1200-1400, the Highlights

(Sources: various, including Chronicle of the World, Chronicle of the Royal Family; Ancient Inventions; Medieval London; Groliers Encyclopedia)]

About 1200

• The Jewish kabbalistic philosophy develops.
• Troubadour performances are at their height in Europe.
• The population of Cahokia begins to decline.
• The Anasazi civilization is in marked decline, with construction and major occupation of Chaco Canyon having ceased in 1130. The population of the outlying towns is still surviving.
• The Italian City-States war with one another.

1201

1202

• The Fourth Crusade begins.
• Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano uses 0 (zero) for the first time in Europe.

1203

• Pope Innocent III sends envoys into the Languedoc to convert the Albigenses, but to no avail.
• The Crusaders decide to back the claim of the prince Alexius and his father Isaac as the true rulers of the Byzantine Empire. They sieze Constantinople and place Alexi and Isaac on the Throne.

1204

• The Crusaders overrun Constantinople (Istanbul), burning and looting most of the city, placing one of their own on the throne, founding the Latin Empire, and effectively ending the Fourth Crusade.
• The city of Amsterdam is founded in Holland.
• The University of Vincenza is founded in Italy.

1205

• Francis of Assisi dreams that he should not fight in the war between Assisi and Perugia.

1206

• Mongol tribal chief Temujin (Temuchin) is unanimously proclaimed Genghis Khan (Chinggis Qan; "Universal Ruler") by an assembly of his Chieftans. At this point, he stopped sending tribute to the Chinese Emperor. The Emperor demanded his tribute, and Genghis declared war.
• The Delhi Sultanate is established in India.

1207

• The city of Liverpool is settled in England.

1208

• (24 Feb?) Francis of Assisi abandons all material goods.
• Papal legate Peter of Castelnau is assasinated in southern France.
• The University of Palencia is founded in Spain.

1209

• The University of Cambridge is founded.
• Pope Innocent III instigates a crusade against the Albigenses in southern France. Led by Simon de Montfort (the Elder), the mass burnings and massacres crush papal hopes of simply making the Cathars recant.
• The Mongols make an alliance with the Hsi Hsia.

1210

• The Mongols begin to move against the Chin Empire.
• St. Francis of Assisi founds the Franciscan order.

1211

• The building of St. James' Cathedral is begun in Santiago, Spain (Santiago de Compostella).
• The Franciscans are given a small chapel by the Benedictines.
• The Mongols under Genghis Khan invade the Chin Empire.

1212

• The "Children's Crusade" ends in utter disaster.
• Francis of Assisi is joined by Clare in founding the Order of Poor Ladies, or Poor Clares.
• Francis of Assisi trys to go on Crusade.
• Castile defeats the Muslim Almohads in Spain.
• Frederick II becomes King of Germany.

1213

1214

• (27 Jul) Philip II defeats Emperor Otto IV and King John of England at the Battle of Bouvines.
• Roger Bacon is born at Ilchester in Somerset.
• Francis of Assisi tries again to go on Crusade.
• The victory of the Crusaders against the Cathars at Muret breaks the back of Cathar support.
• Khubilai (Qubilai, Cublai, Kublai), son of Tuli, and grandson of Genghis Khan is born.
• The Mongols invading the Chin Empire are bought off temporarily.

1215

• King John of England signs the Magna Carta.
• The University of Arezzo is founded in Italy.
• The Fourth Lateran Council.
• The Mongols control most of the Chin empire and occupy Yen (Peking). The Chin are reduced to being a simple buffer state between The Mongols and the Sung.

1216

• (Jul) Pope Innocent III dies and is succeeded by Honorius III.

1217

• The Fifth Crusade begins with an attack on Egypt.
• The Kingdom of Serbia is founded.

1218

• Sultan Ala ad-Din Muhammad, the Kwarezm-shah, orders the execution of several Mongol trade envoys.
• Genghis Khan occupies Kashgar.

