| Date |
Country |
Description |
| 1128–1146 |
Syria |
Atabeg ‘Imad Zangi rules Aleppo, uniting it with Mosul and strengthening the northern frontier against the Crusaders. |
| 1128 |
Portugal |
Battle of São Mamede. Afonso Henriques takes control of the Portucuese Counties. |
| 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 |
Portugal |
Second taifas in al-Gharb. Afonso Henriques recognised as king at the Zamora Conference. |
| 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. |
| 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 |
Türkiye |
The Second Crusades arrive in Anatolia on the way to the Holy Lands. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 1148 |
Algeria |
Hammadid coinage minted in Béjaia. |
| 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 |
Palestine |
The fall of ‘Asqalan, the last Fatimid military base in Palestine. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 1158 |
Morocco |
‘Abd al-Mu’min starts the construction of the Great Mosque of the Koutoubiya in Marrakesh. |
| 1159 |
Morocco |
‘Abd al-Mu’min conquers Ifriqiya and unifies the three countries of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). |
| 1160 |
Tunisia |
Reconquest of the coast by the Almohads and reunification of Ifriqiya. |
| 1164 |
Sweden |
The monk Stefan becomes the first Swedish Archbishop. The ceremony was in Lund, which was then Danish but is now a town in southern Sweden. Stefan was ordained by the Danish archbishop Eskil on 5 August and Pope Alexander III was among the participants. Stefan’s see was in Uppsala. He went to work immediately and one of his letters from 1165 still exists. This is the oldest preserved letter in Sweden. It is written in Latin. |
| 1168 |
Egypt |
Amuri, King of Jerusalem and leader of the Crusader army, captures the city of Bilbis and slaughters every man, woman and child. The burning of Fustat is ordered by Shawar, minister of the Fatimid caliph, to prevent the Crusaders from reaching Cairo. Twenty thousand barrels of oil were used for this purpose and the fire continued for 54 days. |
| 1169 |
Egypt |
Salah al-Din Ayyub (Saladin) takes control of Egypt. |
| 1170 |
United Kingdom |
Four knights who believe they are working on the implicit orders of King Henry II murder Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury Cathedral. |
| 1171 |
Egypt |
Salah al-Din becomes sultan, extends Cairo’s fortifications and constructs the Citadel. |
| 1174 |
Syria |
At Nur al-Din's death, his powerful lieutenant Salah al-Din (Saladin) defeats other claimants to the throne, marries Nur al-Din’s wife and is recognised as sultan, becoming founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty. |
| 1179 |
Portugal |
Pope Alexander III’s papal bull Manifestis Probatum recognises the king of Portugal. |
| 1184–1209 |
Tunisia |
The powers of the Almohads declines. |
| 1184 |
Portugal |
Muslim attack on Santarém, resulting in the death of Abu Ya‘qub Yusuf. |
| 1184 |
Algeria |
The decline of the Almohads is deepened by the victory of the Sanhadja tribe from Bani Ghania at Béjaia. |
| 1184 |
Jordan |
The Ayyubid army leader Usama bin Mungidh erects Ajlun castle to counter the Crusader castle of Belvoir (Kawkab al-Hawa) to the west. In August of this year the Ayyubids besiege Karak Castle under the leadership of Salah al-Din (Saladin) the dynasty’s founder. |
| 1186 |
Croatia |
Zadar rebels against Venice and allies with Hungary. |
| 1187 |
Palestine |
The Battle of Hattin. The rise of the Ayyubid dynasty as a successful force against the Crusaders, combined with cultural and demographic changes, transforms the face of Palestine after many years of Crusader control. |
| 1187 |
France |
Preaching of the Third Crusade, which is joined by the King of France Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart. Having returned to France Philip Augustus defeats the troops of Emperor Otto at Bouvines and greatly extends his kingdom. |
| 1187 |
Jordan |
On 5 July Salah al-Din (Saladin) wins a great victory at Hittin over the Christian Frankish troops; he went on to destroy the power of the Crusaders in Palestine and Jordan. |
