By place Continental Europe •
May 11 – Emperor
Frederick I (Barbarossa) sets out from
Regensburg, at the head of a German expeditionary force (some 15,000 men, including 4,000 knights). He has ensured that his lands are safe while he is away on crusade and leaves his son
Henry VI in charge of the country. After leaving
Germany, Frederick's army is increased by a contingent of 2,000 men led by Prince
Géza, younger brother of King
Béla III of Hungary. On
July 27, he arrives at
Niš and is welcomed by
Stefan Nemanja, Grand Prince of
Serbia. In order to ease his passage, Frederick makes diplomatic contacts with
Hungary, the
Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk
Sultanate of Rum. •
July 6 – King
Henry II of England ("Curtmantle") dies at the
Château de Chinon, near
Tours, after doing homage to
Philip II (Augustus), and surrendering the territories around
Issoudun in the
Centre-Val de Loire. He ends the hostilities against Philip, by agreeing to the peace terms and pays him 20,000 marks in
tribute. Henry is succeeded by his son,
Richard I ("the Lionheart"), as ruler of
England and his remaining territories in France. • August – Byzantine Emperor
Isaac II Angelos denies any crusader access and begins to hinder the German forces who try to cross his frontier. Frederick I progresses with force, by capturing
Philippopolis and defeats a Byzantine army (some 3,000 men) that attempts to recapture the city. The Germans are delayed for six months in
Thrace. •
August 29 –
Ban Kulin, Bosnian ruler, writes the
Charter of Ban Kulin, which becomes a symbolic "birth certificate" of
Bosnian language and statehood. •
Reconquista: King
Sancho I of Portugal ("the Populator") turns his attention towards the Moorish small kingdoms (called
taifas) and begins a campaign in the south of
his kingdom. With the help of crusader forces he conquers the town of
Silves. He orders the fortification of the city, builds a castle and styles himself "King of Silves". •
November 11 – King
William II of Sicily ("the Good"), having made peace with Emperor Isaac II and abandoned
Thessalonika and other conquests, dies childless at
Palermo. The Sicilian nobles elect
Tancred of Lecce (illegitimate son of
Roger II) as the new ruler of
Sicily, instead of Princess
Constance and her husband Henry VI, to avoid German rule. • Frederick I grants
Hamburg the status of a
free imperial city and tax-free access (or
free-trade zone) up the
Lower Elbe into the
North Sea. He also grants the right to fish, to cut trees and the freedom of military service.
Britain • August –
William Marshal marries the 17-year-old
Isabel de Clare (daughter of
Richard de Clare). Through this marriage, he becomes 1st
Earl of Pembroke, acquiring huge estates in England,
Normandy,
Wales and
Ireland. •
September 3 – Richard I is crowned king of England in
Westminster Abbey. During the coronation, a number of notable Jews are expelled from the banquet and rumours spread that Richard has ordered a massacre of the Jews. This causes an actual
massacre of the Jews in London; among those killed is
Jacob of Orléans, a respected French Jewish scholar.
Levant • May –
Saladin has reconquered the Crusader
Kingdom of Jerusalem except for
Tyre. The castles of
Montréal and
Kerak are captured by Muslim forces. In the north, Saladin has regained the
Principality of Antioch except for
Antioch and the castle of
Al-Qusayr in Syria. •
August 28 –
Siege of Acre: King
Guy of Lusignan moves from Tyre, where
Conrad of Montferrat refuses to hand over the city. Guy and his crusader army (some 7,000 men, including 400 knights) besiege
Acre. He makes camp outside, to wait for more reinforcements. • September – Guy of Lusignan receives reinforcements of some 12,000 men from
Denmark, Germany, England, France, and
Flanders. He encircles Acre with a double line of fortified positions. On
September 15, Saladin launches a failed attack on Guy's camp. •
October 4 – Guy of Lusignan leads the crusader forces to launch a full-on assault on Saladin's camp. With heavy casualties on both sides, neither force gains the upperhand. On
October 26, Saladin moves his camp from Acre to
Mount Carmel (modern
Israel). •
October 30 – An Egyptian fleet (some 50 ships) breaks through the crusader blockade at Acre and reinforces the port-city with some 10,000 men, as well as food and weapons. • December – An Egyptian fleet reopens communications with Acre. The rest of the winter passes without major incidents, but the supply situation is poor in the besieged city.
Asia •
February 18 – Emperor
Xiaozong abdicates in favour of his son
Guangzong as ruler of the
Song dynasty. Xiaozong becomes a
Taishang Huang ("Retired Emperor") and remains as the
de facto ruler of
China. == Births ==