) unprotected. Louis is able to escape the fray under cover of the darkness.
 * March – The French crusaders are left in Adalia; lack of available shipping obliges Louis VII to divide his forces – the knights and best troops accompany him to St. Symeon. Large numbers of pilgrims and non-combatants try to continue along the coastal road. Continually harassed by the Turks many French and Germans are killed. Less than half of them arrive in the late spring at Antioch.
 * March 7 – King Conrad III recovers from his wounds and leaves Constantinople with his household. He is well supplied with money by Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and uses these funds to recruit pilgrims to augment the forces that remain to him. Conrad and his re-equipped Crusaders sail with a Byzantine fleet to Palestine. The fleet is scattered by storms and lands in different ports.
 * March 19 – Louis VII and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, are welcomed at St. Symeon by Eleanor's uncle Raymond of Poitiers and all his household. Raymond escorts the French crusaders to Antioch, where for the next days festivities are held. He urges Louis to accompany him on a expedition against Aleppo but Louis refuses and prefers instead to finish his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 * April – Southern French crusaders under Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse arrive by sea at Acre. Alfonso dies suddenly at Caesarea, resulting in the accusation that he has been poisoned by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli. Most of the Provençal forces turn back and return home. Meanwhile, an unknown proportion of northern European naval crusaders (from England and Germany) arrive at Acre.
 * April–May – Louis VII and the French crusaders remain in Antioch, but there are rumours of an incestuous affair between Eleanor of Aquitaine and Raymond of Poitiers. Louis, alarmed for his honour, departs with his army to Jerusalem in late May. Meanwhile, Conrad III with his chief nobleman are welcomed by Queen Melisende and her 18-year-old son, co-ruler Baldwin III at Jerusalem.
 * June – Mu'in ad-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Damascus, prepares for war and strengthens the fortifications of the city. He sends an urgent request for military assistance to the Zangid ruler Sayf al-Din. Unur orders his troops to destroy the water sources in areas that the Crusaders must cross. Seljuk governors of frontier provinces station scouting parties along the road to Damascus.
 * June 24 – Council of Acre: Conrad III, Louis VII, Melisende and many other nobles join in a war council near Acre. They decide that Damascus rather than Edessa will be the primary target of the Second Crusade.
 * July – The Crusaders under Baldwin III join forces with the Crusader armies of Louis VII and Conrad III (all together some 50,000 men) at Tiberias. They march up the Jordan Valley and cross into Zangid territory.
 * July 24 – Zangid forces under Sayf al-Din arrive at Homs. Mu'in al-Din Unur sends a letter of ultimatum to the Crusader leaders to lift the siege of Damascus. Meanwhile, guerrilla attacks demoralise the Crusaders.
 * July 28 – Siege of Damascus: The Crusaders are forced to withdraw from their siege of Damascus after only four days. First Conrad III, then the rest of the Crusader army, decides to retreat to Jerusalem.
 * September – The French crusaders raid the province of Damascus, in reprisal for the failure of their siege. Mu'in al-Din Unur takes his forces to the Hawran to protect the harvest and its transport to Damascus.
 * September 8 – Conrad III sails from Acre to Thessaloniki and forms an alliance with Manuel I against King Roger II of Sicily. During his visit Henry II, Duke of Austria ('Jasomirgott') marries Manuel's niece, Theodora Komnene.

Europe

 * February 1 – A small Crusader fleet of Genoese and English ships sets sail from Lisbon for the Holy land. The Anglo-Flemish Crusader fleet takes Oran.
 * Siege of Tortosa: A multinational force under Ramon Berenguer IV besieges the Almoravid city of Tortosa. After a 7-month siege the garrison surrenders.
 * King Afonso I ("the Great") of Portugal takes Abrantes from the Almoravids. Ramon Berenguer IV conquers the lower Ebro plain (between 1148–1149).

England

 * October – Queen Matilda returns to Normandy, partially due to her difficulties with the Catholic Church. Without the support of Robert of Gloucester her personal fight for the English throne is over.

Seljuk Empire

 * Battle of Ghazni: Ghurid forces under Sayf al-Din Suri defeat the Ghaznavid sultan Bahram-Shah and capture the capital Ghazni. Bahram-Shah is forced to flee to India.

Africa

 * Taking advantage of internal strife and a famine episode, George of Antioch takes Mahdia (June 22), Susa (July 1) and Sfax (July 12) in Tunisia, in the name of Roger II.
 * Following the uprising of other cities in the region of Meknes (modern Morocco) under al-Massati, the population of Ceuta rebels against the Almohads.

Literature

 * Anna Komnene writes the Alexiad, a biography of her father, the late Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

Religion

 * Hildegard of Bingen founds a new monastery at Rupertsberg in the Rhine Valley near Bingen am Rhein.

Technology

 * An Italian silk industry is started at Palermo by Roger II, who takes numbers of silk workers back from Greece.

Births

 * Béla III, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1196)
 * Bohemond III ("the Child"), prince of Antioch (d. 1201)
 * Galgano Guidotti, Italian knight and saint (d. 1181)
 * Isabelle de Meulan, French noblewoman (d. 1220)
 * Muhammad II, ruler of the Nizari Ismaili State (d. 1210)
 * Ōe no Hiromoto, Japanese nobleman (d. 1225)
 * Philippa of Antioch, princess of Antioch (d. 1178)
 * Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist religious leader (d. 1227)
 * Ugo Canefri, Italian knight and health worker (d. 1233)
 * Urraca of Portugal, queen consort of León (d. 1211)

Deaths

 * January 3 – Anselm of St. Saba, English bishop
 * January 6
 * Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1100)
 * William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey (b. 1119)
 * January 24 – Ascelin (or Anselm), English bishop
 * April 16
 * Robert de Bethune, bishop of Hereford
 * Roger de Clinton, bishop of Coventry
 * August 21 – William II, count of Nevers (b. 1089)
 * September 17 – Conan III, duke of Brittany (b. 1095)
 * September 30 – Magnús Einarsson, Icelandic bishop
 * November 2 – Malachy, Irish archbishop and saint (b. 1094)
 * Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Andalusian scholar (b. 1076)
 * Alberic of Ostia, French cardinal-bishop (b. 1080)
 * Alfonso Jordan, count of Toulouse (b. 1103)
 * Amadeus III, count of Savoy and Maurienne
 * Ari Thorgilsson, Icelandic chronicler (b. 1067)
 * Hedwig of Gudensberg, German countess (b. 1098)
 * Henry of Lausanne, French monk and preacher
 * Mahaut of Albon, countess of Savoy (b. 1112)
 * Reginald III (or Renaud), count of Burgundy
 * Roger III, duke of Apulia and Calabria (b. 1118)
 * Simon of Vermandois, French bishop (b. 1093)
 * William of St. Thierry, French abbot and writer
 * Wuzhu, Chinese prince, general and minister
 * Ye Mengde, Chinese minister and poet (b. 1077)

title: 1148


text:
1149

Year 1149 (MCXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * Spring – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) recovers Corfu with the help of the Venetians, who defeat the Sicilian fleet. During the three-month siege, Byzantine admiral Stephen Kontostephanos is killed by a stone thrown by a catapult. Manuel prepares an offensive against the Normans; King Roger II sends a fleet (some 40 ships) under George of Antioch, to pillage the suburbs of Constantinople.

