March 9 – Battle of Klokotnitsa: Byzantine forces under Theodore Komnenos (Doukas) invade Bulgaria, breaking the peace treaty with Tsar Ivan Asen II. Theodore gathers a large army, including western mercenaries. The two armies meet near the village of Klokotnitsa. Ivan applies clever tactics and manages to surround the Byzantines. They are completely defeated, only a small force under Theodore's brother Manuel Doukas manages to escape the battlefield. Theodore is taken prisoner and is blinded. In the aftermath, Ivan quickly extends its control over most of Theodore's domains in Thrace, Macedonia and Albania. The Latin Duchy of Philippopolis and the independent principality of Alexius Slav are also captured and annexed into Bulgaria.[1]
Europe
King Alfonso IX defeats Ibn Hud al-Yamani (known as Almogàver by the Christians). This success opens the road to Badajoz to the Leonese troops.[2] The Portuguese king Sancho II continues his offensive southward and takes Beja, Juromenha, Serpa and Moura.[3]
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.
September 24 – Alfonso IX dies after a 42-year reign and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand III. He receives the Kingdom of León, in return for compensation in cash and lands for his half-sisters Sancha and Dulce.
Siege of Galway: 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.
England
April 30 – King Henry III embarks from Portsmouth with a large expeditionary force. On May 2, he arrives at Guernsey, and the next day the English army lands at Saint-Malo, where Peter I (or de Dreux), duke of Brittany, meets Henry to pay him homage. During the months, the English forces march through the County of Anjou, taking the castle of Mirebeau in late July.[5]
October 27 – Henry III signs a truce with King Louis IX (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.
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.[12]
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).[13]
China
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.
Mongol Empire
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.[14]
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.
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.
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.[19]
Mongol Empire
February 9 – Battle of Sanfengshan: The Mongol army (some 50,000 warriors) defeats the Chinese Jin forces near Yuzhou. General Subutai successfully wipes out the last field army of the Jin dynasty – therefore sealing its fate of falling to the Mongol Empire. During the encounter, also called the Battle of the Three-Peak Mountain, Emperor Aizong of Jin orders the Jin army (some 150,000 men) to intercept the Mongols. The Jin soldiers are constantly harassed by small groups of Mongol cavalry on the way. When they arrive at Sanfeng Mountain, the Jin army is hungry and exhausted by heavy snowfall. The Jin forces are quickly defeated by the Mongols and flee in all directions.
April 8 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongol army led by Ögedei Khan and his brother Tolui begins the siege of Kaifeng, 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.[20]
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.
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.
Japan
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.
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.[21]
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.[25]
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, one of the rebels.
December – Siege of Caizhou: The Mongols under Ögedei Khan besiege Caizhou and ally themselves with the Chinese Song dynasty to eliminate the Jin Dynasty.
King Canute II of Sweden ("the Tall") dies after a five-year reign. His rival, Eric XI ("the Lisp and Lame"), returns as ruler of Sweden (possibly after a civil war between the two of them). It is also possible that Canute dies of natural causes, and Eric peacefully then returns as king.
A Chinese text of this year records that Hangzhou City, the capital of the Song dynasty, has various social clubs that include a West Lake Poetry Club, the Buddhist Tea Society, the Physical Fitness Club, the Anglers' Club, the Occult Club, the Young Girls' Chorus, the Exotic Foods Club, the Plants and Fruits Club, the Antique Collectors' Club, the Horse-Lovers' Club, and the Refined Music Society.[40][41]
June – The 16-year-old Alexander Nevsky is elected by the Novgorodians as prince (knyaz) of Novgorod, beseeching the young Kievan noble to take charge of the city's military affairs.
The Mongols under Batu Khan, eldest of Jochi, sweep across Central Asia. They settle in the Russian steppe, curtailing the power of the Kievan Rus', extracting tribute from their neighbors, and disrupting their relationship with the Byzantine Empire.
