October 12 – A great storm shifts the mouth of the River Rother in England 12 miles (20 km) to the west; a battering series of strong storms significantly alters other coastal geography around Romney Marsh.
The Lombard League dissolves upon the death of its member states' nemesis, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
King Afonso III (the Boulonnais) captures the Algarve from the Moors, thus completing the expulsion of the Moors from Portugal.
Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic, as the 8th discovered metal. He also first uses the word "oriole" to describe a type of bird (most likely the golden oriole).
The Rialto Bridge in Venice (in modern-day Italy) is converted from a pontoon bridge to a permanent, raised wooden structure.
Starting in this year and ending in 1275, the Muslim Shougeng Pu, likely a Persian or an Arab, serves as the Commissioner of Merchant Shipping for the Song dynasty Chinese seaport at Quanzhou, due to his effort in defeating pirates.[3]
In Tunis, a popular rebellion against newly arrived, wealthy and influential Andalusian refugees breaks out, and is violently put down.[5]
The Hafsid caliph al-Mustansir enforces laws of ghiyar, or differentiation for non-Muslims. As such, Jews have to wear a distinguishing badge (shikla) which Tunisian Jews will have to wear into the nineteenth century.[6][7]
Oceania
Samoa frees itself from Tongan rule, which begins the Malietoa dynasty in Samoa (approximate date).
By topic
Markets
The Flemish town of Douai emits the first recorded redeemable annuities in medieval Europe, confirming a trend of consolidation of local public debt started in 1218, in Rheims.[8]
The Sienese bankers belonging to the firm known as the Gran Tavola, under the steering of the Bonsignori Brothers, become the main financiers of the Papacy.[9]
The Polishland of Lebus is incorporated into the German state of Brandenburg, marking the start of Brandenburg's expansion into previously Polish areas (Neumark).[40]
January 18 – King Henry I of Cyprus ("the Fat") dies and is succeeded by his son Hugh II, who is only a few months old. His mother, Queen Plaisance of Antioch, claims the regency of Cyprus and the titular regency of Jerusalem. The High Court of Cyprus confirms her position, but the barons of Outremer require her attendance in person before they will recognize her. John of Ibelin, count of Jaffa, remains as bailli, and Plaisance contemplates marrying John's youthful son Balian. Meanwhile, King Louis IX of France ("the Saint"), still staying at Acre, continues to administer the government.[51]
October 10 – German imperial forces under King Conrad IV suppress the Sicilian rebellion and recapture Naples.
England
August 6 – King Henry III leads an expedition to Gascony, to repel a rumoured invasion from Castile.[53] Meanwhile, Simon de Montfort returns from Gascony where he allies himself with the barons who oppose Henry.
Henry III meets with the nobles and church leaders to reaffirm the validity of Magna Carta in exchange for taxation.[54]
May – Louis IX of France ("the Saint") dispatches William of Rubruck from Constantinople on a missionary journey to Karakorum to seek an alliance against Syrian and Egyptian Muslims.[55]
October – Pope Innocent IV returns to Rome, after being deposed for 9 years by former Emperor Frederick II, whose clash forms an important chapter in the conflict between the Papal States and the Holy Roman Empire.
Innocent IV offers the crown of Sicily, which he controls, to Richard of Cornwall and Charles of Anjou, both of whom refuse, and later to the 8-year-old Edmund, son of Henry III of England.
Battle of Adrianople: Byzantine forces under Emperor Theodore II (Laskaris) defeat the invading Bulgarians near Adrianople. The young and inexperienced Tsar Michael II Asen (also mentioned Michael I Asen) is caught by surprise and the Bulgarians suffer heavy losses. Michael is wounded during his hasty retreat through the forest.[56]
Europe
May 21 – King Conrad IV, son of the late Emperor Frederick II, dies of malaria at Lavello (southern Italy). With Conrad's death a interregnum begins, during which no ruler manages to gain undisputed control of Germany. The 22-year-old Manfred, half-brother of Conrad, refuses to surrender Sicily to Pope Innocent IV, and accepts the regency on behalf of Conrad's 2-year-old son Conradin (the Younger).
King Afonso III (the Boulonnais) holds the first session of the Cortes (Portugal's general assembly composed of nobles, members of the middle class and representatives from all municipalities), in Leiria.
William II, anti-king of Germany, holds a diet (princely convention) at Worms, in which the German cities are represented for the first time. He give orders to build strong castles in Heemskerk and Haarlem.
