By place Byzantine Empire • Spring –
Theodore I Laskaris is proclaimed Byzantine emperor (or
basileus), formally founding the
Empire of Nicaea, after repelling the invasions of rivals
David Komnenos and
Manuel Maurozomes into his domains. His appointment is an open challenge to the legitimacy of the Latin emperor
Baldwin I, who rules over large parts of the former
Byzantine Empire and regards Theodore as a
usurper. •
March 19 –
Battle of Adramyttion: The Byzantine army, under
Constantine Laskaris (brother of Theodore I), appears before the walls of
Adramyttium – surprising the Latin garrison. Meanwhile,
Henry of Flanders, not wanting to remain trapped within the city, opens the gates and charges out with his heavy cavalry. He and his knights defeat the Byzantine forces, who are scattered and forced to retreat. •
March – Byzantine officials in
Adrianople revolt and expel Latin administrators, requesting Bulgarian support from
Kaloyan, ruler (
tsar) of the
Bulgarian Empire, against Baldwin I who assembles an army (some 40,000 men) and marches to aid the Byzantines. Meanwhile, Baldwin sets out from
Constantinople in force, he arrives at Adrianople and promptly begins to siege the city by the end of March. •
April 14 –
Battle of Adrianople: Latin forces under Baldwin I are defeated and eliminated in a successful ambush by Bulgarians,
Vlachs and
Cumans. Baldwin is captured and taken as prisoner to
Veliko Tarnovo – where he is locked up at the top of a tower in the
Tsarevets fortress. Later, Baldwin is possibly executed by orders of Kaloyan (this according to the Byzantine historian
George Akropolites). • Summer –
Battle of Koundouros: Byzantine forces (some 5,000 men) under
Michael Doukas, governor of the
Theme of the Peloponnese (and later
Despot of Epirus), tries to stop the Latin army (some 700 knights and foot soldiers) at the Olive Grove of Koundouros. The Byzantines are defeated by
William of Champlitte, who later founds the
Principality of Achaea (a vassal state of the
Latin Empire). •
Othon de la Roche, a Burgundian nobleman, founds the
Duchy of Athens (one of the
Crusader states set up in
Greece) and takes the title of "Grand Lord" (
Megaskyr) in
Athens.
Europe •
January 6 –
Philip of Swabia becomes
King of the Romans and is crowned again with great ceremony at
Aachen by Archbishop
Adolf of Cologne. After several threats, Adolf is removed from office by Pope
Innocent III and excommunicated, on
July 19. Philip is able to increasingly assert his kingship against
Otto of Brunswick (who is also crowned king of
Germany) in the northern parts of the
Alps. •
May 29 –
Andrew II, brother of the late King
Emeric, is crowned ruler of
Hungary and
Croatia at
Székesfehérvár, after his 5-year-old nephew,
Ladislaus III, suddenly dies in
Vienna. Andrew introduces a new policy for royal grants, which he calls "new institutions". He distributes large portions of his domain–such as royal castles and all estates attached to them–to supporters and Hungarian nobles. •
June 19 –
Battle of Zawichost: Polish forces under High Duke
Leszek the White defeat the Kievan army at
Zawichost. During the ambush,
Roman Mstislavich, Grand Prince of
Kiev, is killed. He is succeeded by his two infant sons,
Daniel and
Vasilko. Their principalities are ruled by their mother
Anna of Byzantium, but the
boyars of
Galicia–Volhynia forces her and the young princes into exile. • Summer – King
Philip II ("Augustus") conquers most of the
Angevin lands, including much of
Aquitaine. Fearing a French invasion of
England itself,
John, King of England ("Lackland") requires every English male over 12 years to enter a
mobilization "for the general defense of the realm and the preservation of peace". John prepares an expedition force of his own, but the barons refuse to cross the
Channel.
England •
William of Wrotham,
Lord Warden of the Stannaries, oversees a reform of English
currency. In keeping with other high-ranking bureaucrats of his time, this is just one of Wrotham's many offices. He is also "keeper of ports", the forerunner of the
First Lord of the Admiralty, supervisor of the mints of
Canterbury and
London, ward of the vacant
Diocese of Bath and Wells and archdeacon of
Taunton.
Africa • Caliph
Muhammad al-Nasir establishes
Almohad domination over the eastern parts of
Ifriqiya (modern
Tunisia). He appoints General
Abu Mohammed ibn Abi Hafs as governor of Ifriqiya.
By topic Religion •
July 15 – Pope
Innocent III lays down the principle that
Jews are doomed to perpetual servitude, because they had crucified
Jesus. == Births ==