Levant

 * Spring – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, invades the Principality of Antioch and defeats the Crusaders under Raymond of Poitiers at Baghras. He moves southward to besiege the fortress of Inab, one of the few strongholds of the Crusaders east of the Orontes River. Raymond with a small army (supported by the Assassin allies under Ali ibn Wafa) hurries to its rescue. Nur al-Din, misinformed of the strength of the Crusader forces, retreats. In fact the Zangid forces (some 6,000 men) outnumber the Crusaders by over four to one. Against Ali's advice Raymond decides to reinforce the garrison of Inab.
 * April – King Louis VII and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine sail homeward in separate Sicilian ships. While the fleet rounds the Peloponnese (southern Greece) it is attacked by ships of the Byzantine navy. Louis gives orders to raise the French flag and is allowed to sail on. But the ships containing many of his followers and his possessions are captured and taken as a war-prize to Constantinople.
 * June 29 – Battle of Inab: The Zangid army under Nur al-Din defeats the combined army of Raymond of Poitiers and the Assassins of Ali ibn Wafa at Inab. After the battle, Nur al-Din invades Antiochene territory and captures the fortresses of Artah and Harim. He then turns west to appear before the walls of Antioch itself and raids as far as St. Symeon.
 * July – King Baldwin III receives an urgent request for help from Antioch to break the incomplete Zangid blockade of the city. Meanwhile, the Crusaders fail to retake Harim. Nur al-Din strengthens his siege of Antioch, but it is too large to surround. A truce is agreed under which Harim and farther east territory remains under Seljuk dominance.
 * July 15 – The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is consecrated, after reconstruction.

Europe

 * The Italian 'naval republics' of Genoa, Pisa and Venice finance their expanding trade within and outside Europe – trade which includes an arms industry for manufactures and merchants alike (approximate date).
 * October 24 – Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, conquers Lleida from the Almoravids, after a siege of seven months (as well as Fraga and Mequinenza).
 * Åhus, in present-day Sweden, gains city rights (approximate date).

Britain

 * Spring – King Stephen besieges Worcester, but is unable to capture the castle due to its strong defences. He expels William de Beauchamp, lord of the city. Stephen builds two forts near the castle to assist in the attack.
 * March – The 16-year-old Henry of Anjou, eldest son of Queen Matilda, lands in England in a second attempt to take the English throne from Stephen. He travels up via Salisbury and Gloucester north to Carlisle (Scotland).
 * May 22 – Henry of Anjou is knighted at Carlisle by King David I. Henry acknowledges the Scottish king's right to Northumberland.

Commerce

 * Genoa grants the benefits of a part of the city's fiscal revenues to a consortium of creditors called compera, the first example of the consolidation of public debt in medieval Europe.

Religion

 * April 8 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Tusculum where he meets Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He attempts to reunite the couple by insisting to restore the love between them.

Births

 * Albert of Vercelli, patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 1214)
 * Al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1160)
 * Ch'oe Ch'ung-hŏn, Korean ruler of Goryeo (d. 1219)
 * Fujiwara no Kanezane, Japanese nobleman (d. 1207)
 * Majd al-Din ibn Athir, Zangid historian (d. 1210)
 * Margaritus of Brindisi, Sicilian admiral (d. 1197)
 * Minamoto no Michichika, Japanese nobleman (d. 1202)
 * Muhammad of Ghor, ruler of the Ghurid Empire (d. 1206)
 * Odon of Poznań, duke of Greater Poland (d. 1194)
 * Shikishi, Japanese princess, poet and nun (d. 1201)

Deaths

 * January 15 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen of Castile (b. 1116)
 * March 10 – Reginald I (the One-Eyed), count of Bar
 * April 24 – Petronille de Chemillé, French abbess
 * May 8 – Bernard du Bec, French Benedictine abbot
 * June 29 – Raymond of Poitiers, prince of Antioch
 * August 28 – Mu'in al-Din Unur, Seljuk ruler of Damascus
 * September 30 – Arnaud de Lévezou, French archbishop
 * October 8 – Al-Hafiz, caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate
 * Joseph ibn Tzaddik, Spanish Jewish rabbi and poet
 * Machig Labdrön, Tibetan Buddhist teacher (b. 1055)
 * Pedro Helías, archbishop of Santiago de Compostela
 * Qadi Ayyad, Almoravid imam and chief judge (b. 1083)
 * Stephen Kontostephanos, Byzantine aristocrat (b. 1107)

title: 1149


text:
1151

Year 1151 (MCLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

 * September 7 – Geoffrey of Anjou dies, and is succeeded by his son Henry, aged 18.
 * After the Battle of Ghazni, the city is burned by the Prince of Ghur.
 * The first plague and fire insurance policy is issued in Iceland.
 * Bolton Abbey is founded in North Yorkshire, England.
 * Anping Bridge is completed in China's Fujian province. Its total length will not be exceeded until 1846.
 * Confronted with internal strife, the commune of Bologna is the first Italian republic to turn to the rule of a podestà, Guido di Ranieri da Sasso (it ends in 1155).

Births

 * April 3 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Russian prince (d. 1202)
 * May 9 – al-Adid, last Fatimid caliph (d. 1171)
 * Unkei, Japanese sculptor (d. 1223)

Deaths

 * January 13 – Abbot Suger, French statesman and historian (b. c. 1081)
 * April 23 – Adeliza of Louvain, queen of Henry I of England (b. 1103)
 * September 7 – Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou (b. 1113)
 * Li Qingzhao, Chinese poet (b. 1084)

title: 1151


text:
1150

Year 1150 (MCL) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * Battle of Tara: The Byzantines defeat the Serbian-Hungarian army under Grdeša, count (župan) of Travunija, near the snow-covered Tara River. The Serbs are overpowered, and Grand Prince Uroš II is forced to accept the peace agreement made by Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos). Uroš is succeeded by his brother Desa, who becomes co-ruler of the Principality of Serbia (until 1153).

Levant

 * Spring – Joscelin II, count of Edessa, on his way to Antioch is separated from his escort and falls into the hands of some Turcoman free-booters. Nur al-Din, ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, heard of Joscelin's capture and sends a squadron of cavalry to take him from his captors. Joscelin is led before a hostile crowd and publicly blinded. Nur al-Din puts him in prison in the Citadel of Aleppo.
 * Battle of Aintab: A Crusader army led by King Baldwin III repels the attacks of Nur al-Din near Aintab. Baldwin safely evacuates the Christian residents of the County of Edessa, which is captured by the Zangids.
 * The city of Ascalon is fortified with 53 towers by order of the 17-year-old Caliph Al-Zafir, as it is the most strategic frontier fortress of the Fatimid Caliphate.

Europe

 * February 8 – Battle of Flochberg: German forces under Henry VI defeat the army of the House of Welf at Bopfingen. At the same time, King Conrad III besieges Welf forces at Braunschweig in Saxony, but he lifts the siege when confronted by Henry the Lion.
 * The University of Paris (known as the Sorbonne) is founded. The first doctorate degree is awarded in Paris.
 * The city of Rinteln is founded on the northern bank of the Weser River in Lower Saxony (modern Germany).

Britain

 * November 10 – Dryburgh Abbey located in the Scottish Borders is founded by Lord Hugh de Morville.
 * Cubbie Roo's Castle is built on Wyre (Orkney Islands) and is first mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga.
 * Christchurch Priory located in Dorset is founded by Earl Baldwin de Redvers.
 * The Irish Chronology (Chronicon Scotorum) is written (approximate date).

Religion

 * The 15-year-old King Inge I (the Hunchback) of Norway calls for a meeting at Bergen of all religious leaders in anticipation that the English cardinal Nicholas Breakspear will find an archbishopric at Trondheim.
 * Peter Lombard, a French scholastic theologian, publishes the Four Books of Sentences, which becomes the standard textbook of theology at the medieval universities.
 * The temple at Angkor Wat ("Capital of Temples") is completed in the Khmer Empire (modern Cambodia).