| 1187 |
Syria |
Battle of Hattin in which Salah al-Din defeats the Crusader army and liberates Jerusalem. |
| 1189 |
Portugal |
King of Portugal attacks the Algarve region. |
| 1189 |
Jordan |
The Ayyubids capture the Crusader castles of Karak and Shawbak, ending the Crusaders’ rule in Jordan. |
| 1190 |
Türkiye |
The death of Frederick Barbarossa in the river of Calycadmus. |
| 1192 |
Hungary |
The beginning of the compilation of the Pray codex (contains the first continuous Hungarian texts) and the oldest Hungarian chronicle, the Annals of Pozsony (Pressburg, today: Bratislava, Slovakia). |
| 1193 |
Egypt |
Salah al-Din dies and the Ayyubid empire is fragmented. |
| 1193 |
Egypt |
Salah al-Din recaptures Jerusalem. |
| 1193 |
Morocco |
Amir Ya‘qub al-Mansur win the Battle of Alarcos against the Spanish. |
| 1195 |
Spain |
Almohad victory over the Christians at the Battle of Alarcos (Ciudad Real). |
| 1196–7 |
Morocco |
Ya‘qub al-Mansur founds the town of Rabat (Ribat al-Fath – the field of victory). |
| 1199 |
Egypt |
Al-‘Adil unites the Ayyubid empire. |
| 1200 |
Egypt |
Famine due to the low level of the Nile for several consecutive years and an earthquake result in over 240,000 dead. |
| 1200 |
Germany |
The Nibelungenlied is written down. During the Age of Chivalry numerous texts, ballads and songs were written by Minnesänger singers such as medieval lyricist Walter von der Vogelweide (c.1170–c.1230). |
| 1202 |
Italy |
The Fourth Crusade, which will last until 1204, leaves from Venice. |
| 1204 |
Türkiye |
Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusaders; Nicea becomes the new capital of the Byzantine Empire. |
| 1205 |
Croatia |
Dubrovnik recognises the authority of Venice, which will last until 1358. In that period Dubrovnik was obliged to pay Venice annual tribute and to accept Venetians as its dukes and archbishops. |
| 1206 |
Syria |
Badi' al-Zaman al-Jazari (from al-Jazira) is commissioned by the Atabeg Artuqid court to write his brilliant illustrated manuscript on mechanical engineering, a milestone in technology history. |
| 1207 |
Spain |
Approximate date of Cantar de Mio Cid, the principal work of the epic Castilian poem. |
| 1208 |
France |
Albigensian Crusade against Cathars established in southern France triggers the conquest of the Languedoc by barons from the north of France. The Kingdom of France experiences an unprecedented period of economic and cultural expansion. |
| 1210 |
Italy |
Saint Francis of Assisi writes his Rule, inspired by the principles of poverty, errant preaching and Christian charity. Frederick II (1211–50), already King of Sicily, is crowned emperor. |
| c. 1210 |
Hungary |
A notary of King Béla III (Anonymus ‘Magister P.’) writes a chronicle of the Hungarian conquest and settlement (Gesta Hungarorum). The beginning of the rebuilding of the Kalocsa abbey (built in the 11th century). |
| 1212 |
Czech Republic |
Golden Bull of Sicily: Roman King Friedrich II defines the relationship between Czech kings and the Holy Roman Empire. The Czech king becomes one of seven electors privileged to elect the Roman king. |
| 1212 |
Morocco |
The Almohads lose the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in Andalusia. |
| 1212 |
Spain |
Almohad defeat at Navas de Tolosa, marking the beginning of their decline. |
| 1215 |
United Kingdom |
English barons force King John to agree to a statement of their rights and sign the Magna Carta, which limits his power and paves the way towards a constitutional monarchy in England. |
| 1217 |
Portugal |
Conquest of Alcácer do Sal. |
| 1221 |
Hungary |
After writing the Summa de paenintentia Paulus Hungarus, a canon lawyer, returns from Bologna and organises the Dominican order in Hungary. French architect Villard de Honnecourt visits Hungary. |
| 1222 |
Hungary |
Displeased with the king’s rule noblemen force King András II to sign the Golden Bull that limits his power. In another order the king strengthens the privileges of the ecclesiastical order. |
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