February 2 – Ireland enjoys its first dry day in almost five months, as rains that had started on September 14 halt by the celebration of the Purification of St. Mary, as noted by The Annals of Loch Se.[4]
February 6 – Dispatched by Genghis Khan, the Mongol General Muqali makes a third and final attempt to capture Fengxiang, but fails again, ending the Mongol attempts.[3]
May 7 – Henry I, Count of Schwerin, kidnaps the King of Denmark, Valdemar II and the king's 14-year-old son, Valdemar the Young, after landing with a group of soldiers on the island of Lyø, where King Valdemar had been hunting. King Valdemar will be held captive for three years until Easter Sunday of 1226, and released after payment of 44,000 silver marks and the surrendering of lands taken 20 years earlier in Holstein.[9]
May 15 – The Russian army gathers on the island of Khortytsia, later to become a famous Cossack base, at the mouth of the Dnieper River, next to modern-day Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine). The main Polovtsian forces led by Köten Khan, join the Russians here, which consist entirely of mounted archers. Compared to this, some 20,000–25,000 Mongols assemble and build a defensive encampment on the high ground, probably on the northern slopes of the Mohila Bel'mak hills, located near the Konka River.[10]
May 16 – Mstislav Mstislavich leads a small detachment of his own men, and some Polovtsians to the far bank of the Dnieper River – where they attack a part of the Mongol advance guard. The Mongols promptly fleeing into the steppes. Mstislavich pursues them and captures their commander named Gemyabek or Hamabek who seeks refuge behind a wooden fence surrounding a Polovtsian burial site. The captive's fate is sealed when the Polovtsians ask Mstislavich to hand him over – to execute.[11]
May 17 – Daniel of Galicia leads a reconnaissance in force east of the Dnieper River, using a bridge of boats. He defeats a Mongol detachment, who abandons their herds and local prisoners. Following these successful sorties, the entire Russian and Polovtsian armies start a 9 day march towards the main Mongol army. Numerous carts move across the steppes, loaded with mail, heavy armour, as well as shields, protected by Russian cavalry. The Mongol forces retreat towards the Kalka River.[12]
May 31 – Battle of the Kalka River: The Russian cavalry successfully attacks the Mongol vanguard and crosses the Kalka River in what is now Ukraine. The Polovtsian and Volhynian cavalry led by Daniel of Galicia form the Russian vanguard. Meanwhile, the army of Kiev waits on the western side of the Kalka River. The Russians fail to co-ordinate their attacks, they advance in separate formations and become divided by the Kalka River. In the afternoon, the Russian army collapses under continuous Mongol attacks.[13]
June 16 – The Mongol General Subutai withdraws eastward after the victory at the Battle of the Kalka River, after General Jebe has died.[14]
September 29 – King Jaime I of Aragon halts the minting of new coins for the next seven years in order to prevent the devaluation of the kingdom's medium of exchange.[16]
November 1 – King Louis VIII of France issues an ordinance prohibiting the kingdom's officials from registering debts owed to Jewish moneylenders, and limiting the lenders to a recovery of the principal amount owed, without interest.[19]
November 29 – Pope Honorius III approves the Franciscan Rule (also called "Regula Bullata"). The rule sets regulations for discipline, preaching, and entering the order for Franciscan friars.
