By place Byzantine Empire •
July 31 –
John Komnenos the Fat, a Byzantine aristocrat, attempts to usurp the imperial throne; he is proclaimed emperor and crowned by Patriarch
John X Kamateros, at
Constantinople. Meanwhile, Emperor
Alexios III Angelos, who resides in the
Palace of Blachernae, dispatches a small force under
Alexios Palaiologos, Alexios' son-in-law, who is regarded as his heir-apparent. With support of the
Varangian Guard, John is overthrown and decapitated by the end of the day. His head is displayed at the
Forum of Constantine, while John's supporters are captured and tortured to extract the names of all the conspirators. • Autumn – Prince
Alexios Angelos, son of the deposed, blinded and imprisoned late Emperor
Isaac II Angelos, escapes from Constantinople. He makes his way to
Sicily and then
Rome where he is turned away by Pope
Innocent III. Next, Alexios travels to the court of his brother-in-law,
Philip of Swabia, the King of
Germany, who receives him well.
Europe • Spring – A treaty is signed between the Crusade leaders and
Venice. Doge
Enrico Dandolo agrees to manufacture a fleet capable of transporting the Crusader army to the
Levant, and to provide provisions for 33,500 men and 4,500 horses, for the price of 85,000 silver marks while Venice will also take half of whatever the expedition conquers. As part of this deal the Venetians will provide – at their own expense – sufficient ships to carry the Crusader forces, plus 50 galleys to defend it. •
May 24 – Count
Theobald III of Champagne suddenly dies and is replaced by
Boniface I, marquis of
Montferrat, as leader of the
Fourth Crusade. He travels to France, where he meets his chief colleagues at
Soissons. •
Battle of Stellau: Count
Adolf III of Holstein is defeated by the Danish army under King
Canute VI. Adolf retreats with his forces to
Hamburg, where he is besieged and later captured by Duke
Valdemar of Schleswig. •
Northern Crusades: The town of
Riga is chartered as a city by
Albert of Buxhoeveden, bishop of
Livonia, who has landed on the site with some 1,500 Crusaders earlier in the year.
British Isles •
July 11 –
Llywelyn the Great pays
homage to
John, King of England after Llywelyn has added
Eifionydd and
Llŷn to his kingdom of
Gwynedd in north
Wales. • King John puts an embargo on wheat exported to
Flanders, in an attempt to force an allegiance between the states. He also puts a levy of a fifteenth on the value of cargo exported to
France and disallows the export of wool to France without a special license. The levies are enforced in each port by at least six men – including one churchman and one knight. John affirms that judgments made by the court of
Westminster are as valid as those made "before the king himself or his chief justice".
By topic Religion •
March 25 –
Constance, duchess of
Brittany, founds
Villeneuve Abbey and gives it a
charter. •
April 10 –
John, King of England, permits Jews to live freely in England and
Normandy. •
Pope Innocent III recognizes
Otto IV as the only legitimate ruler of the
Holy Roman Empire, against his rival King,
Philip of Swabia. In return, Otto promises to support the pope's interests in
Italy. == Births ==