1219

• Denmark institutes a national flag, the oldest in Europe.
• Genghis Khan invades Khwarezm (Kivaresm Turkmenistan/Uzbeckistan).
• The city of Samarkand is conquered by Ghengis Khan.
• Genghis Khan occupies Transoxonia, and crosses the Oxus river.
• Jalal ad-Din, the Sultan's son, rallies the Afgani highlanders to who defeat the Mongols in battle. They are broken in response, but not before they kill Genghis Khan's grandson, Mutugen. Genghis Khan's response is to slaughter the entire population of Bamain.

1220

• The building of Salisbury Cathedral is begun in England.
• Frederick II becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
• The Taoist monk, Ch'ang Ch'un, sets out to answer a summons from Genghis Khan. He chronicles his journey.
• Genghis Khan orders Karakorum to be his headquarters.
• The Mongols under Genghis raze Bukhara, Samarkand, Terat, Tus, and Nishapur.

1221

• (10 Jan) Sultan Ala ad-Din Muhammad, the Kwarezm-shah is finally captured by the Mongols on the shore of the Caspian Sea.
• The Fifth Crusade ends with the Cursaders surrendering their few gains in Egypt.
• Ch'ang Ch'un arrives at the court of Genghis Khan, at that point in Kabul, in Afghanistan. After seveal months, Ch'ang Ch'un returns for home.
• Some form of antagonism erupts between Genghis Khan and his son Jochi.
• Francis of Assisi resigns as head of the Franciscan Order.

1222

• The University of Padua is founded in Italy.
• Genghis Khan winters near the Indus River.

1223

• (31 May) Battle of the Kalka, the Mongols defeat a combined Russian/Kipchak force.
• The Mongols attack the Volga Bulgars.
• The Khanate of the Golden Horde is established in Russia by the Mongols.

1224

• The University of Napoli is founded in Italy.
• Francis of Assisi undergoes a miraculous stigmatic experience.

1225

• French poet Guillaume de Lorris writes the Romance of the Rose.
• Genghis Khan returns to Karakorum by way of Tibet. He learns that the Chin and the Sung Empires are growing increasingly hostile again.

1226

• (3 Oct) Francis of Assisi dies.

1227

• The building of Toledo Cathedral is begun in Spain.
• Frederick II goes to the Holy Land on Crusade.
• (Feb) Jochi, eldest son of Genghis Khan, dies. His sons, Orda and Batu rule the western Hordes, the White and the Golden Hordes.
• (18 Aug) Genghis Khan dies, the Mongol empire is divided among his 4 sons.

1228

• (15 Jul) Francis of Assisi is canonized.
• (17 Jul) The foundation stone of the basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, is layed by Pope Gregory IX.
• Baldwin II assumes the throne in Constantinople
  (He spends much of his reign begging for money from the western monarchies. To support his family, he is forced to strip off off and sell what metal remains in the palaces, churches and prisons. To obtain fuel he has vacant buildings pulled down. He eventually winds up selling numerous relics, including the Crown of Thorns (the individual spines are sold separately), the baby linen of Jesus, the Spear, and part of the skull of John the Baptist.)
• The University of Vercelli is founded in Italy.

1229

• The Universities of Toulouse and Angers are founded in France.
• James I of Aragon captures Majorca from the Moors.

1230

• The Treaty of San Germano removes the Papal Ban on the Empire.
• The Qutb Minar minaret is built near present-day New Delhi, India
• The Mongols return to their invasion of the Chin.

1231

• The Constitutions of Melfi, promulgated by Frederick II lays the legal foundation of the Empire, and beginning a breakdown in Imperial/Papal relations. Eventually this breakdown would help lead to the formation of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines as factions.
• Pope Gregory IX institutes the papal Inquisition.
• The University of Salerno is founded in Italy.
• Jalal al-Din al-Rumi founds the Sufi order known as Whirling Dervishes.
• Jalal ad-Din, son of the Kwarezm-shah is murdered in Kurdistan.
• The Mongols occupy Korea.

1232

1233

• The Chin stronghold of Pien falls to the Mongols.
• Ogedai, son of Genghis Khan demands that the Sung Emperor acknowledge Mongol rulership. The Emperor declines, and Ogedai invades.

1234

• The printing of Buddhist texts using movable wooden type begins in Korea.
• The last Chin Emperor commits suicide.