Births

 * January 26 – Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Persian polymath (d. 1210)
 * October 8 – Narapatisithu, ruler of the Pagan Kingdom (d. 1211)
 * Agnes of Loon, German duchess and regent (d. 1191)
 * Albert de Rethel, Flemish clergyman and priest (d. 1195)
 * Alix of France, French countess and regent (d. 1197)
 * André de Chauvigny, French nobleman (d. 1202)
 * Azalaïs of Montferrat, Italian noblewoman (d. 1232)
 * Baldwin V, count of Hainaut and Flanders (d. 1195)
 * Geoffrey of Villehardouin, French knight (d. 1213)
 * Gerald FitzMaurice, Norman nobleman (d. 1204)
 * Gruffydd Fychan ap Iorwerth, Welsh knight (d. 1221)
 * Henry de Longchamp, English High Sheriff (d. 1212)
 * Henryk Kietlicz, archbishop of Gniezno (d. 1219)
 * Hermann Joseph, German priest and mystic (d. 1241)
 * Honorius III, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1227)
 * Hugh II of Saint Omer, prince of Galilee (d. 1204)
 * John Comyn, archbishop of Dublin (approximate date)
 * John de Courcy (or Courci), Norman knight (d. 1219)
 * Judah ben Samuel, German Jewish rabbi (d. 1217)
 * Leo I (or Levon), king of Armenian Cilicia (d. 1219)
 * Minamoto no Noriyori, Japanese general (d. 1193)
 * Otto I, count of Guelders and Zutphen (d. 1207)
 * Qutb al-Din Aibak, ruler of the Delhi Sultanate (d. 1210)
 * Ramon I, Catalonian nobleman (approximate date)
 * Robert IV, French nobleman and Grand Master (d. 1193)
 * Rosamund Clifford, English noblewoman (d. 1176)
 * Stephen Langton, English archbishop (d. 1228)
 * Theodore Apsevdis, Byzantine painter (d. 1215)
 * Umadevi, Indian queen and general (d. 1218)
 * William de Braose, English nobleman (d. 1211)
 * Wincenty Kadłubek, bishop of Kraków (d. 1223)
 * Ye Shi, Chinese scholar and philosopher (d. 1223)

Deaths

 * January 9 – Xi Zong, Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 1119)
 * March 20 – Simon of Worcester, bishop of Worcester
 * April 8 – Gertrude of Babenberg, German duchess (b. 1118)
 * August 27 – Guarinus of Sitten, French bishop (b. 1065)
 * September 16 – Sibylla of Burgundy, queen of Sicily (b. 1126)
 * November 12 – Hartbert van Bierum, bishop of Utrecht
 * November 21 – García IV (the Restorer), king of Navarre
 * December 16 – Raynald of Bar, French abbot
 * Barisan of Ibelin (the Old), French nobleman
 * Henry VI (Berengar), co-ruler of Germany
 * Hervé de Bourg-Dieu, French biblical scholar
 * Ibn Masal, Fatimid general, official and vizier
 * Jabir ibn Aflah, Andalusian astronomer (b. 1100)
 * Kjeld (or Ketil), Danish clergyman and saint
 * Reinward, bishop of Meissen (approximate date)
 * Renier de Huy, Flemish goldsmith and sculptor
 * Robert de Sigello, English bishop and chancellor
 * Suryavarman II, ruler of the Khmer Empire
 * Teobaldo Roggeri, Italian shoemaker (b. 1100)
 * William the Simple, French nobleman (b. 1085)

title: 1150


text:
1159

Year 1159 (MCLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

 * September 7 – Pope Alexander III succeeds Pope Adrian IV, as the 170th pope.
 * The Heiji Rebellion breaks out in Japan.
 * Tunis is reconquered from the Normans, by the Almohad caliphs.
 * (Approximate date): Churchman Richard FitzNeal is appointed Lord High Treasurer in England, in charge of Henry II of England's Exchequer, an office he will hold for almost 40 years.

Births

 * Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (d. 1189)

Deaths

 * May 30 – Wladislaus II, the Exile of Poland (b. 1105)
 * August 29 – Bertha of Sulzbach, Byzantine Empress (b. 1110s)
 * September 1 – Pope Adrian IV (b. c. 1100)
 * October 11 – William of Blois, Count of Boulogne and Earl of Surrey (b. c. 1137)
 * Joscelin II, Count of Edessa

title: 1159


text:
1171

Year 1171 (MCLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * March 12 – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) orders the arrest of all Venetians in his empire, and seizes their ships and goods. In September, Doge Vitale II Michiel leads a Venetian fleet (120 ships) against the Byzantines, conquering the cities of Trogir and Dubrovnik. But the plague takes a heavy toll among the fleet's crewmen; half the ships have to be burned to keep them from falling into enemy hands. A plague also breaks out in Venice, when the remaining ships return.

Europe

 * Autumn – King Alfonso II (the Chaste) of Aragon conquers the cities of Caspe and Teruel. He strengthens his southern frontier after Almohad forces under Caliph Yusuf I ravage Catalonia.
 * The successors of Robert Bordet leave Catalonia for Mallorca, marking the end of the attempts to create a Norman principality in Iberia.

Britain

 * July – King Henry II decides to lead a military expedition to Ireland and summons Richard de Clare (Strongbow) to join forces. In September, Richard travels to England and promises his loyalty to Henry. He is granted Leinster as a fiefdom and is honored with the post of "royal constable in Ireland". The army is assembled at Pembroke – several siege towers are shipped over, should Henry need to assault the Norman-held towns (or others such as Cork and Limerick).
 * October 17 – Henry II invades Ireland and lands with a large army of at least 500 mounted knights, and 4,000 men and archers at Waterford. Henry commandeers merchant ships as part of his invasion. He claims the ports of Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford, and promises the Irish chieftains protection if they will acknowledge him as their overlord. Henry is recognized as "Lord of Ireland", traders are invited to Dublin where an English colony is set up.
 * Ascall mac Ragnaill (or Torcaill), last Norse–Gaelic king of Dublin, is captured while trying to retake Dublin from the English forces under Richard de Clare, perhaps in company with Sweyn Asleifsson, and is beheaded. Before the end of the year, Richard relinquishes possession of the city to Henry II, who converts it into an English royal town.

Levant

 * March 10 – King Amalric I of Jerusalem departs with a large staff for Constantinople. At Callipolis he is met by his father-in-law, John Doukas Komnenos, military governor (doux) of Cyprus. Amalric enters the Byzantine capital and is welcomed by Manuel I. In June, a treaty is signed, Amalric recognizes Manuel's suzerainty over Jerusalem.

Egypt

 * September 13 – Caliph Al-Adid dies of natural causes (or poisoning) after a 11-year reign. Saladin overthrows the Fatimid Caliphate, and takes over as governor (atabeg) of Egypt – ruling in the name of Emir Nur al-Din.
 * September 25 – Saladin leads an Egyptian army to take part in a joint attack on the Crusader castles Kerak and Montréal, south of the Dead Sea. In November, Saladin withdraws his forces to Cairo to suppress a coup.

Asia

 * Yesugei (Baghatur), Mongol chieftain, arranges a marriage between his 9-year-old son Temujin (Genghis Khan) and the daughter of the chief of a nearby clan, Börte. He is poisoned by the Tatars while sharing a meal during the wedding.

Births

 * August 15 – Alfonso IX, king of León and Galicia (d. 1230)
 * Agnes of France (or Anna), Byzantine empress (d. 1220)
 * Al-Aziz Uthman, Egyptian ruler and son of Saladin (d. 1198)
 * Matilda of Chester (or Maud), English noblewoman (d. 1233)
 * Minamoto no Michitomo, Japanese nobleman (d. 1227)
 * Muhammad Aufi, Persian historian and philologist (d. 1242)
 * Saionji Kintsune, Japanese nobleman and poet (d. 1244)
 * Stephen de Segrave, English Chief Justiciar (d. 1241)

Deaths

 * February 20 – Conan IV (the Young), duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
 * March 29 – Achard of Saint Victor, Norman bishop (b. 1100)
 * April 3 – Philip of Milly, French nobleman and knight (b. 1120)
 * May 1 – Diarmaid mac Murchadha, king of Leinster (b. 1110)
 * June 9 – Jacob ben Meir Tam, French Jewish rabbi (b. 1100)
 * August 8 – Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (b. 1096)
 * September 13 – Al-Adid, last Fatimid caliph (b. 1151)
 * November 8 – Baldwin IV, count of Hainaut (b. 1108)
 * December 27 – Petrus Ua Mórda, bishop of Clonfert
 * Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan ibn Ali, Zirid ruler (b. 1109)
 * Ascall mac Ragnaill (or Torcaill), king of Dublin
 * Gleb of Kiev (Yuryevich), Grand Prince of Kiev
 * Iorwerth Goch ap Maredudd, Welsh nobleman
 * Narathu, ruler of the Pagan Kingdom (b. 1118)
 * Vladimir III Mstislavich, Grand Prince of Kiev
 * William de Courcy, Norman nobleman and knight
 * Yesugei (Baghatur), Mongol chieftain (b. 1134)

title: 1171


text:
1174

Year 1174 (MCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1174th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 174th year of the 2nd millennium, the 74th year of the 12th century, and the 5th year of the 1170s decade.

