By place Europe •
January 5 –
Bolesław IV the Curly, High Duke of
Poland, dies after a 27-year reign. He is succeeded by his half-brother
Mieszko III the Old, and as duke of
Sandomierz in
Lesser Poland by
Casimir II the Just. •
Knut Eriksson (King Canute I of Sweden) extends his rule after the death of co-ruler
Kol – which includes also
Östergötland. He becomes the unopposed sole-ruler of
Sweden with the support of jarl
Birger Brosa. •
Abu Yaqub Yusuf, caliph of the
Almohad Caliphate, re-populates the western Andalusian city of
Beja. But it is rapidly abandoned, a sign of the quick demographic weakening of the Muslims in the peninsula.
England • March –
Henry the Young King withdraws to the French court, marking the beginning of the
Revolt of 1173–1174, a dispute between
King Henry II, his estranged wife
Eleanor of Aquitaine and three of their sons over the territories they control. Eleanor is placed under
de facto house arrest.
William the Lion, King of Scotland, invades the North of England in support of the rebellion. • 17 October – Revolt of 1173–74:
Battle of Fornham – Flemish mercenaries under rebel leader
Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, are defeated at a ford in East Anglia by the English royalists under Lord
Richard de Lucy.
Egypt • Summer –
Saladin leads an expeditionary army against the
Bedouin tribes in
Oultrejordain to secure a route between
Egypt and
Syria. He raids the region at
Kerak Castle. • Pro-
Fatimid rising in
Upper Egypt led by
Kanz al-Dawla, governor of
Aswan, is crushed by Saladin's brother
Al-Adil.
China • The Qiandao era ends and the Chunxi era begins during the reign of Emperor
Xiao Zong of the
Song dynasty.
South India •
Sinhalese king Parakramabahu I "the Great" gains a decisive victory by invading the
Chola Empire as an ally of the
Pandyas, capturing
Tondi and Pasi regions.
By topic Art and leisure •
August 8 – The construction of a
campanile, which will become the
Leaning Tower of Pisa, begins. •
Algebraic chess notation is first recorded.
Agriculture • Approximate date – King
Béla III of Hungary invites
Cistercian and
Premonstratensian monks to
Hungary. They introduce advanced
agricultural methods in the realm.
Religion •
February 21 –
Thomas Becket is canonized by Pope
Alexander III. His tomb in
Canterbury Cathedral becomes a shrine and a popular
pilgrimage destination. •
Pedro Gudestéiz resigns the
archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela after some controversy. • Approximate date –
Peter Waldo, French spiritual leader, is converted to
Christianity and founds the
Waldensians. • Traditional date – The
Great Mosque of al-Nuri, Mosul, is completed to the orders of
Nur al-Din Zengi. == Births ==