| Date |
Country |
Description |
| 1038 |
Morocco |
Abu Imran al-Fassi, originally from Fez and celebrated faqih from Ifriqya (Tunisia), where he settled to teach, dies in Kairouan. |
| 1040 |
United Kingdom |
Macbeth, king of Moray, kills Duncan I near Elgin and becomes king of the Scots; his rule ends when he is killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm Canmore in 1057. |
| 1042 |
Algeria |
The Hammadids and the Zirids reach an agreement to share Central Maghreb. |
| 1044 |
Portugal |
Abbasid campaigns in the south. Conquest of Lisbon and Mértola. |
| 1047 |
France |
Saracen raid on the Lerins Islands (the most significant of a series of raids on the Provençal coast). The monks taken are bought back through the Abbey of Saint-Victor. |
| 1048 |
Palestine |
Merchants from Amalfi (Italy) construct a huge social institution including a hospital in Jerusalem. |
| 1050–1052 |
Tunisia |
Ifriqiya is invaded by Hilalian tribes from Egypt. Split into several different kingdoms, Ifriqiya falls to the invaders. |
| 1050 |
Algeria |
Foundation of the Kharijite cities of Mzab and start of the Hilalian invasions. |
| 1054 |
Morocco |
The Almoravid Sanhaja set out the conquer the Maghreb under the leadership of ‘Abdallah ibn Yassine. |
| 1055 |
Hungary |
Foundation letter of the Benedictine abbey in Tihany by King András I (its Latin text contains the first Hungarian text fragment). András was buried in the abbey church in 1060. |
| 1055 |
Morocco |
The Almoravids take the town of Sijilmassa. |
| 1055 |
Syria |
The Seljuqs take Baghdad and northern Syria. The beginning of the Seljuq sultanate and the revival of Islamic military and urban development along Sunni doctrines. |
| 1055 |
Algeria |
Sijilmasa taken by the Almoravids. |
| 1058 |
Syria |
Abu al-Alaa al-Ma'arri, blind Syrian poet, dies. His most famous literary work, Risalat al-Ghufran (Letter of Forgiveness), inspires Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy three centuries later. |
| 1059 |
Italy |
The Council of the Lateran reorganises the Church. The Pope makes Robert Guiscard (1059–85) Duke of Puglia and Calabria. It is the first acknowledgement of Norman domination of Southern Italy. |
| 1061 |
Italy |
Roger I of Hautville (1072–1101) begins the conquest of Sicily against the Arabs, which is completed in 1091. |
| 1062 |
Italy |
The Muslim fleet is defeated by the Pisans at Palermo. |
| 1062 |
Morocco |
The Almoravids found the town of Marrakesh, heralding the start of a new era in Maghreb and al-Andalus. |
| 1063 |
Czech Republic |
Founding of Olomouc bishopric. Vratislav II made first Czech King (1085). The first Czech chronicle known as the Chronicle of Cosmas. Premonstratensian and Cistercian monasteries founded (1140). |
| 1064 |
Portugal |
Sisnando takes Coimbra. |
| 1066 |
United Kingdom |
William of Normandy lands at Pevensey, defeats and kills Harold II at the Battle of Hastings and becomes William I, the Conqueror; the first Norman King of England (until 1087). |
| 1068 |
Algeria |
The town of Béjaia founded by the Hammadid prince al-Nasir. Bab al-Bunud (Gateway of the Standards) and Bab al-Bahr (Gateway of the Sea) erected. |
| 1069 |
Algeria |
The town of Sedrata destroyed. Kharijite exodus to Mzab. |
| 1069 |
Morocco |
The Almoravids enter Fez and take control of the Maghreb. |
| 1071 |
Türkiye |
Victory of the Great Seljuqs over the Byzantine army at Manzikert. |
| 1072 |
Palestine |
The Turkomans under the command of Utsuz, in the name of the Seljuqs, invade Palestine, defeating and ejecting the Fatimid army. The Fatimids reconquer it 25 years later. |
| 1075 |
Türkiye |
Foundation of the Anatolian Seljuqs (1077–1308). |
| 1077 |
Hungary |
Coronation of King (St) László I who reforms Hungary’s legal codes, administrative and ecclesiastical system and life (1083: canonisation of King István and Prince Imre; 1092: synod of Szabolcs). |
| 1077 |
Germany |
On 25–28 January Emperor Henry IV (1056–1106) of the Salian Dynasty is forced on a walk of penitence to Canossa to beg forgiveness of Pope Gregor VII and to accept him as arbitrator. The Way (or Walk) to Canossa refers to the walk itself and the events surrounding his journey. |
| 1080 |
Türkiye |
Süleyman Bey, conquering Iznik, declares it the capital of the Anatolian Seljuqs. |
| 1080 |
Portugal |
Council of Burgos abolishes the Mozarabic rite in favour of the Roman rite. |
| 1082 |
Algeria |
Foundation of the town of Taghrart on the site of modern-day Tlemcen. |
| 1086 |
Spain |