Britain

 * July 13 – Battle of Alnwick: King William I (the Lion), supported by Flemish mercenaries, invades England, to help fight in the baronial rebellion against King Henry II. William attacks Prudhoe Castle in Northumberland, but is unable to capture it. He is captured by Lord Ranulf de Glanvill, and brought back to Newcastle. Henry occupies a part of Scotland, with its five strongest castles: Roxburgh, Berwick, Jedburgh, Edinburgh and Stirling.
 * September 5 – Canterbury Cathedral is severely damaged in a fire.
 * September 30 – The Revolt of 1173–1174: After a year and a half of rebellion, Henry II achieves peace agreements with his sons Henry the Young King, Richard, Geoffrey and John at Montlouis, on the basis of the pre-war status quo. Before he returns to Normandy, Henry orders the rebel castles in England and Aquitaine to be destroyed.
 * October – Battle of Thurles: Gaelic-Irish forces under King Domnall Mór Ua Briain defeat an Anglo-Norman invasion at Thurles in Ireland. The English expedition led by Earl Richard de Clare (Strongbow) is surprised while encamped in the area of Lognafola and is forced to retreat to Waterford.
 * December 8 – The Treaty of Falaise: Captured by the English, William I is forced to sign a peace agreement. The treaty makes Scotland a feudal possession of England, William and his nobles swear allegiance to Henry II. He must hand over several castles to Henry in return for his freedom.

Europe

 * Summer – French forces under King Louis VII, supported by Henry the Young King and Philip of Alsace, encircle Rouen. The city holds out against the war engines long enough for Henry II to arrive in the middle of August to stage a rescue. The besiegers are fearful that Henry will invade France and the siege is lifted.
 * October 29 – Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa), on his fifth Italian campaign, begins the siege of Alessandria in northern Italy. He is opposed by the Lombard League (now joined by Venice, Sicily and Constantinople).

Levant

 * May 15 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (atabeg) of Syria, dies at Damascus after a 28-year reign. He is succeeded by his 11-year-old son As-Salih Ismail al-Malik. Meanwhile, Saladin declares himself his regent and vassal.
 * July 11 – King Amalric I dies of dysentery after an 11-year reign. He is succeeded by his 13-year-old son Baldwin IV (the Leper), who becomes ruler of Jerusalem. Count Raymond of Tripoli is appointed as his regent.
 * November 23 – Saladin arrives at Damascus and spends the night at his father's old house, until the gates of the Citadel of Damascus, are opened to him, after a brief siege by his brother Tughtakin ibn Ayyub.

Egypt

 * July 25 – The Sicilian fleet (some 250 ships) under Admiral Tancred launches a failed attack against Alexandria. But he is deprived of support and forced to sail away after a seven-day blockade on August 1.
 * Saladin sends his brother Turan-Shah with an army and supporting fleet to conquer Yemen. This to consolidate Muslim control over the Red Sea while protecting the pilgrimage route from Egypt to Mecca.

Asia

 * Kilij Arslan II, Seljuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, rounds off his conquest of the Danishmend Turks in Eastern Anatolia. He allies with the Zangid rulers against Mosul.

Religion

 * April 7 – Pope Alexander III consecrates Richard of Dover as archbishop of Canterbury at Anagni. Richard returns to England bearing his pallium which he has received directly from the pope.
 * July 7 – Henry II does penance at Canterbury for the murder of Thomas Becket (see 1170), even though indirect. He is whipped by the monks as punishment.

Births

 * Edmund of Abingdon, English archbishop (d. 1240)
 * Emeric, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1204)
 * Gerard of Villamagna, Italian hermit (d. 1242)
 * Hedwig of Silesia, duchess of Greater Poland (d. 1243)
 * Ingeborg of Denmark, queen of France (d. 1237)
 * Liu Songnian, Chinese landscape painter (d. 1224)
 * Robert de Gresle, English landowner (d. 1230)
 * Sava (the Enlightener), Serbian prince (d. 1236)

Deaths

 * January 18 – Vladislaus II, duke of Bohemia (b. 1110)
 * May 15 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler of Syria (b. 1118)
 * June 28 – Andrei Bogolyubsky, prince of Vladimir
 * July 11 – Amalric I, king of Jerusalem (b. 1136)
 * September 17 – Pietro di Miso, Italian cardinal
 * September 22 – Uhtred, Lord of Galloway
 * Ananda Thuriya, Burmese minister and poet
 * Arnau Mir (or Arnal), count of Pallars Jussà
 * Enguerrand (or Ingram), bishop of Glasgow
 * Everard des Barres, French Grand Master
 * Gilla Mo Chaidbeo, Irish monk and abbot
 * Miles of Plancy (or Milo), French nobleman
 * Mu'ayyid al-Din Ai-Aba, ruler of Nishapur
 * Peter II of Tarentaise, French bishop (b. 1102)
 * Shin Panthagu, Burmese monk (b. 1083)
 * Walter of Mortagne, French philosopher
 * Walter of Saint Omer, prince of Galilee
 * William de Chesney, English nobleman
 * William de Turbeville, English bishop

title: 1174


text:
1175

Year 1175 (MCLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.

Britain

 * King Henry II begins living openly with his mistress Rosamund Clifford, raising suspicions about their relationship and alienating Henry's wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
 * Eleanor of Aquitaine is held under house arrest at Old Sarum Castle in Wiltshire. She is kept in comfort there – fine clothes for her are dispatched regularly from London.
 * Treaty of Windsor: High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (or Roderic O'Conner) relinquishes his title and agrees to submit to Henry II as vassal of Connacht in Ireland.
 * Winter – The Massacre of Abergavenny ends with several Welsh noblemen dead, at the orders of Lord William de Braose.

Europe

 * Under the admirals of the clan Banu Mardanish, an Almohad fleet suffers a large defeat at the hand of the Portuguese, as they are trying to re-conquer Lisbon.
 * Vordingborg Castle is completed by King Valdemar I (the Great) of Denmark as a defensive fortress.
 * The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy is founded.

Levant

 * May 22 – A group of Isma'ili Assassins gains access into Saladin's camp and attempts to kill him during the siege of Aleppo. But his bodyguard saves his life, the others are slain while trying to escape.

Asia

 * The Chinese court establishes several government-paper money factories in the cities of Chengdu, Hangzhou and Huizhou. In Hangzhou alone a daily workforce of more than 1,000 men is employed.
 * The Namayan Kingdom formed by a confederation of barangays, reaches its peak on Luzon (modern Philippines).

Religion

 * The High Academy of the Bosnian Church in Moštre (modern-day Visoko), is first mentioned in the Vatican archives.
 * Count Raymond of Tripoli appoints William II as chancellor of Jerusalem and is elected as archbishop of Tyre.