1235

• Ogedai orders a wall built around Karakorum ("The Black Camp").

1236

• Alexander Nevsky is made prince of Novgorod by his father, the Grand Duke Yaroslav II.

1237

1238

1239

• The Kipchaks in SW Russia are destroyed by the Mongols.

1240

• (Jul) Prince Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Neva.
• (Dec) The Mongol Golden Horde, under Batu Khan captures and sacks Kiev.
• The Secret History of the Mongols is purportedly begun.

1241

• (11 Dec) Ogedai dies of accute Alcoholism. The kuriltais (or great councils) of the Mongol Clans turn the supreme Khanate to Mengu, son of Tuli, brother of Ogedai and son of Genghis Khan. Mengu turns the military command in part of China to his brother Khubilai.
• Chagatai, 2d son of Genghis Khan dies. Ruling from Kashgaria, he controlled Sinkiang/Uighar and Transoxonia.
• The Mongols invade Poland, Silesia, Moravia, and finally Hungary, massacring and burning Pest. They only end their invasion when the news of Ogedai's death summons Batu back to Mongolia.

1242

• English monk Roger Bacon describes a formula for making gunpowder.
• The University of Salamanca is founded in Spain.
• Alexander Nevsky defeats the Teutonic Knights in a battle fought on the frozen surface of Lake Paipus.

1243

1244

• Jerusalem once more falls into Moslem hands.
• The city of Berlin is mentioned for the first time in documents.
• The Massacre at Monsegur effectively ends the Cathar existance in southern France.
• Thomas Aquinas joines the Dominicans.

1245

• Pope Innocent IV sends the Franciscan friar John of Plano di (Carpini) to Karakorum as a missionary to the Mongols. Friar John wrill write a an account of his two year journey.
• Henry of Bracton becomes a royal judge.
• The Council of Lyons excommunicate and depose Frederick II
• The Mongols lay seige to Bagdhad, but are repelled.

1246

1247

1248

• The University of Piacenza is founded in Italy.
• Louis IX (St. Louis), King of France, leads the Seventh Crusade to regain the Holy Land.
• The Reconquista, or the Christian reconquest of Spain, is almost complete, however the Muslims still hold Granada.
• The building of Cologne Cathedral is begun in Germany.

1249

• Alfonso III drives the Moors from Portugal.

c.1250

• Egyptian Mamluks (Mamelukes) overthrow the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mamluks are a group of Kipchak Turks.
• Albertus Magnus describes a method for manufacturing arsenic.
• Naval warfare in the Mediterranean is dominated by galleys.
• Vincent of Beauvais publishes the Greater Mirror, a contemporary encyclopedia.
• The City, Constantinople, is a city in ruins, with 2/3rds of the land within the walls occupied by ruin and decayed, burnt wreckage of homes, public buildings and churches untouched since the sack in 1204. Much of the land is used for farmlands. The roads and sewages systems are abandoned. The Palaces are so badly cared for that they are nearly uninhabitable. However, it is still a center of trade, and 3 of the City's 8 quarters are held by the Venecians

1250

• Frederick II's death leads to an Interregnum in Germany and a struggle for the crown.
• Roger Bacon returns to Oxford and joins the Franciscan Order.
• Louis IX of France is captured by the Muslims during the Seventh Crusade.
• The Mongols move into the Sung Empire.

1251

1252

• Thomas Aquinas begins teaching in Paris.
• The city of Stockholm is founded in Sweden.
• The Golden Horde recognizes Alexander Nevsky as Grand Duke of Vladimir and Kiev in place of his deposed brother Andrew.

1253

• The basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi, is completed.
• Friar William of Rubruck is sent by Louis IX to Karakorum as an envoy to the Mongols.
  (he describes meeting a Greek knight in the Mongol capitol, a Parisian goldsmith, as well as a woman from Metz, married to a Russian carpenter.)

1254

• The Seventh Crusade ends dismally.
• The University of Sevilla is founded in Spain.

1255

• Batu Khan, leader of the Golden Horde, dies.