Autumn – Siege of Bilär: The Mongols under Batu Khan capture the capital city of Bilär after a siege that lasts for 45 days. The Volga Bulgars are defeated within the year, as are the Kipchaks and Alans.
The Goryeo court in Korea orders the preparation of another set of woodblocks for printing the Buddhist Tripiṭaka ("Triple Basket") – which is intended both to gain protection against the Mongol invaders and to replace the earlier 11th century set that has been destroyed by the Mongols (see 1232).
Summer – Emperor Frederick II assembles an expeditionary force (some 15,000 men) to crush the rebellious Lombard League. He crosses the Alps to Verona – where he is joined by Lord Ezzelino III da Romano, including troops from Brescia, Vicenza, Padua and Treviso. Frederick relies on his allies for support and in doing so, he provokes the opposition of earlier supporters, such as the House of Este, which now sides with the Lombards.
November 27 – Battle of Cortenuova: Frederick II defeats the forces of the Lombard League; about 5,000 Lombards are captured. Frederick makes a triumphal entry into the allied city of Cremona in the manner of an ancient Roman emperor, with the captured carroccio (later sent to the commune of Rome), and an elephant. During the winter campaign, Frederick captures the Piedmontese cities of Lodi, Novara, Vercelli, Chieri, and Savona.[51]
December 16–21 – Siege of Ryazan: The Mongols under Batu Khan lay siege to Ryazan. The townspeople repel the first Mongol attacks but after 5 days the city walls are breached by Chinese catapults. On December 21, the Mongols storm the walls and plunder the capital, killing Yuri Igorevich and all inhabitants. Yuri II of Vladimir stands by and does nothing to intervene while Ryazan burns.
December – Siege of Kolomna: Rus' forces under Yuri II of Vladimir are besieged and annihilated at Kolomna by the Mongols. Yuri barely escapes to Yaroslavl. The defenceless capital of Vladimir is taken after just 2 days. Yuri's wife Agatha (sister of Michael of Chernigov) and all his family die in Vladimir when a church where they have sought refuge from the fire collapses.
Levant
Spring – Al-Ashraf Musa, Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, assembles his allies and secures his active support of Kayqubad I, Sejuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum. A civil war seems inevitable when Kayqubad is poisoned during a feast at Kayseri, on May 31.[54] Meanwhile, the Seljuks strengthen the fortresses in the eastern provinces against the Mongols.
August 27 – Al-Ashraf becomes dangerously ill and dies after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother As-Salih Ismail – who defends Damascus against his elder brother Al-Kamil, Ayyubid ruler of Egypt. In October, Ismail has the suburbs burnt to prevent the Egyptian forces from shelter.[55]
Elbląg is founded by the Teutonic Order under Grand Master Hermann von Balk. He constructs a fortified stronghold on the banks of the Elbląg River (modern Poland).
January 15–20 – Siege of Moscow: The Mongols under Batu Khan and Subutai campaign across the northern heartland of the Kievan Rus', committing numerous atrocities across multiple settlements, including the sacking of an insignificant town known as Moscow. According to the Chronicle of Novgorod, Moscow is a fortified village, a trading post "on a crossroads of four rivers". The village is taken by the Mongols after 5 days of siege.
March 4 – Battle of the Sit River: The Mongols defeat a Kievan Rus' army (some 4,000 men) under Grand Prince Yuri II of Vladimir in an engagement at the Sit River (located in the Sonkovsky District). With Yuri's death, so too dies the hope of any united Rus' resistance against the Mongols. Batu Khan splits his forces up into several contingents – ordering each to wreak havoc across the Rus' territories (modern-day Russia and Ukraine).
March – Siege of Kozelsk: The 12-year-old Prince Vasily of Chernigov (grandson of Mstislav II Svyatoslavich), manages against all the odds, to hold out in his capital of Kozelsk for nearly two months with only citizen militia. He leads a successful sortie outside of the walls – where the garrison slaughters thousands of Mongols and destroys siege equipment. Finally, Kozelsk is conquered and Vasily is slaughtered alongside the inhabitants.