Births

 * February 4 – Nadaungmya, king of Burma (d. 1235)
 * Al-Zahir, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate (d. 1226)
 * Emo of Friesland, Frisian scholar and abbot (d. 1237)
 * Frederick I (the Catholic), duke of Austria (d. 1198)
 * Henry Audley (or Aldithel), English nobleman (d. 1246)
 * Herman II, German nobleman (House of Lippe) (d. 1229)
 * Hōjō Tokifusa, Japanese nobleman and monk (d. 1240)
 * Margaret of Hungary, Byzantine empress (d. 1223)
 * Michael Scot, Scottish mathematician and scholar (d. 1232)
 * Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (House of Welf) (d. 1218)
 * Philip I (the Noble), margrave of Namur (d. 1212)
 * Raymond of Penyafort, Spanish Dominican friar (d. 1275)
 * Robert Grosseteste, English statesman (d. 1253)
 * Roger III, king of Sicily (House of Hauteville) (d. 1193)
 * Śārṅgadeva, Indian musicologist and writer (d. 1247)
 * Subutai, Mongol general and strategist (d. 1248)
 * Theodore I (Laskaris), emperor of Nicaea (d. 1221)
 * Yolanda, empress of the Latin Empire (d. 1219)

Deaths

 * January 12 – Yi Ui-bang, Korean military leader (b. 1121)
 * January 24 – Ibn Asakir, Syrian historian and mystic (b. 1105)
 * March 5 – Frederick of Hallum, Frisian priest and abbot
 * May 15 – Mleh I, prince of Armenia ("Lord of the Mountains")
 * May 25 – Ishoyahb V, patriarch of the Church of the East
 * July 1 – Reginald de Dunstanville, English nobleman (b. 1110)
 * July 27 – Ponce de Minerva, French nobleman and general
 * October 19 – Andrew of Saint Victor, English abbot and scholar
 * November 13 – Henry of France, archbishop of Reims (b. 1121)
 * Ibn Saad al-Khair al-Balancy, Arab Andalusian linguist and poet (b. 1116)
 * Clementia of Zähringen, duchess of Bavaria and Saxony
 * Maria Torribia (or la Cabeza), Spanish laywoman and hermit
 * Nicholas Hagiotheodorites, Byzantine scholar and official

title: 1175


text:
1177

Year 1177 (MCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

January–December

 * January – Eystein Meyla, leader of the Birkebeiner in Norway, is killed. Sverre Sigurdson (Later, King Sverre I, of Norway) becomes the new leader.
 * January 13 – Leopold V becomes Duke of Austria.
 * March – Treaty of Venice: Frederick I Barbarossa acknowledges Alexander III as Pope, after a diplomatic mediation by Venetian doge Sebastiano Ziani.
 * March 16 – The Spanish Award is signed and witnessed by, among others, Robert III de Stuteville and John of Greenford
 * August 1 – The Holy Roman Empire renounces any claims on the territory of Rome.
 * September 27 – Pope Alexander III sends a letter to Prester John, believing he is real.
 * November 25 – Battle of Montgisard: Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Chatillon defeat Saladin.

Date unknown

 * During the third year of the Angen era in Japan, a fire devastates Kyoto.
 * During the winter, the Estonians attack Pskov.
 * Casimir II overthrows his brother Mieszko III the Old, to become High Duke of Poland.
 * The Cham sack the Khmer capital of Angkor. The date is disputed.
 * Moscow is burned down by Gleb I, prince of Ryazan, and its inhabitants are killed.
 * A civil war breaks out in the Republic of Florence, between the Uberti Family and their consular opponent.
 * Puigcerdà is founded by Alfonso II of Aragon.
 * Byland Abbey is established on its final site in Yorkshire, England, by the Cistercians.
 * Abbas Benedictus becomes abbot of Peterborough in England.
 * Roger de Moulins becomes Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.
 * possible date – Richard FitzNeal begins to write his treatise Dialogus de Scaccario ("Dialogue concerning the Exchequer") in England.
 * The union of Egypt and Syria under Sultan Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub, the foundation of the Ayyubid Sultanate.

Births

 * February/March – Philip of Swabia, rival of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1208)
 * August – Baldwin V, King of Jerusalem (d. 1186)
 * Marie of Oignies, French beguin (d. 1213)
 * Sylvester Gozzolini, Italian founder of the Sylvestrines (d. 1267)

Deaths

 * January 13 – Henry II, Duke of Austria (b. 1107)
 * January – Eystein Meyla, leader of the Birkebeiner in Norway. (b. 1157)
 * June – William of Montferrat, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon, father of Baldwin V of Jerusalem (b. early 1140s)
 * probable – Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk (b. 1095)

title: 1177


text:
1178

Year 1178 (MCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1178th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 178th year of the 2nd millennium, the 78th year of the 12th century, and the 9th year of the 1170s decade.

Europe

 * June 30 – Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) is crowned King of Burgundy at Arles. He will repeat the ceremony in 1186. Returning to Germany, he begins proceedings against Henry III (the Lion), duke of Saxony, who has been charged by Saxon noblemen with breaking the king's peace.
 * July 17 – Saracen pirates, from the Balearic Islands, raid the Cistercian monastery of Saint Honorat on the Lérins Islands, and the city of Toulon, killing an estimated 300 and taking captives. The surviving captives are freed from the Balearic Islands in 1185.
 * King George III defeats a nobles' revolt and proclaims his 18-year-old daughter Tamar (the Great) as co-ruler of Georgia.
 * Orio Mastropiero is elected by the Council of Forty as doge of Venice, following the retirement of Sebastiano Ziani.
 * Portuguese forces under King Afonso I (the Conqueror) capture the city of Beja from the Almohads.

Art and Science

 * The Leaning Tower of Pisa begins to lean, as the third level is completed (approximate date).

Religion

 * Summer – Antipope Callixtus III submits to Pope Alexander III after having reigned for 10 years with support from Frederick I.
 * June 18 – Five monks from Canterbury see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed.

Births

 * October 27 – Zhen Dexiu, Chinese politician (d. 1235)
 * December 22 – Antoku, emperor of Japan (d. 1185)
 * Alam al-Din al-Hanafi, Ayyubid mathematician (d. 1251)
 * Al-Faqih al-Muqaddam, Arab religious leader (d. 1232)
 * Armand de Périgord, French Grand Master (d. 1244)
 * Hugh I, Sardinian ruler (Judge of Arborea) (d. 1211)
 * Matteo Rosso Orsini, Italian politician (d. 1246)
 * Peter II (the Catholic), king of Aragon (d. 1213)
 * Roland of Cremona, French theologian (d. 1259)
 * Thomas I (or Tommaso), count of Savoy (d. 1233)
 * Wei Liaoweng, Chinese politician and philosopher (d. 1237)
 * Wuzhun Shifan, Chinese calligrapher and painter (d. 1249)

Deaths

 * February 17 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, German bishop
 * May 27 – Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrecht
 * December 30 – Pribislav, prince of Mecklenburg
 * Áedh Ua Flaithbheartaigh, king of Iar Connacht
 * Ada de Warenne, Scottish noblewoman (b. 1120)
 * Amadeus I, Swiss nobleman (House of Geneva)
 * Anthelm of Belley, French prior and bishop (b. 1107)
 * Frowin of Engelberg (the Blessed), Swiss abbot
 * Fujiwara no Narichika, Japanese nobleman (b. 1138)
 * Kristin Sigurdsdatter, Norwegian princess (b. 1125)
 * Nashwan al-Himyari, Arab theologian and writer
 * Petrus Comestor, French theologian and writer
 * Philippa of Antioch, princess of Antioch (b. 1148)
 * Richard the Chaplain, bishop of Cell Rigmonaid
 * Walter de Bidun, English bishop and chancellor
 * William of Lucca, Italian theologian and writer

title: 1178


text:
1182

Year 1182 (MCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * April – Massacre of the Latins: The Eastern Orthodox inhabitants of Constantinople massacre the Venetian, Genoan, and other Latin officials and traders who rule as agents of Empress Maria of Antioch. She is the mother and regent of 12-year-old Emperor Alexios II.
 * August – Andronikos Komnenos, a cousin of Maria's late husband, Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos), raises an army and enters the city, representing himself as the 'protector' of Alexios. He is proclaimed as co-emperor under the name Andronikos I, and has Maria imprisoned and later condemned to be strangled – forcing a signature from Alexios to put his mother to death.