November 1 – Edward marries Eleanor of Castile in the Cistercian monastery Las Huelgas at Burgos. Henry III has demanded the marriage, in exchange for ending the war with half-brother Alfonso X.
April 24 – Louis IX and his family sails from Acre to France. His boat is nearly wrecked off the coast of Cyprus and later nearly destroyed by fire. In July, the royal party arrives at Hyères in Provence.[59]
Asia
January 4 – William of Rubruck, Flemish missionary and explorer, is received courteously with an embassy at Karakorum. He is given an audience with Möngke Khan, who is loaded with gifts and letters from Louis IX.[60]
The Rhenish League, a confederation of trading cities, is established in the Rhineland, Western Germany. The league (or Städtebund) comprises 59 cities.
August – Following the death of Little Saint Hugh, in an instance of blood libel, eighteen Jews of Lincoln, are tortured and executed by royal command on suspicion of being involved in the boy's murder.[53]
A survey of royal privileges is conducted, which is included in the Hundred Rolls, a census seen as a follow-up to the Domesday Book (completed in 1086). The Hundred Rolls is later completed with two larger surveys, in 1274/75 and 1279/80.[63]
Orlando Bonsignori, an Italian minor merchant, forms a consortium called the Gran Tavola ("Great Table"), which becomes the most powerful bank in western Europe. He becomes the exclusive banker for the deposits of the income of the Papal States.[64]
Spring – Mongol forces (some 80,000 men), under Hulagu Khan, cross the Oxus River, and begin their campaign to destroy the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia – with the first objectives being the Nizari Ismaili strongholds and Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. The roads across Turkestan and Persia are repaired, and bridges built. Carts are requisitioned to bring siege machines from China.[65]
October – Mongol forces led by Baiju Noyan (operating under Hulagu Khan's command) win a victory over Kaykaus II, Seljuk ruler of the Sultanate of Rum, and capture Anatolia. Kaykaus flees to the Byzantine court where he seeks refuge at Constantinople. The Empire of Trebizond fearing a potential punitive Mongol expedition, becomes a vassal state and is forced to pay a tribute tax every year in gold and silk.[66]
November 8–23 – Siege of Maymun-Diz: Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan successfully besiege the mountain castle of Maymun-Diz. Hulagu encircles the fortress and begins a bombardment for three days by mangonels from a nearby hilltop. On November 19, Nizari Isma'ili imam Rukn al-Din Khurshah surrenders, but a small part of the garrison refuses and fights a last stand, until they are killed after three days.[67]
December 15 – Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan capture and dismantle Alamut Castle (near the Masoudabad region) after the surrender of the Nizari Ismaili leaders. Hulagu founds the Ilkhanate dynasty of Persia, which becomes one of the four main divisions of the Mongol Empire. The Nizari Ismaili government is disestablished, some of them migrate to Afghanistan, Badakhshan and Sindh (modern Pakistan).
Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd invades the northern coastal areas that have agreed to English rule (see 1254). Edward (the Lord Edward), who has been given the areas to govern himself by his father, King Henry III, asks him for support but Henry refuses.
Venetian–Genoese War: A dispute between Venice and Genoa arises about concerning land in Acre owned by Mar Saba but claimed by both Venice and Genoa – which leads to a Genoese attack of the monastery in the Venetian quarter. The Venetians are supported by Pisa and the Knights Templar, while the Genoese are joined by the Knights Hospitaller.[70]
Asia
October – The Japanese Kenchō era ends and the Kōgen era begins during the reign of the 13-year-old Emperor Go-Fukakusa.
Battle of Cadfan: An English expeditionary army under Stephen Bauzan is ambushed and defeated by Welsh forces. The English are decimated by devastating guerilla attacks and the Welsh capture the English supply train. Stephen Bauzan is killed along with some 1,000–3,000 of his men. The remaining English flee the battle, Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd is said to have been present at the battle, collecting spoils from the fallen English army. According to sources, it is one of the greatest victories of a Welsh army in the field against a much more powerful English force.[74]
King Henry III orders the production of a twenty pence, English coin of pure gold. Unfortunately, the bullion value of the coins is about 20% higher than the nominal face value, leading to poor circulation, as coins are melted down by individuals for their gold content.
Henry III relents to the demands of his son Edward (the Lord Edward) for assistance to fight the Welsh (see 1256). He joins him on a campaign to retake the territories lost to the Welsh forces led by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.
