| 1200 |
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Morocco's Muslim government grants special privileges
to Jews in order to encourage trade and education.
Hunac Ceel revolts against the Maya of Chichén
Itzá. He establishes a new capital at Mayapán. |
| 1202 |
Famine hits Egypt. Egypt
will not recover until 1204.
The Fourth Crusade begins. Crusaders organize
themselves and agree to meet in Venice. When they are
unable to pay for transport, they agree to conquer outlying
territories on the behalf of the Byzantine emperor. |
| 1203 |
King John of England orders
the murder of his nephew Arthur, Duke of Brittany. |
| 1204 |
Crusaders, irritated at treatment
of the Byzantine government, capture and sack Constantinople,
destroying priceless artifacts and stealing relics.
They establish a Latin ruler. |
| 1206 |
Temujin (Genghis Khan)
declared
"Emperor within the Seas," the Khan of Khans
among the steppes tribes.
Dynasty of slave-kings rule in India until 1290. |
| 1207 |
Pope Innocent III appoints Stephen
Langton archbishop. John refuses to let him take office
of the Archbishopric of Canterbury, wanting to sail the
church-office to his own candidate |
| 1208 |
Antagonized by John's intervention
in church affairs, Pope Innocent III places England
under interdict.
Pope Innocent III calls for a crusade against the
Albigensians or Cathars, a heretical sect in southern
France. The heresy
is particularly dangerous to orthodoxy because it refutes
the need for worship in churches, the sacraments, and
the material wealth of the church. |
| 1209 |
Cambridge University founded.
Pope Innocent III, fed up with King John's attacks
on church property, excommunicates him. |
| 1210 |
Innocent III, on a roll,
also excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, adding
him to the list of political figures cast out of the
church.
Francis of Assisi founds the Franciscan Order.
Genghis Khan invades China.
Probable date of election of Hermann von SalzaÊas grand
master of the Teutonic Knights. The date coincided with
the date of the marriage in Tyre of John of Brienne
to Mary. It was also the date of John's coronation as
King of Jerusalem |
| 1211 |
Alfonso II becomes king
of Portugal. He rules until 1223.
Burzenland settled by the Teutonic Knights with the
authority of Hungary's King Andrew II.
St. Francis reportedly landed on the Isola Maggiore,
an island on Lake Trasimeno. |
| 1212 |
Frederick II recognized
officially as Holy Roman Emperor. He has a long-lasting
and influential reign until his death in 1250.
In early spring, 10,000 German children and later in
June, 20,000 French set off on the Children's Crusade.
Their leader, a fourteen-year -old shepherd boy named
Stephen from Cloyes-sur-le-Loire, France, has vision
of Christ and delivers a letter to the King of France.
Stephen confronts the pope and chastises him for his
lack of action in rescuing the Holy Land. The chagrined
pope grants him permission. The horde of children set
off for Palestine, expecting the Mediterranean Sea to
part for them as the Red Sea did for Moses in Christian
belief. When this miracle fails to happen, they are
"generously" given free passage across the
ocean--but the sailors take them captive and sell thousands
of them into slavery in Muslim slave markets of northern
Africa.
Alfonso VIII of Castile expanded the Reconquista. King
Sancho VII of Navarre won the battle of Las Navas de
Tolosa. Moslems were crushed in the Spanish crusade.
Peter II of Aragon defeats the Moors at Las Navas de
Tolosa
Adomadana given to the Teutonic Knights by King Leo
of Armenia |
| 1213 |
Pope Innocent declares King
John of England deposed. John mends his ways to make
peace.
James I (James the Conqueror) becomes King of Aragon.
He rules 63 years until 1276. |
| 1215 |
English barons force John
to sign a statement concerning the rights of the nobility,
severely limiting the power of the monarchy. This "Great
Charter" (Magna Carta) will form
a legal model for later groups seeking to de-centralize
state power.
Pope Innocent III calls the Fourth Lateran Council,
one of the most important events in Church history,
with 71 statements of doctrine ratified. For the first
time in church history, yearly confession is required
of all Christians, and transubstantiation became an
official part of Catholic doctrine. Pope Innocent introduced
a policy in which soldiers--if fighting non-Christian
forces on crusade--could be given forgiveness of sins
without penance. (This doctrine was a key element in
rousing public enthusiasm for conquests in the Middle
East.) Finally, the church passed a series of anti-semitic
laws, requiring Jews to wear distinguishing clothing
and forbidding them from holding political office over
Christians.
Saint Dominic founds the Dominic Order at Toulouse.
These friars take up the task of preaching orthodox
beliefs to counter growing and popular heresies such
as Catharism.