Almoravid invasion following the Christian conquest of Toledo. Almoravid victory at the Battle of Sagrajas or Zallaqa (Badajoz). |
| 1086 |
United Kingdom |
The Domesday Book is completed. A survey of every English county south of the rivers Ribble and Tees, it was commissioned by William I at Christmas 1085 to enable him to tax his landowning subjects. |
| 1086 |
Morocco |
The Almoravid amir Yusuf ibn Tashufin wins the Battle of Zallaca near to Badajoz and mints a gold coin, known as the maravedis in the Christian West. |
| 1087 |
Egypt |
Badr Al-Jamali, the Fatimid vizier, consolidates Cairo’s walls while extending its perimeter. |
| 1091 |
Hungary |
Having already founded the Zagreb bishopric, King (St) László I founds the St Egid Benedictine monastery in Somogyvár (his first burial site before Várad [today: Oradea, Romania]), inviting monks from Saint Gilles. |
| 1094 |
Croatia |
The Hungarian King Ladislas establishes the Zagreb Diocese. |
| 1094 |
Morocco |
Yusuf ibn Tashufin annexes Andalusia to the Almoravid empire. |
| 1095 |
Portugal |
Establishment of the Portucuese Counties. |
| 1095 |
Palestine |
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d.1111), the great philosopher, visits Palestine and takes refuge for three years in the Haram al-Sharif. |
| 1095 |
Syria |
Al-Ghazali, la principal figura religiosa del siglo XI, reside en Damasco. Sus obras representan un renacimiento de las ciencias religiosas. |
| 1096 |
Türkiye |
The First Crusaders on their way to the Holy Lands arrive in Constantinople in December. |
| 1096 |
France |
Start of the First Crusade, preached by Pope Urban II at Clermont. The People’s Crusade is mostly annihilated, but the Princes’ Crusade reaches Palestine and takes Jerusalem in 1099, establishing the Frankish Kingdom in the east. |
| 1097 |
Algeria |
Great Mosque of Algiers built. Yusuf ibn Tashufin, having conquered Spain and Central Maghreb, promotes the emergence of Afro-Andalusian Moorish art: stalactite domes, poly-lobed arches and mosque orientation. |
| 1097 |
Palestine |
Al-Afdal Ibn Badr al-Jamali (d.515/1121), the commander-in-chief of the Fatimid armies completes the construction of the huge mosque of ‘Asqalan with its magnificent minbar (pulpit), which is exhibited to this day in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. |
| 1098 |
Syria |
The Crusaders take Antioch in June after a nine-month siege, founding the first Crusader state in the Levant. |
| 1099 |
Egypt |
Fall of Jerusalem to the Franks. |
| 1099 |
Palestine |
The Crusaders conquer Palestine with a huge massacre in Jerusalem; the estimated number of the victims is ca 70,000. Major parts of the cities are destroyed. Godfrey de Bouillon is elected as the leader of the Latin Kingdom. |
| 1099 |
Jordan |
The Crusaders occupy Jordan and Palestine during their first campaign to the area until 1187. |
| 1100 |
Morocco |
The geographer al-Sharif al-Idrissi is born in Sebta. Half a century later he writes a geography book entitled Kitab nuzhat al-Mouchtaq at the request of the Norman King Roger II. |
| 1100 |
Türkiye |
Kılıç Arslan moves the capital of the Anatolian Seljuqs to Konya after being defeated by the Crusaders. |
| 1102 |
Croatia |
Pacta conventa between Hungarian King Koloman and Croatia. Koloman Arpadović crowned as Croatian king in Biograd and the personal union established. |
| 1104 |
Algeria |
Badis, son of al-Mansur, leaves Qalaa for the last time and goes to Béjaia. |
| 1106 |
Germany |
Henry IV is forced to abdicate and is followed by King Henry V (1106–25) of the Salian Dynasty. |
| 1108 |
France |
Start of the reign of Louis VI. Establishment and growth of the commune movement in France. |
| 1111 |
Portugal |
Consolidation of Almoravid power in the southwest of the peninsula. Attack on Coimbra. |
| 1115 |
Jordan |
Baldwin I, the Crusader king of Jerusalem, erects a huge castle at Shawbak on a high mountain in Jordan in order to dominate the area, naming it Le Crac de Montreal. |
| 1116 |
Palestine |
Baldwin I (r. 1100–18) expands the Kingdom. |
| 1117 |
Algeria |
Meeting at Mellalah (Béjaia) between the mahdi Ibn Tumart and ‘Abd al-Mu’min, founders of the Almohad dynasty. |
| 1118–1156 |
Tunisia |
Norman incursions on the coast of Ifriqiya. The Djerba and Kerkennah islands, along with the towns of Gabès, Sfax, Mahdia and Sousse, are occupied by the Normans. |
| 1119 |
Syria |
Battle of Sarmada, between the Crusader Principality of Antioch and the Artuqid Atabeg ruler of Aleppo, witnessing the success of the local Muslim forces even without assistance from the Seljuq sultanate. |