Levant

 * May 11 – Saladin leads an Egyptian expeditionary force from Cairo to Syria. In June, he arrives in Damascus and learns that his nephew Farrukh Shah has raided Galilee, and sacked the villages near Mount Tabor. On his way back, Farrukh Shah attacks the fortress of Habis Jaldak, carved out of the rock above the River Yarmuk. The garrison, Christian Syrians with no great wish to die for the Crusaders, promptly surrenders.
 * July – August – Battle of Belvoir Castle: Saladin crosses into Palestine round the south of the Sea of Galilee. King Baldwin IV (the Leper) of Jerusalem marches with his army back from Oultrejordain and attacks Saladin's forces near Belvoir Castle (modern Israel). In a fierce battle, the Crusaders successfully repel Saladin's invasion. At the end of the day, each side retires, claiming the victory.
 * August – Saladin sends an Egyptian fleet to blockade Beirut and leads his forces in the Bekaa Valley. The city is strongly fortified and Baldwin IV rushes with his army up from Galilee – only pausing to collect the ships that lay in the harbors of Acre and Tyre. Failing to take Beirut by assault before the Crusaders arrived, Saladin breaks off the siege and withdraws.
 * September – Saladin invades the Jazira Region, ending the truce between him and the Zangids. After a feint attack on Aleppo, he crosses the Euphrates. The towns of the Jazira fall before him; the cities of Edessa, Saruj and Nisibin are captured in October. Saladin presses on to Mosul, and begins the siege of the city on November 10.
 * November – Al-Nasir, caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, is shocked by the war between fellow-Muslims and tries to negotiate a peace. Saladin, thwarted by the strong fortifications of Mosul, retreats to Sinjar. He marches to conquer Diarbekir, the richest and the greatest fortress of the Jazira Region (with the finest library in Islam).
 * December – Baldwin IV raids through the Hauran and reaches Bosra, while Raymond of Tripoli recaptures Habis Jaldak. A few days later, Baldwin sets out with a Crusader force to Damascus and encamps at Dareiya in the suburbs. He decides not to attack the city and retires laden with booty, to spend Christmas at Tyre.
 * Winter – Raynald of Châtillon, lord of Oultrejordain, orders the building of five ships which are carried to the Gulf of Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea. Part of his fleet makes a raid along the coast, threatening the security of the holy cities on Pharaoh's Island (or Île de Graye).

Europe

 * Spring – King Philip II (Augustus) confiscates all the lands and buildings of the Jews and expels them from Paris. The measures are profitable in the short-term – the ransoms alone bringing in 15,000 marks and enriching Christians at the expense of Jews. Ninety-nine Jews are burned alive in Brie-Comte-Robert.
 * May 12 – King Valdemar I (the Great) dies after a 28-year reign in which he has gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. He is succeeded by his 19-year-old son Canute VI, who becomes ruler of Denmark.
 * Mieszko III (the Old), duke of Greater Poland, agrees with his son Odon of Poznań to divide the territories between them: Mieszko hold his western lands and Odon receives the eastern lands south of the River Obra.
 * May – June – Béla III, king of Hungary, ravages the region of Belgrade and Barancs (modern-day Braničevo). Meanwhile, Serbia allies itself with Hungary to gain independence.
 * September 14 – Legend of Nazaré: Dom Fuas Roupinho, alcalde of Porto de Mós, is inspired by a Marian miracle to erect the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré overlooking Nazaré, Portugal. Later this year while trying to enter the harbor of Ceuta by surprise to sink Muslim ships he is spotted and killed.
 * A Sicilian attempt to dislodge the Moorish fleet from Majorca fails.

England

 * William Marshal, Norman knight and head of the household of Henry the Young King, is accused of having an affair with Henry's wife, Queen Margaret of France. Although contemporary chroniclers doubt the truth of these accusations. Henry starts the process to have his marriage annulled, William leaves the royal retinue, undergoing a period of self-imposed exile, and goes on a pilgrimage to Cologne.

Asia

 * May – The Yōwa era, marked by famine, ends during the reign of Emperor Antoku in Japan.

Religion

 * The Maronite Church reestablishes its affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church.

Births

 * September 11 – Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shogun (d. 1204)
 * September 19 – Reginald de Braose, Norman nobleman (d. 1228)
 * Alexios I (Megas Komnenos), emperor of Trebizond (d. 1222)
 * Alexios IV (Angelos), Byzantine emperor (approximate date)
 * Alice of Vergy, duchess and regent of Burgundy (d. 1251)
 * Bouchard IV, French nobleman (House of Avesnes) (d. 1244)
 * Eleanor of Aragon, Spanish princess and countess (d. 1226)
 * Enguerrand III, French nobleman (House of Coucy) (d. 1242)
 * Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order (d. 1226)
 * Fujiwara no Tomoie, Japanese nobleman and poet (d. 1258)
 * Jochi, Mongol general and son of Genghis Khan
 * Lutgardis (or Lutgarde), Flemish nun and saint (d. 1246)
 * Maria of Montpellier, queen consort of Aragon (d. 1213)
 * Sakya Pandita, Tibetan Buddhist leader (d. 1251)
 * Verdiana, Italian noblewoman and saint (d. 1242)

Deaths

 * January 13 – Agnes of Austria, queen of Hungary (b. 1154)
 * May 12 – Valdemar I (the Great), king of Denmark (b. 1131)
 * May 16 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general
 * July – Maria Komnene, Byzantine princess (poisoned) (b. 1152)
 * July – Renier of Montferrat (the Caesar John), Italian husband of Maria Komnene (poisoned) (b. 1162)
 * July 25 – Maria I, countess of Boulogne (b. 1136)
 * August 1 – Pietro da Pavia, Italian cardinal-bishop
 * September 15 – Robert III, Italo-Norman nobleman
 * October 6 – Richard Peche, bishop of Coventry
 * Ahmed-Al-Kabeer, Arab preacher and teacher (b. 1119)
 * Farrukh Shah, Ayyubid ruler and nephew of Saladin
 * Fujiwara no Kiyoko, Japanese empress (b. 1122)
 * Henry I, count of Guelders and Zutphen (b. 1117)
 * Hugo Etherianus, Italian cardinal and adviser (b. 1115)
 * Cyril of Turov (or Kirill), Russian bishop (b. 1130)
 * Maria of Antioch, Byzantine empress (b. 1145)
 * Sonam Tsemo, Tibetan Buddhist leader (b. 1142)
 * Zhao Boju, Chinese landscape painter (b. 1120)

title: 1182


text:
1183

Year 1183 (MCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * Andronicus I Comnenus becomes Byzantine Emperor.
 * October – Alexios II Komnenos is murdered, after a 3-year reign at Constantinople.  Andronikos I, 64, is proclaimed emperor of the Byzantine Empire before the crowd on the terrace of the Church of Christ of the Chalke. He marries Alexios' widow, the 11-year-old Agnes of France, and makes a treaty with Venice in November in which he promised a yearly indemnity as compensation for Venetian losses during the Massacre of the Latins.

Europe

 * June 25 – The Peace of Constance is signed, between Frederick Barbarossa and the Lombard League, forming the legal basis for the autonomy of the Italian city republics.
 * Joseph of Exeter writes the first account of a sport resembling cricket.

Japan

 * Three-year-old Emperor Go-Toba ascends to the throne of Japan, after the forced abdication of his brother Emperor Antoku, during the Genpei War.
 * August 14 – Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures, and flee to western Japan to escape pursuit by the Minamoto clan (traditional Japanese date: Twenty-fifth Day of the Seventh Month of the Second Year of Juei).
 * November 17 – Battle of Mizushima: The Taira Clan defeats the Minamoto Clan.