Frederick II crowned in France; he renews French struggle
for control over the papacy. |
| 1216 |
Henry III becomes King of
England. At nine years old, the kingdom is controlled
by a regent-protector until he achieves adulthood. Henry
III's reign lasts 56 years, ending in 1272.
Pope Honorius III claims the Papal See, ruling the
church until 1227. |
| 1217 |
The Fifth Crusade begins, lasting
until 1222. The crusaders set out to conquer Egypt, in
order that its grain supplies and troops will not be available
to Muslim forces, who are becoming increasingly organized
and centralized under a single ruler. |
| 1218 |
Genghis Khan captures Persian
empire. |
| 1219 |
The Mongols conquer Bokhora.
Genghis Khan's destruction of irrigation in Afghanistan
leads to permanent deserts in the area.
The port of Damietta falls to the Crusaders. |
| 1222 |
The Fifth Crusade ends in failure.
Egypt remains in Muslim hands. |
| 1223 |
Louis VIII takes the throne
of France, ruling until 1226.
The Mongols invade Russia. |
| 1224 |
France and England go to war
over French territories held by England. |
| 1226 |
Louis IX (Saint Louis) rules
France. His reign lasts until 1270. |
| 1227 |
Gregory IX assumes control
of Papal See. He serves as pope until 1241.
War ends between France and England.
Henry III begins rule as an adult in England.
Genghis Khan dies. His sons divide the empire among
themselves. |
| 1228 |
Emperor Frederick II leads the
Sixth Crusade, the most successful venture into Muslim
lands since the first crusade in the late eleventh-century. |
| 1229 |
The crusaders of the Sixth
Crusade recapture Jerusalem.
Teutonic Knights begin a "Prussian" Crusade,
conquering pagan lands in Eastern Europe.
Ogadai, son of Genghis Khan, is elected khan. He rules
until 1241. |
| 1232 |
Oldest recorded use of rockets:
Chinese use rockets in attempts to repel the Mongols.
|
| 1234 |
Mongols annex the Chin Empire. |
| 1236 |
Alexander Nevksi, Prince of
Novgorod in Russia. He rules until 1263. |
| 1240 |
End of the Empire of Ghana in
Africa. The Kingdom of Mali absorbs it into its own structure. |
| 1241 |
Ogadai Khan dies. The Mongols,
quarreling amongst themselves without a leader, depart
from Europe. |
| 1242 |
Batu Khan establishes a Mongol
kingdom ("The Golden Horde") on the lower Volga
River. |
| 1243 |
Egyptians recapture Jerusalem.
The Christian occupational forces flee or are slaughtered.
Innocent IV claims the Papal See. He rules the church
until 1254. |
| 1245 |
Innocent IV calls the Synod
of Lyon. The Synod declares Emperor Frederick II legally
deposed. |
| 1247 |
Struggle between Emperor Frederick
II and and the pope's allies. The bitter warfare lasts
until 1250 when Conrad IV becomes Emperor. |
| 1248 |
Louis IX of France leads the
Seventh Crusade. |
| 1250 |
Conrad IV, becomes Holy
Roman Emperor. He rules until 1254, and his death triggers
a nineteen-year power struggle for the crown.
Saracens capture Louis IX in Egypt and ransom him to
the crusaders. |
| 1253 |
Ottokar II (the Great) becomes
king of Bohemia. He rules until he is killed in battle
in 1278. |
| 1254 |
The Great Interregnum of the
Holy Roman Empire. This bitter struggle for control of
the Empire lasts until 1273. |
| 1256 |
Prince Llewellyn drives
out English forces from Wales, securing the Welsh people
from English rule until the Edwardian kings reconquer
the territory.
The Augustinian order of monks established with an
official proclamation of Pope Alexander IV. (The Augustinian
hermits had been a traditional-but-unrecognized category
of several eremitic orders since the 400s). |
| 1258 |
Simon de Montfort forces King
Henry III to agree to the Provisions of Oxford, a legal
document requiring a number of governmental reforms--including
a council of 15 barons. Henry abides by these rules until
1264. |
| 1260 |
Kublai becomes grand Khan of
the Mongols as the candidate favored bythe army at Shan-tu,
in China. |
| 1261 |
Urban IV becomes pope. He rules
the Papal See until 1264. |
| 1263 |
Norway gives up the Hebrides
to the Scots. |
| 1264 |
Simon de Montfort and other
English barons defeat Henry III at the battle of Lewes,
asserting the limits of monarchial power. The barons capture
the royal heir, Prince Edward, and use him as a bargaining
chip. |
| 1265 |
Simon de Montfort summons
burgesses from large cities to Parliament for the first
time, challenging the king's authority in a manner similar
to the way the barons challenged King John with the
Magna Carta in 1215.