| 1123 |
Morocco |
Al-Mahdi ibn Tumart takes action against the Almoravids to aid the Hargha, Tinmel, Hintata tribes, etc. |
| 1128 |
Portugal |
Battle of São Mamede. Afonso Henriques takes control of the Portucuese Counties. |
| 1128–1146 |
Syria |
Atabeg ‘Imad Zangi rules Aleppo, uniting it with Mosul and strengthening the northern frontier against the Crusaders. |
| 1130 |
Italy |
Roger II, governor of Sicily since 1112, is crowned King of Sicily and reigns until 1154. |
| 1131 |
Algeria |
‘Abd al-Mu’min restores Tlemcen. |
| 1134 |
Croatia |
Issue of the Charter of Felicianus mentioning the founder of the Diocese, King Ladislas, the first bishop of Zagreb, Bishop Duh, and other clergy. |
| 1135 |
United Kingdom |
On the death of Henry I of England, his nephew Stephen of Blois stages a coup and seizes the English throne in place of Henry’s daughter and designated successor, the Empress Matilda. |
| 1136 |
Algeria |
Construction of the Great Mosques of Constantine and Tlemcen. |
| 1141 |
Palestine |
Belvoir citadel (Kawkab al-Hawa) is built in a wave of citadel-building all over Palestine. |
| 1142 |
Jordan |
Karak Castle is built by Payen le Boutellier. It is named Crac de Moab or simply le Crac by the Franks. It was a very important castle to Crusaders due to its position as a watch centre of the Islamic army movements. |
| 1143 |
Italy |
The Commune of Rome is born, an expression of the nascent communal civility that will have a profound effect on Italian cultural identity. |
| 1143 |
Portugal |
Second taifas in al-Gharb. Afonso Henriques recognised as king at the Zamora Conference. |
| 1145 |
Algeria |
Decisive encounter between the armies of ‘Abd al-Mu’min and Tashufin ibn Ali near Oran. Death throes of the Almoravid dynasty. |
| 1146 |
France |
Preaching of the Second Crusade, in particular by Saint Bernard. King Louis VII returns defeated to France, and Jerusalem is taken back by the Muslims in 1187. |
| 1147 |
Portugal |
Conquest of Lisbon and Santarém. |
| 1147 |
Morocco |
‘Abd al-Mu’min, who succeeds Al-Mahdi ibn Tumart, makes a ceremonious entrance in Marrakesh, announcing the triumph of the Almohad movement. |
| 1147 |
Spain |
Almohad invasion of al-Andalus. |
| 1147 |
Türkiye |
The Second Crusades arrive in Anatolia on the way to the Holy Lands. |
| 1148 |
Algeria |
Hammadid coinage minted in Béjaia. |
| 1148–9 |
Morocco |
‘Abd al- Mu’min rebuilds the mosque of Tinmel, birthplace of the Almohad dynasty and the prototype of its mosques. |
| 1148 |
Syria |
The second Crusade arrives in Syria, led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, besieging Damascus for four days, but failing to conquer it. |
| 1151 |
Germany |
Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179), a mystic and a composer of hymns who had visions of God, collects her visions in the book Scivias (‘Know the Way’). |
| 1152 |
Morocco |
The Almohads take Algiers and Constantine, overcoming the last heir of the Bani Hammad, Yahia ibn ‘Abd al-Aziz (515–47/1121–52) and unifying Morocco and the Central Maghreb. |
| 1152 |
Algeria |
Hammadid kingdom conquered by the Almohads. |
| 1153 |
Portugal |
Foundation of the abbey at Alcobaça. |
| 1153 |
Algeria |
Decisive victory of the Almohads over the nomads at Sétif. Widespread use of Almohad coinage as the industry and commerce of war flourishes. Political unity and religious dogmatism. The apogee of Almohad rule. |
| 1153 |
Palestine |
The fall of ‘Asqalan, the last Fatimid military base in Palestine. |
| 1154 |
Italy |
Frederick Barbarossa (1123–90) arrives in Italy to side with the Pope against the Commune of Rome and the Normans. In the same year, Barbarossa is crowned King of Italy in Pavia. |
| 1154 |
Syria |
Nur al-Din, son of Zangi, takes control of Damascus and establishes it as a capital city. It becomes the new cultural, economic, religious, political and educational hub of the Islamic world at large, attracting many scholars. |
| 1155 |
United Kingdom |
Adrian IV grants a papal bull, Laudabiliter, which recognises Henry II of England as lord of Ireland and licenses English colonisation of Ireland; the process begins with Henry’s arrival in 1171. |
| 1155 |
Germany |
Friedrich I Barbarossa (1152–90) of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty is crowned emperor. He drowned during the Third Crusade near Konya in Turkey in 1190. |
| 1156 |
Portugal |
Almohad dominance in the south. |
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