1256

• The Order of Augustinian Hermits is founded.
• Hulegu Khan, brother of Mengu-Khan crosses the Oxus into Persia. He destroys the Assassin stronghold at Alamut.

1257

• Roger Bacon is forbidden to lecture, and is sent to the Franciscan Order's convent in Paris.
• The Sorbonne theological college is founded at the University of Paris.

1258

• (10 Feb) The Mongols under Hulegu-Khan sack Baghdad, ending the Abbasid caliphate.
• Hulegu-Khan establishes the Il-Khanate in Persia.

1259

• (Aug) Mengu Khan dies of dysentary while laying seige to Ho Chu. Khubilai makes a quick truce with the Sung Emperor and hurries to the kuraltai to determin the next supreme ruler. There he arranges for his own election.
• Thomas Aquinas begins teaching in Italy.

1260

• Khubilai Khan is proclaimed as the Great Khan. A civil war breaks out between him, his brothers and his cousins, as Kaidu, son of Ogedai assumes the title of Great Khan. Khubilai also continues his war with the Sungs.
• Venetian merchants Nicolo and Maffeo Polo begin their journey to China.
• The first flagellant movements appear in Italy.
• Paris becomes the center of tapestry weaving.

1261

• Michael VIII regains Constantinople (Istanbul) and refounds the Byzantine Empire.

1262

1263

• Norway gains control of Iceland.

1264

• Simon de Montfort and the English barons defeat Henry III at the Battle of Lewes.

1265

• Through the intervention of Pope Clement IV, Bacon is allowed to return to Oxford.
• Simon de Montfort is killed at the Battle of Evesham.
• Hulegu, Il-Khan of Persia, dies, and is succeeded by Abagha.

1266

• Norway surrenders the Hebrides to Scotland.
• Charles I of Anjou becomes king of Naples and Sicily.

1267

• The Mongolian capitol is moved to Sang-tu near To-lun, also known as Ta-tu and Cambuluc

1268

• The Angevins and Guelphs defeat the Ghibellines at Tagliacozzo in Italy.
• The Mongols begin to lay siege to the Sung stronghold at Hsiang-yang.

1269

• Thomas Aquinas begins teaching in Paris.
• The Mamelukes seize Mecca.

1300 +/- 30 years

1270

• The Bishop of Paris condemns the followers of the Moslem scholar Averros.
• Yekuno Amlak comes to the throne of Ethiopia, and founds the Solomonic Dynasty with the capitol at Ankober.
• (19 Aug) Prince Edward of England joins his uncle Louis in Tunis.
• Louis XI of France dies in Tunis on his way to his second Crusade, the Eighth Crusade.
• Charles of Anjou becomes the Master of Tuscany.
• Raymond Lull begins to acquire a reputation with the Moors in Majorca.

1271

• (Aug) Jacob ben Salomone of Ancona, Italy, purportedly arrives by ship in Zaitun, China [n.b., at the moment, Jacob's account of his voyage has yet to be fully authenticated - imc]
• Philip III of France inherits Poitou, the Auvergne, and the County of Toulouse. Northern and Southern France are Unified.
• Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant leaves with his father and uncle on a voyage to China.
• Henry III of England falls seriously ill.

1272

• {24 Feb) Jacob ben Salomone of Ancona, Italy, flees Zaitun, China abruptly after a debate on defending against the Mongols erupts into a riot.
• (2 Apr) King Richard of Germany dies in England after suffering a stroke.
• (May) The Crusaders, led by Edward of England, reach a truce with the Sultan Baybars at Caesarea.
• (16 Nov) Henry III of England dies.
• (17 Nov) Edward is proclaimed King while in Sicily.
• Thomas Aquinas begins teaching in Italy.

1273

• (1 Oct) Rudolph of Habsburg, an elderly Swabian Count is elected Emperor, putting an end to the Great Interregnum begun after the death of Conrad IV in 1254.
• Jalal al-Din al-Rumi, or Mawlana, dies at 66 in Anatolia.
• Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas completes his Summa Theologiae.