Henry III's son, Prince Edward, defeats and kills Simon
de Montfort at the battle of Evesham.
Clement IV becomes Pope. He holds the Papal See until
1268. |
| 1268 |
Muslims from Egypt capture
Antioch, held by the Christians.
Clement IV dies. The papacy remains vacant for three
years as no candidate can be agreed upon. |
| 1270 |
King Louis IX of France dies
of plague while on Crusade. His death leads quickly to
the end of the Seventh Crusade. |
| 1271 |
Marco Polo sets off with
his father and uncle to visit the court of Kublai Khan--it
is a twenty-four year trip.
After a three-year gap without a pope, Gregory X ascends
the Papal See until 1276. |
| 1272 |
Edward I becomes King of England.
He rules until 1307. |
| 1273 |
Rudolf I becomes Holy Roman
Emperor, ending a period of warfare and lawlessness that
had lasted nineteen years while no individual could hold
the crown. He rules until 1291. |
| 1274 |
The first Mongol invasion
of Japan under Kublai Khan's rule. In spite of heavy
losses among the Japanese, the Mongols fail to achieve
a permanent foothold. They make plans for a second invasion,
which comes about in 1281.
Pope Gregory X calls the Synod of Lyons. The pope recommends
that conclaves should be kept secret to avoid corruption. |
| 1275 |
Marco Polo enters the service
of Kublai Khan. |
| 1276 |
Rapid succession of short-lived
popes claim the papal see. Innocent V rules five months.
Adrian V rules five weeks. Pope John XXI rules eight months.
In each case, the pope dies shortly after taking office. |
| 1277 |
English Franciscan monk and
philosopher Roger Bacon exiled for heresy. |
| 1278 |
Rudolf I defeats and kills Ottokar
of Bohemia at the battle of Marchfeld. |
| 1279 |
Rudolf I surrenders his long-lasting
claims to Sicily and the Papal States. |
| 1280 |
Death of Albertus Magnus, German
alchemist and philosopher. |
| 1281 |
A second Mongol invasion
ends in naval disaster when a hurricane hits the fleet
en route to Japan. The Japanese refer to this storm
as Kami Kazi ("divine wind").
Martin IV becomes pope, ruling the papal see until
1285. |
| 1283 |
Edward I defeats and kills Llewellyn
Pen Cymru, prince of Wales, and he executes Llewellyn's
brother Dyfed (David). His conquest of Wales is complete. |
| 1285 |
Philip IV, known as Il Bel
("the Fair"), becomes King of France. He rules
until 1314.
Pope Honorius IX rules the papal see until 1287. |
| 1286 |
Alexander III, king of Scotland
dies. The throne descends to his infant granddaughter,
Margaret, the Maid of Norway. |
| 1288 |
Pope Nicholas IV ascends the
papal see. |
| 1289 |
Friar John of Montecorvino (Mount
Crow) becomes the first archbishop of Beijing. |
| 1290 |
Margaret, the Maid of Norway,
queen of Scotland, dies. 13 Scottish warlords each attempt
to claim the throne, leading to violent struggles.
Turkish leader Firuz in Delhi founds the Khalji Dynasty. |
| 1291 |
Muslim armies capture Acre,
the last Christian holdings in Palestine. This marks the
end of successful crusades. Scots acknowledge English
king as suzerain (Edward I). He oversees process of succession
to the Scottish throne. |
| 1292 |
John Balliol becomes Edward
I's puppet-king, ruling Scotland and collaborating with
England..
Adolf, Count of Nassau, becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
He rules until 1298.
Roger Bacon's sentence of exile revoked. |
| 1294 |
Boniface VIII becomes the next
pope--famous for his skill as a lawyer, diplomat, and
a sorcerer in medieval legend. He sits on the papal see
until 1303. |
| 1295 |
"Model Parliament"
of Edward I: knights and burgesses from English shires
and towns summoned to participate in government decisions.
It is the first representative parliament--or at least
the first to acknowledge male bourgeois citizens and
give them some official say in their government.
Ch'eng Tsung, grandson of Kublai Khan, rules as Emperor
of China until 1307. |
| 1296 |
Edward I of England deposes
John Balliol from the Scottish throne.
Interregnum in Scotland until 1306 |
| 1297 |
Scottish rebel William Wallace
leads ragtag band of Scottish clans to victory against
the English at the Battle of Cambuskenneth, temporarily
establishing independence of Scotland. |
| 1298 |
Edward I defeats William
Wallace at the battle of Falkirk. He proceeds to (re)conquer
Scotland for English rule.
Albert I ascends throne of the Holy Roman Empire after
the death of Holy Roman Emperor Adolf at the battle
of Göllheim. |
| 1300 |
King
Wenceslas II ascends the throne in Poland.
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