Near East

 * February – Raynald of Châtillon has at least five ships freighted over the Isthmus of Suez, which he then uses to pillage the shores of the Red Sea around Jeddah.
 * William of Tyre is excommunicated by the newly appointed Heraclius of Jerusalem, firmly ending their struggle for power.
 * The Siege of Kerak is waged between the Ayyubids and the Crusaders, in which regent Guy of Lusignan refuses to fight.
 * Saladin conquers Syria and becomes sultan.

Births

 * Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, Khan of the Chagatai Khanate (d. 1241 or 1242)
 * Philippa of Armenia, empress consort of Nicaea

Deaths

 * June 11 – Henry the Young King, son of Henry II of England (b. 1155)
 * October – Alexios II Komnenos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1167)
 * November 23 – William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (b. 1116)
 * Queen Gongye, Korean queen consort (b. 1109)

title: 1183


text:
1184

Year 1184 (MCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Europe

 * March 27 – Tamar of Georgia becomes queen regnant on the death of her father and coregent George III. She remains sole ruler of Georgia (the first woman to hold this office) until her death in 1213.
 * May 20 – Diet of Pentecost: Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, organises a conference in Mainz. During the diet Frederick negotiates with Henry the Lion about an anti-French alliance with England.
 * June 15 – Battle of Fimreite: King Sverre of Norway defeats and kills his rival, Magnus V (Erlingsson) near Fimreite. Sverre takes the throne and becomes sole ruler of Norway (until 1202).
 * Summer – Almohad forces reconquer the Alentejo (except for Évora), and besiege Lisbon on land and blockade the port with their navy. A Portuguese soldier manages to swim to the largest ship of the fleet and to sink it. This ship was so tall, it would have allowed the Muslims easily to reach the walls of the city. The next day, the Almohads have to retreat, taking with them a number of civilian captives.
 * Siege of Santarém: Almohad forces under Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf march towards Badajoz and besiege Santarém, which is defended by King Afonso I of Portugal ("the Conqueror"). Upon hearing of Abu Yusuf's attack, Ferdinand II of León marches his army to Santarém to support his father-in-law, Afonso. Abu Yusuf, in an attempt to break the siege, is wounded by a crossbow bolt and dies on July 29.
 * October 29 – The 18-year-old Prince Henry, eldest surviving son of Frederick I, is engaged to Princess Constance, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily, at Augsburg in the episcopal palace.
 * The city of Abbeville receives its commercial charter by King Philip II of France.

England

 * The first royal ordinance demanding that the Knights Templar and Hospitaller assist in the collection of taxes is promulgated.
 * King Henry II of England encourages his youngest (and favorite) son John to seize Aquitaine from his brother Richard.
 * May – A serious fire damages Glastonbury Abbey and destroys several buildings.

Africa

 * May – Berber forces under Ali Banu Ghaniya seize the Almohad cities of Algiers, Béjaïa and Constantine by surprise. While he is away from his base in Mallorca, one of his brothers, Muhammad, takes control of the island and calls in the Almohads, who intend to capture Mallorca for themselves. Banu Ghaniya arrives just in time to defeat the Almohads and recapture the island.
 * August 10 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur is proclaimed the new caliph of the Almohad Caliphate, after his father Abu Yaqub Yusuf is killed in Portugal.

Levant

 * Saladin sends his nephew Izz al-Din Usama, governor (emir) of the iron-rich mountains near Beirut, to build Ajloun Castle, which controls the trade along the road between Damascus and Egypt.

Asia

 * February 19 – Second Battle of Uji: Japanese forces under Minamoto no Yoshinaka are defeated by his cousins, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Yoritomo, for the control of Japan.
 * February 21 – Battle of Awazu: Minamoto no Yoshinaka is killed during a pursuit by his cousin's armies. He is joined by his foster brother Imai Kanehira, who commits suicide.
 * March 20 – Battle of Ichi-no-Tani: Japanese forces under Minamoto no Noriyori defeat the Taira clan at Ikuta Shrine in the woods of Settsu Province during the Genpei War.

Religion

 * The papal bull Ad Abolendam is issued against several European heretical groups: the Cathars, the Waldensians, the Patarines, Josephines and the Humiliati. It is created after a landmark meeting in Verona, between the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick I and the Catholic Church under Pope Lucius III.

Births

 * April 11 – William Longsword, lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
 * Ahmad al-Tifashi, Almohad poet and anthologist (d. 1253)
 * Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany, English countess (d. 1241)
 * Fujiwara no Hideyoshi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1240)
 * Guigues VI, count of Albon (House of Burgundy) (d. 1237)
 * Jutta of Thuringia, margravine of Meissen (d. 1235)
 * William of Modena, Italian bishop and diplomat (d. 1251)

Deaths

 * January 2 – Theodora Komnene, duchess of Austria
 * January 13 – Gerard la Pucelle, English bishop (b. 1117)
 * February 16 – Richard of Dover, English archbishop
 * February 21
 * Imai Kanehira, Japanese military leader (b. 1152)
 * Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Japanese shogun (b. 1154)
 * March 27 – George III, king of Georgia (House of Bagrationi)
 * March 28 – Eckbert of Schönau (or Egbert), German Benedictine abbot
 * June 15 – Magnus V (Erlingsson), king of Norway (b. 1156)
 * July 29 – Abu Yaqub Yusuf, Almohad caliph (emir) (b. 1135)
 * September 30 – Arnold of Torroja, Catalan Grand Master
 * October 24 – Siegfried, prince-archbishop of Bremen (b. 1132)
 * November 15
 * Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, Holy Roman Empress consortr (b. 1143)
 * William de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Warwick, English nobleman
 * November 18 – Josceline de Bohon, English bishop (b. 1111)
 * December 17 – Simon de Tosny, Norman-Scottish bishop
 * December 29 – Aindréas of Caithness, Gaelic-Scottish monk and bishop
 * Abu al-Bayan ibn al-Mudawwar, Jewish physician (b. 1101)
 * Agnes of Antioch, queen consort of Hungary (approximate date)
 * Grimaldo Canella, Italian nobleman (House of Grimaldi)
 * Li Tao (or Renfu), Chinese historian and writer (b. 1115)
 * Pedro Fernández de Castro (Grand Master of the Order of Santiago), Spanish nobleman (b. 1115)
 * Sasaki Hideyoshi, Japanese nobleman and samurai (b. 1112)
 * Taira no Atsumori, Japanese warrior and samurai (b. 1169)
 * Taira no Koremori, Japanese nobleman (approximate date)
 * Taira no Tadanori, Japanese warrior and general (b. 1144)
 * William de Vesci, High Sheriff of Northumberland (b. 1125)

title: 1184


text:
1185

Year 1185 (MCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Byzantine Empire

 * August – King William II of Sicily ("the Good") lands in Epirus with a Siculo-Norman expeditionary force of 200 ships and 80,000 men (including 5,000 knights) and marches as far as the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki, which he takes and pillages, massacring some 7,000 Greek citizens.
 * September 11–12 – Isaac II Angelos leads a revolt in Constantinople and deposes Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos. Andronikos tries in vain to flee across Asia but is captured and killed by an angry mob. Isaac is proclaimed emperor, ending the Komnenos Dynasty.
 * November 7 – Battle of Demetritzes: A reinforced Byzantine army under Alexios Branas decisively defeats William II, ending his invasion of the Byzantine Empire. Thessaloniki is recaptured, and the Normans are pushed back to Italy. Many Norman ships are lost to storms.
 * Uprising of Asen and Peter: Peter and Ivan Asen lead a revolt of the Vlachs and Bulgars against the Byzantine Empire, eventually establishing the Second Bulgarian Empire.