Evpaty Kolovrat, Kievan knight (bogatyr), returns to his hometown of Ryazan, which was burnt to the ground by the Mongols in 1237. He gathers some 1,700 survivors and pursues Batu Khan, attacking his rearguard, and annihilating thousands of Mongols. Finally, Kolovrat is slain from afar by siege-weaponry. Batu Khan shows admiration for his bravery and as a sign of respect, returns his body and allows his soldiers to return home.
Autumn – The Mongols under Batu Khan retire, leaving behind the ruined northern Rus' territories. He spends the rest of the year suppressing the last resistance of the Kipchaks, while his cousin Möngke (son of Tolui Khan) conquer the Alans and the northern Caucasian tribes. Later, Möngke makes a raid of reconnaissance as far as Kiev.[56]
July 11 – Siege of Brescia: Emperor Frederick II begins the siege of Brescia. He rejects the negotiations of the Lombard League and insists on unconditional surrender to the imperial forces in northern Italy. This blocks all possibilities of a peaceful settlement. Milan and five other Lombard cities are attacked. In early October, after a successful sortie by the city's defenders, Frederick is forced to lift the siege.
January – Simon de Montfort marries the 23-year-old Eleanor, sister of King Henry III. While the marriage takes place with the king's approval, the act itself is performed secretly and without consulting the barons. Eleanor has previously been married to William Marshal and has sworn a vow of perpetual chastity upon his death, which she breaks by marrying Montfort. Archbishop Edmund of Abingdon condemns the marriage for this reason.
Summer – A German expeditionary force under Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, invades the Romagna and Tuscany, hoping to capture Rome. He appoints his 21-year-old son, Enzo of Sardinia, as imperial vicar general for Northern Italy. Frederick also threatens with war against Venice, which has sent ships to blockade the harbors on Sicily. In order to finance his growing need for arms, he institutes an administrative reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire (among others, the formation of 10 vice regencies in Italy).
November 2 – An expeditionary force (some 4,000 knights) under Theobald I sets out from Acre for the Egyptian frontier, detachments from the military orders and several local barons accompany the Crusaders. While marching to Jaffa, a Crusader column led by Peter of Brittany and his lieutenant Raoul de Soissons with two hundred knights, lays an ambush and attacks a rich Muslim caravan.[63]
November 12 – Sultan as-Salih Ayyub sends an Ayyubid army to Gaza to protect the Egyptian border. At nightfall, Henry of Bar, jealous of the successful ambush of Peter of Brittany, decides to march out towards Gaza with a Crusader force (some 500 knights and 1,000 soldiers). Although warned by Theobald I, Henry sets up camp in a flat terrain surrounded by sand dunes near Gaza.[64]
November 13 – Battle of Gaza: The Crusader army led by Henry of Bar is defeated by the Egyptians near Gaza. More than a thousand men are slaughtered, including Henry himself. Six hundred more are captured and carried off to Egypt. Among them are Amaury VI de Montfort and Philippe de Nanteuil – who, in the dungeons of Cairo, writes a Crusade song about the failure of the expedition.[65]
December 7 – Ayyubid forces under An-Nasir Dawud march on Jerusalem, which is largely undefended. The garrison of the city surrenders to Dawud, after accepting his offer for a safe-conduct to Acre. Dawud destroys Jerusalem's fortifications, including the Tower of David. Meanwhile, Theobald I (losing many men underway) moves with the remnants of the Crusader army northward to Acre.[66]
October 18 – Sack of Chernigov: The Mongols led by Batu Khan attack Chernigov; the garrison rallies outside the walls to face the Mongols in a pitched battle. Prince Mstislav III Glebovich comes to help with his troops but they are slaughtered by Mongol catapults. The city is pillaged as are the towns in the surrounding countryside.