Venetian–Genoese War: The Venetian fleet under Admiral Lorenzo Tiepolo breaks through the harbour chain at Acre and destroys several Genoese ships. He also attacks the fortifications but Tiepolo is unable to expel the Genoese garrison (some 800 men strong and armed with 50–60 ballistae), from their quarter of the city throwing up a blockade.[76]
Spring – Mongol forces under Uriyangkhadai conduct a campaign against local Yi and Lolo tribes in Vietnam. He returns to Gansu and sends messengers to the court of Möngke Khan informing him that Yunnan is firmly under Mongolian control. Möngke Khan honors and rewards Uriyangkhadai for his military achievements.[77]
Matthew Paris, English monk and chronicler, personally interviews Henry III for an entire week while compiling his major work of English history, Chronica Majora.
Natural Disaster
Samalas eruption: Mount Samalas volcano erupts on Lombok Island, Indonesia. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years, it creates severe climatic changes across the globe, leading to severe famine and death, and to one of the biggest geopolitical changes across the globe over the next few centuries.[80][81]
February 10 – Siege of Baghdad: Mongol forces (some 150,000 men), led by Hulagu Khan, besiege and conquer Baghdad after a siege of 13 days. During the first week of February, the eastern walls begin to collapse, and the Mongols swarm into the city, on February 10. Caliph Al-Musta'sim surrenders himself to Hulagu – together with all the Abbasid chief officers and officials. They are ordered to lay down their arms, and are massacred. Hulagu imprisons Al-Musta'sim among his treasures, to starve him to death. Meanwhile, massacres continue throughout the whole city; in 40 days about 80,000 citizens are murdered. The only survivors are the ones who are hiding in cellars which are not discovered, and a number of attractive girls and boys who are kept to be slaves, and the Christian community, who take refuge in the churches which are left undisturbed, by the special orders of Hulagu's wife, Doquz Khatun.[82]
February 15 – Hulagu Khan enters Baghdad, where many quarters of the city are ruined by fire. The Great Library (or House of Wisdom) is destroyed, numerous precious book collections are thrown into the Tigris River. Before the siege, about 400,000 manuscripts are rescued by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian polymath and theologian, who takes them to Maragheh (located in East Azerbaijan Province). The sack of Baghdad brings an end to the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) and the Islamic Golden Age. Many professors, physicians, scientists, clerics, artists and lecturers are also massacred.
August 25 – George Mouzalon is assassinated in Magnesia ad Sipylum, as part of a conspiracy led by Byzantine nobles, under future Emperor Michael VIII (Palaiologos).
May 2 – King Henry III accepts the demand of Simon de Montfort and his baronial supporters that the government is reformed with a committee of 22 barons, including the king. As an act of faith, Simon de Montfort hands over his estates at Odiham and Kenilworth as part of the proposals. The Provisions of Oxford establish baronial control of the government, also known as the Oxford Parliament, on June 11.[84][85]
June 25 – Battle of Acre: The Genoese send an armada (some 50 galleys) to relieve the blockade at Acre and ask for the assistance of Philip of Montfort, lord of Tyre, and the Knights Hospitaller for a combined attack from the land side. The Genoese fleet's arrival takes the Venetians by surprise but the superior experience and seamanship result in a crushing Venetian victory, with half the Genoese ships lost. Later, the Genoese garrison is forced to abandon Acre.[86][87]
Asia
Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Mongol forces (some 30,000 men) under Uriyangkhadai, son of Subutai, invade Vietnam. After many battles, the Vietnam army is routed and defeated. The senior leaders are able to escape on pre-prepared boats, while the remnants are destroyed on the banks of the Red River. The Mongols occupy the capital city, Thăng Long (modern-day Hanoi), and massacres the city's inhabitants, by the end of January.[88]
August 11 – While conducting a siege against the Song dynasty city known as Fishing Town in the province of Chongqing, China, the MongolGreat Khan, Möngke Khan, dies in the nearby hills. Persian, Chinese, and Mongol records have different accounts of how he died, including succumbing to an arrow wound received by a Chinese archer in the siege, dysentery, and even a cholera epidemic. His death sparks a succession crisis in the Mongol Empire, while his brothers Ariq Böke and Kublai soon convene their own kurultai to elect themselves as the next Khan of Khans, opening the path to a four–year-long Toluid Civil War from 1260 to 1264. In the end, Ariq Böke surrenders to Kublai.[98][99]
While engaged in a war with the Mongols, the Song Chinese official Li Zengbo writes in his Kozhai Zagao, Xugaohou that the city of Qingzhou is manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-casedgunpowder bomb shells a month, dispatching to Xiangyang and Yingzhou about ten to twenty thousand such bombs at a time.[100]
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