December 24 – Father Francis of Assisi (Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone), founder of the Order of the Franciscans with in the Roman Catholic Church, begins the tradition of celebrating Christmas with a nativity scene. Having received permission from Pope Honorius III, Francis arranges for a display in a cave near the Italian city of Greccio, with the representation of the events associated with the birth of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, using real people and animals.[20][21]
Other events, by place
Mongol Empire
Spring – The Polovtsian army assembles on the Terek River lowlands and are joined by Alan, Circassian, and Don Kipchak/Cuman forces. The Mongol army crosses the Caucasus Mountains, but is trapped in the narrow mountain passes. The Mongol generals Subutai and Jebe (the Arrow) send an embassy to the Polovtsians and convince them to break their alliance with the Caucasian peoples. The Mongol cavalry invades the Caucasus region and devastates the local villages, seizing slaves, cattle and horses.[22]
The Mongol army invades Polovtsian territory and defeats the Polovtsians in a great battle near the Don River. Several Polovtsian leaders are killed – while the remainder flees westwards, across the Dnieper River, to seek support by various Russian princes. Steppe lands east of the Dnieper fall under Mongol control, Subutai and Jebe raise the wealthy city of Astrakhan on the Volga River. Subutai now parts his forces, he moves south to the Crimea (or Tauric Peninsula), while Jebe travels towards the Dnieper.[23]
Mongol forces capture the nominally Genoese trading outpost of Sudak, probably with the tacit approval of neighbouring rival Venetian outposts in the Crimea. Subutai promises to destroy any non-Venetian colonies in the area. In return, the Venetians provide Subutai with information about the kingdoms in Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Köten Khan, Cuman/Kipchak chieftain of the Polovtsians, convinces Prince Mstislav Mstislavich of Galicia to form an alliance, and informs him of his plight against the Mongols.[24]
February – A council of Russian princes summons at Kiev; several princes are convinced by Köten Khan to assemble an allied army to drive the Mongols back. During the first half of March, Russian princes return to their principalities and begin to raise forces for the forthcoming campaign. The alliance has a combined force of some 60,000 men, mainly cavalry. Subutai unites his army with Jebe, and sends ambassadors to the Kievan Rus' princes, to tell them to stay out of the conflict as it didn't involve them.[24]
April – The Russian princes lead their separate armies from different parts of Russia, to assemble 60 kilometres downriver from Kiev. There are three main groups of princes taking part in the campaign; the Kievan army is represented by Grand Prince Mstislav Romanovich (the Old). The second group are the Chernigov and Smolensk armies under Prince Mstislav II. The third group is the Galician-Volhynian army under Mstislav Mstislavich with his son-in-law Daniel of Galicia, leaving from northern Ukraine.[25]
The Mongol leaders Subutai and Jebe receive news that Jochi, who camps north of the Caspian Sea, will not be able to provide the expected reinforcements due to Jochi's reported illness or suspected refusal to obey his father Genghis Khan's orders. Subutai sends an embassy to the Russian princes, to offer peace and perhaps attempt to break the Russian alliance with the Polovtsians. But the Mongol ambassadors are executed – a task eagerly carried out by Köten Khan's followers, by the end of April.[25]
Late April – The Russian and Polovtsian armies march down the west bank of the Dnieper River. Within a few days of the march beginning, a second group of Mongol ambassadors appear in the Russian camp and again offer peace. When their offers are rebuffed, the ambassadors are allowed to leave unharmed. Meanwhile, Russian forces from Galicia arrive by boat or cart-loads of equipment and food, along the Black Sea coast and up the Dnieper River, screened by Mongol forces on the east bank.[24]
Late May – The Mongol army under Subutai and Jebe establishes a defensive position on the Kalka River. Increasing disagreements amongst the Russian princes, about the wisdom of continuing to pursue the Mongols deeper into the steppes. By the end of May, the allied forces reach the banks of the Kalka River. The Polovtsian vanguard is way ahead of the rest of the Russian army, which gives them a triumphant feeling. Meanwhile, Subutai and Jebe set up a trap against the Russian forces.[26]
June – Mstislav Mstislavich escapes back to the Dnieper River with the remnants of his Galician army. Mstislav Romanovich (the Old) surrenders and is executed. According to sources, he and other Russian nobles are slowly suffocated to death during a Mongol 'drunken feast', they are tied up and laid flat on the ground beneath what is described as a wooden 'bridge' (or platform), on which Subutai, Jebe and their officers feast. This is revenge for killing the Mongol ambassadors.[27]
