By place Levant • Spring –
Raynald of Châtillon, prince of
Antioch, makes an alliance with
Thoros II (
the Great), ruler of
Armenian Cilicia. He invades
Cyprus and conducts a widespread plundering of the Byzantine island. The Crusaders and the Armenian forces march up and down the island robbing and pillaging every building, church and convent as well as shops and private houses. The crops are burnt; the herds are rounded up – together with all the population – and driven down to the coast. The massacre lasts about three weeks; on the rumor of a Byzantine fleet in the offing, Raynald gives the order for embarkation. The Crusader ships are loaded with booty, and every Cypriot is forced to ransom himself.
Europe by
Lalli'', painting by Karl Anders Ekman (1854) •
January 20 – Freeholder
Lalli slays the English missionary-bishop
Henry with an axe, on the ice of Lake
Köyliönjärvi in
Finland (according to
legend). •
February –
Domenico Morosini, doge of
Venice (
House of Morosini), dies after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by
Vitale II Michiel as ruler of Venice. •
May 28 – King
William I (
the Bad) lands with a Sicilian expeditionary force in
Apulia. He defeats the Byzantine army at
Brindisi and recaptures
Bari. •
June 9 – Emperor
Frederick I (
Barbarossa) marries
Beatrice I, daughter of
Reginald III, adding the
County of Burgundy to the
Holy Roman Empire. •
June 18 – Pope
Adrian IV comes to terms, and signs the
Treaty of Benevento. He recognises the suzerainty of William I as ruler of
Sicily and
Italy. •
September 17 – Frederick I makes the
Margraviate of Austria a duchy and gives the
Babenberg Dynasty special privileges (the
Privilegium Minus). •
Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of
Kiev, founds and fortifies the town of
Moscow and erects a wooden
Kremlin within the settlement (approximate date). •
December 25 – King
Sverker I (
the Elder) is murdered on his way to church. He is succeeded by his rival,
Eric IX (
the Holy), as ruler of
Sweden.
Africa • The independent city-state
Sfax revolts against
Norman occupation.
Almohad forces conquer the city and massacre the Christian citizens.
Asia •
July 28 – The
Hōgen rebellion, a dispute between Emperor
Go-Shirakawa and his half-brother retired-Emperor
Sutoku, erupts in
Japan.
By topic Art and Science •
Mosan artists create the
Stavelot Triptych, a masterpiece of
Goldsmithing, as a
reliquary to house purported pieces of the
True Cross. == Births ==