^ abPicard, Christophe (2000). Le Portugal musulman (VIIIe-XIIIe siècle. L'Occident d'al-Andalus sous domination islamique. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose. p. 110. ISBN2-7068-1398-9.
^Hywel Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 138. ISBN0-304-35730-8.
^Carpenter, David (2004). The Struggle for Mastery: The Penguin History of Britain 1066–1284, p. 130. London, UK: Penguin. ISBN978-0-14-014824-4.
^Carmina Burana. Die Lieder der Benediktbeurer Handschrift. Zweisprachige Ausgabe, hg. u. übers. v. Carl Fischer und Hugo Kuhn, dtv, München 1991; wenn man dagegen z. B. CB 211 und 211a jeweils als zwei Lieder zählt, kommt man auf insgesamt 315 Texte in der Sammlung, so auch Dieter Schaller, Carmina Burana, in: Lexikon des Mittelalters, Bd. 2, Artemis Verlag, München und Zürich 1983, Sp. 1513
^Peter Linehan (1999). "Chapter 21: Castile, Portugal and Navarre". In David Abulafia (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History c.1198-c.1300. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 668–673. ISBN0-521-36289-X.
^Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 80–82. ISBN978-0-7126-5616-0.
^Hywel Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 138. ISBN0-304-35730-8.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, p. 165. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Pirozhenko, Oleg (2005). Political Trends of Hong Bog Won Clan in the Period of Mongol Domination, p. 240. International Journal of Korean History.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, p. 168. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Linehan, Peter (1999). "Chapter 21: Castile, Portugal and Navarre". In Abulafia, David (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History c.1198–c.1300. Cambridge University Press. pp. 668–673. ISBN0-521-36289-X.
^Hywel Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 138. ISBN0-304-35730-8.
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^Franke, Herbert (1994). The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Allien Regimes and Border States, 710–1368, p. 263. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-24331-5.
^Zuijderduijn, Jaco (2009). Medieval Capital Markets. Markets for renten, state formation and private investment in Holland (1300-1550). Leiden/Boston: Brill. ISBN978-9-00417565-5.
^Dal-Gal, Niccolò (1907). "St. Anthony of Padua". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 2011-06-13.
^Gregorovius, Ferdinand. History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages. 9. p. 164.
^Smith, Thomas W. (2017). "The Use of the Bible in the Arengae of Pope Gregory IX's Crusade Calls". In Lapina, Elizabeth; Morton, Nicholas (eds.). The Uses of the Bible in Crusader Sources. Brill. pp. 206–235.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, pp. 169–170. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Berend, Nora (2001). At the Gate of Christendom: Jews, Muslims and "Pagans" in Medieval Hungary, c. 1000-c.1300. Cambridge University Press. p. 158. ISBN978-0-521-02720-5.
^Bartlett, Robert (1995). "The Celtic Lands of the British Isles". In Abulafia, David (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 5: c. 1198 – c. 1300. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 818. ISBN9780521362894.
^Longnon, Jean (1969). The Frankish States in Greece, 1204–1311, p. 219. Madison, Milwaukee, and London: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN0-299-04844-6.
^Hywel Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 139. ISBN0-304-35730-8.
^Howell, Margaret (2001). Eleanor of Provence: Queenship in Thirteenth-Century England, pp. 15–17. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN978-0-631-22739-7.
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^Demurger, Alain (2008). Les templiers: une chevalerie chrétienne au Moyen âge. Points (Nouvelle éd. refondue ed.). Paris: Éd. du Seuil. p. 622. ISBN978-2-7578-1122-1.
^Ibn al-Sha'ar al-Mawsili (2005). عقود الجمان في شعراء هذا الزمان (in Arabic). Vol. V, Part VI (First ed.). Damascus, Syria: DKI (Dar al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah ). pp. 308–311.
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