Battle of Samara Bend: A Volga-Bulgarian army under Ghabdula Chelbir defeats the Mongols, probably led by Subutai, Jebe and Jochi. The Bulgars retreat during the battle but the Mongols pursue them. Then the main Bulgar forces ambush the Mongols. Subutai and Jebe retreat their forces near the city of Sarai (future capital of the Golden Horde), not far from where the Volga River empties into the Caspian Sea.[28]
Autumn – Mongol forces under Jochi, Subutai and Jebe attack and defeat the Qangl Turks (eastern Kipchaks or Wild Polovtsians), killing their ruler. During the winter, they continue eastwards across the Great Steppe. Jebe (possibly poisoned) suddenly dies of a fever near the Imil River.[29]
Spring – The Mongol army led by Muqali (or Mukhali) strikes into Shaanxi Province, attacking Chang'an while Genghis khan is invading the Khwarazmian Empire. The garrison (some 200,000 men) in Chang'an is too strong and Muqali is forced to pillage Feng County. During the campaign, Muqali becomes seriously ill and dies, while his forces are consolidating their position on both sides of the Yellow River.[30]
Ye Shi, Chinese philosopher and politician (b. 1150)
References
^The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ed. by Alexander Kazhdan (Oxford University Press, 1991) p.847
^Alexander Mikaberidze, Historical Dictionary of Georgia(Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) p.576
^ abMichael Hope and Timothy May, The Mongol World (Taylor & Francis, 2022)
^"Extreme Flooding in the United Kingdom and Ireland: The Early Years, AD 1 to AD 1300", by Robert K. Doe, in Extreme Weather: Forty Years of the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation (TORRO), ed. by Robert Doe (Wiley, 2016) p.252
^Joseph P. Donovan, Pelagius and the Fifth Crusade (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016) p.107 ("All of them agreed to join him at Ferentino on March 23 for a meeting with Honorius.")
^Antonio Caetano de Souza, Historia Genealógica de la Real Casa Portuguesa (Lisboa Occidental, 1735)
^Simeon Ross Macphail, History of the Religious House of Pluscardyn (Convent of the Vale of Saint Andrew, 1881) p.14
^K. M. de Silva and C.M. Ray, History of Ceylon (Ceylon University Press, 1959) p.112
^Stuart Ellis-Gorman, The Medieval Crossbow: A Weapon Fit to Kill a King ( Pen and Sword, 2022) p.137
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 61. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, pp. 61–62. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^John Man (2011). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, p. 220. ISBN978-0-553-81498-9.
^David Nicolle and Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, pp. 76-77. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^Tony Jaques, Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006) p.504
^Richard Kay, The Council of Bourges, 1225: A Documentary History (Taylor & Francis, 2019)
^Joseph F. O'Callaghan, Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013) p.164
^John Paul Davis, The Gothic King: A Biography of Henry III (Peter Owen Publishers, 2013)
^Jonathan R. Lyon, Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100-1250 (Cornell University Press, 2013) p.171
^Rebecca Rist, Popes and Jews, 1095–1291 (Oxford University Press, 2016) p.154
^"A Contrastive Analysis of Neapolitan Presepio Figurines and Their Construction Phases: From Culture to Language", by Victor Massaro, in The Wor(l)ds of Neapolitan Arts and Crafts: Cultural and Linguistic Perspectives, ed. by Carolina Diglio (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019)
^Paul Kerensa, Hark: The Biography of Christmas (Lion Hudson, 2017) p.119
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 52. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^John Man (2011). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, p. 217. ISBN978-0-553-81498-9.
^ abcDavid Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 57. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^ abJohn Man (2011). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, p. 218. ISBN978-0-553-81498-9.
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 64. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^John Man (2011). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, pp. 220–221. ISBN978-0-553-81498-9.
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 83. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^David Nicolle & Viacheslav Shpakovsky (2001). Osprey: Kalka River 1223 - Genghiz Khan's Mongols invade Russia, p. 84. ISBN1-84176-233-4.
^Igor de Rachewiltz (1993). In the Service of the Khan: Eminent Personalities of the Early Mongol-Yüan Period (1200–1300), p. 7. Harrassowitz Verlag.