Levant

 * March 16 – The 23-year-old Baldwin IV of Jerusalem ("the Leper King") dies of leprosy after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his 8-year-old nephew, Baldwin V, as the sole ruler of Jerusalem under the regency of Count Raymond of Tripoli. The child-king becomes a pawn in the politics of the kingdom, between his mother Sibylla of Jerusalem (sister of Baldwin IV) and her younger half-sister Isabella I.
 * Saladin agrees to a 4-year truce due to severe drought and famine which has struck Palestine. The treaty is signed by Count Raymond of Tripoli and important nobles from Jerusalem. Commerce is renewed between the Crusader States and their Muslim neighbors. A flow of corn from the east saves the Crusaders and the population from starvation.

British Isles

 * April 25 – John's first expedition to Ireland: King Henry II of England knights his son and heir, the 18-year-old Prince John, newly created Lord of Ireland, and sends him to Ireland, accompanied by 300 knights and a team of administrators to enforce English control. Landing at Waterford, he treats the local Irish rulers with contempt, making fun of their unfashionable long beards. Also failing to make allies amongst the Anglo-Norman settlers, the English army is unable to subdue the Irish fighters in unfamiliar conditions and the expedition soon becomes a complete disaster. In December, John returns to England in defeat. Nonetheless, Henry gets him named 'King of Ireland' by Pope Urban III and procures a golden crown with peacock feathers.
 * April 15 – 1185 East Midlands earthquake occurs. It is the first earthquake in England for which there are reliable reports indicating the damage, which includes destruction of Lincoln Cathedral.

Europe

 * July – Treaty of Boves: King Philip II of France signs a treaty to ensure his authority over his vassals, with Amiénois, Artois and other places in northern France passing to him. Philip is given the nickname "Augustus" by the monk Rigord for augmenting French lands.
 * August 15 – The cave monastery of Vardzia is consecrated by Queen Tamar of Georgia. She marries Yury Bogolyubsky, Grand Prince of Novgorod.
 * September – Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, returns to Germany after being banished for three years by Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor.
 * December 6 – King Afonso I of Portugal ("the Great") dies after a 36-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Sancho I ("the Populator") as ruler of Portugal.
 * Igor Svyatoslavich's failed campaign against the Cumans, later immortalized in The Tale of Igor's Campaign, takes place this year.

Africa

 * The Almohad forces under Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur reconquer Béjaïa and Algiers, that have been taken by the Banu Ghaniya, descendants of the Almoravids.

Asia

 * March 22 – Battle of Yashima: Japanese forces (with some 140 ships, 1,000 cavalry and 30,000 horses) under Minamoto no Yoshitsune defeat the Taira clan just off Shikoku in the Seto Inland Sea.
 * April 25 – Battle of Dan-no-Ura: The Japanese fleet (some 300 ships) led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune defeats the fleet of the Taira clan in the Shimonoseki Strait.
 * December – Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa grants Minamoto no Yoritomo the authority to form the first bakufu (shogunate) in Japan, ending the Genpei War.

Astronomy

 * May 1 – The Solar eclipse of 1 May 1185, visible across Central America, Northern and Eastern Europe and Kazakhstan, occurs.

Markets

 * Evidence is first uncovered that Henry II of England is using the safes of the Temple Church in London (consecrated February 10), under the guard of the Knights Templar, to store part of his treasure.

Religion

 * November 25 – Pope Lucius III dies after a 4-year pontificate in exile at Verona. He is succeeded by Urban III as the 172nd pope of the Catholic Church (until 1187).

Births

 * April 23 – Afonso II ("the Fat"), king of Portugal (d. 1223)
 * Alexander of Hales, English philosopher (d. 1245)
 * Angelus of Jerusalem, Israeli priest and martyr (d. 1220)
 * Dietrich V, German nobleman (approximate date)
 * Engelbert II, archbishop of Cologne (approximate date)
 * Fujiwara no Reishi, Japanese empress consort (d. 1243)
 * Gerard III, count of Guelders and Zutphen (d. 1229)
 * Gertrude of Merania, queen of Hungary (d. 1213)
 * Inge II (Bårdsson), king of Norway (d. 1217)
 * Michael of Chernigov, Kievan Grand Prince (d. 1246)
 * Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar, Anglo-Scottish nobleman (d. 1249)
 * Raymond Roger Trencavel, French nobleman (d. 1209)
 * Robert III, count of Dreux and Braine (d. 1234)
 * Shams Tabrizi, Persian poet and writer (d. 1248)
 * Tancred of Siena, Italian missionary (d. 1241)

Deaths

 * February 9 – Theodoric I, margrave of Lusatia (b. 1130)
 * March 16 – Baldwin IV ("the Leper King"), king of Jerusalem (b. 1161)
 * March 22 – Satō Tsugunobu, Japanese warrior (b. 1158)
 * April 25 – Battle of Dan-no-Ura:
 * Antoku, child-emperor of Japan (b. 1178)
 * Taira no Tokiko, Japanese Buddhist nun (b. 1126)
 * Taira no Norimori, Japanese nobleman (b. 1128)
 * Taira no Noritsune, Japanese nobleman (b. 1160)
 * Taira no Tomomori, Japanese nobleman (b. 1152)
 * Taira no Tsunemori, Japanese nobleman (b. 1124)
 * June 16 – Richeza of Poland, queen consort of Castile (b. 1140)
 * May 30 – Constantine Makrodoukas, Byzantine nobleman
 * June 19 – Taira no Munemori, Japanese samurai (b. 1147)
 * July 18 – Stefan, archbishop of Uppsala (b. before 1143)
 * September 11 – Stephen Hagiochristophorites, Byzantine official
 * September 12 – Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor, assassinated (b. 1118)
 * September – John Komnenos (son of Andronikos I), Byzantine co-emperor, assassinated (b. 1159)
 * November 25 – Lucius III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1097)
 * December 6 – Afonso I ("the Great"), king of Portugal (b. 1109)
 * Abd Allah al-Suhayli, Moorish scholar and writer (b. 1114)
 * Bhāskara ("the Teacher"), Indian mathematician (b. 1114)
 * Fernando Rodríguez de Castro, Spanish nobleman (b. 1125) (after August 16)
 * Ibn Tufail, Arab-Andalusian polymath and writer (b. 1105)
 * Máel Íosa Ua Dálaigh, Irish Ollamh Érenn (chief bard)
 * Taira no Shigehira, Japanese general, executed (b. 1158)

title: 1185


text:
1186

Year 1186 (MCLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

 * January 27 – Constance of Sicily marries Henry (the future Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor).
 * John the Chanter becomes Bishop of Exeter.
 * The Byzantine Empire recognizes the independence of Bulgaria and Serbia.
 * Joscius becomes Archbishop of Tyre.
 * Jayavarman VII, the king of Cambodia, founds the temple of Ta Prohm.
 * After the death of the child-king Baldwin V, his mother succeeds him as Sibylla of Jerusalem, and appoints her disfavoured husband Guy de Lusignan king consort. This comes as a shock to Jerusalem's court, who had earlier forced the possible future Queen into promising that should she become so, she would not appoint him the title.
 * The first nunnery is inaugurated in Iceland, the Kirkjubæjar Abbey.
 * Caliph al-Nasir marries Princess Seljuki. Right after her betrothal to him, he brings her to live with him. He then sends an escort to bring her to Baghdad from Rum, consummates the marriage, and gives her priceless jewels and lavish gifts.

Births

 * May 18 – Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (d. 1218)
 * date unknown
 * Queen Urraca of Portugal, wife of King Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1220)
 * Song Ci, Chinese physician and judge (d. 1249)
 * William III of Sicily (d. 1198)
 * Ogedei, third son and successor of Genghis Khan (d. 1241)

Deaths

 * January 26 – Ismat ad-Din Khatun, wife of Saladin
 * May 29 or June 23 or June 24 – Robert of Torigni
 * June 1 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
 * August 19 – Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany (b. 1158)
 * August – Baldwin V of Jerusalem (b. 1177)
 * September 29 – William of Tyre, Archbishop of Tyre (b. c. 1130)
 * December 8 – Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen (b.c 1125)

title: 1186