1274

• A general council at Lyons, summoned by Gregory X, regulates the election of the Pope, by instituting the Conclave.
• Feeling threatened by Charles of Anjou, Michael Paeleologus makes a submission to the Pope at the Council of Lyons. He is granted Papal protection.
• Thomas Aquinas dies in Papal Court in Rome at the age of 48.
• (19 Aug) Edward I is crowned King of England.

1275

• Marco Polo reaches Cambuluc, Khubilai Khan's capitol.
• Margret, wife of Alexander III of Scotland, dies.
• Edward of England calls his first Parliament.
• The Statute of Jewry is established in England, abolishing Usury and giving the Jews the opportunity to become merchants, artisans and farmers.
• Mesa Verde is abandoned as a dwelling.

1276

• Lin-an, the last Sung city falls. The Dowager Emperess and the child Emperor are taken to see Khubilai Khan.

1277

• Ottone Visconti rules Milan and founds the Visconti dynasty.
• (30 Jun) Sultan Baybars dies in Damascus.
• (29 Aug) Edward of England occupies Wales, and forces Llwellyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd to pay homage.
• LLewllyn ap Gruffudd defeats Edward of England.

1278

• With the help of Ladislas of of Hungary, the Emperor Rudolph defeats his rival Otokar of Bohemia. Austria and Styria are given to the Empire by Bohemia.
• Llwellan ap Gruffudd marries Eleanor de Montfort.
• Coinage reform in England.
• The University of Reggio Emilia is founded in Italy.

1279

• Khubilai Khan overcomes the last of the Song resistance and unifies China under the Yuan dynasty. A final, faithful minister of the Sung drowns himself and the last Imperial Prince rather than allow him to be captured.
• Hard winter in England. London Bridge collapses.

1280

• Syrian scholar al-Hassan-al-Rammah describes "Chinese Arrows" (rockets)
• The Mings destroy Karakorum. The city is never rebuilt and is gradually engulfed by the desert sands.

1281

• The Mongols make a second attempt to invade Japan, they are overturned by a Typhoon.
• In Astrakhan, Khan Mangu Temir, the Leader of the Golden Horde dies.
• Il Khan Abagha dies.
• "Roman de la Rose", the "bible" of courtly love is updated and revised.
• Margaret, daughter of Alexander III of Scotland, marries King Eric of Norway.
• Subscription begun to repair London Bridge. London raises 6000 Marks for Welsh War.

1282

• The Easter Massacre in Palermo begins a month-long orgy of bloodshed in Sicily.
• Michael VII Palaeologus dies in Constantinople after restoring the Byzantine Empire.
• Alexander, son of Alexander III of Scotland, marries Margaret, daughter of the Count of Flanders.
• (11 Dec) Llwellyn ap Gruffedd dies in battle with Edward I.
• Llewllyn's head is displayed on London Bridge.

1283

• The Teutonic Knights complete the conquest of Prussia, begun in 1230.
• In Spain, Pope Martin IV declares Peter III, King of Aragon and Sicily, who has opposed the French in Sicily, deposed and appoints Charles, Count of Valois in his place and calls for a crusade to conquer Aragon for Charles.
• Queen Margaret of Norway dies giving birth to a daughter, also named Margaret.
• Welsh rebellion is brutally put down.

1284

• Alphonso X, King of Leon and Castille, protector of the Moor and Jew, dies in Seville.
• Genoa destroys the Pisan Navy at Meloria, off the coast of Italy.
• Pisa loses Sardinia, and Genoa now rivals Venice.
• Margaret, Maid of Norway, is recognized as the legitimate heir of Alexander III of Scotland.
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin is alleged to have appeared about this time.
• Arghun assumes the Il-Khanate.

1285

• Charles of Anjou, ruler of Naples and Sicily, dies after losing Sicily and failing to reailze his hopes of conquest in the east. His son, Charles the Lame is a captive in Aragon.
• Peter III, King of Aragon and Sicily, dies and is succeeded by his son James.
• Philip III of France is succeeded by Philip IV the Fair.
• Probable date about which Friar Alessandro Spino invented eye-glasses.
• Sienese artist Duccio paints the Rucellai Madonna in Florence.
• Mongols move into Annan (Vietnam)

1286

• Rhys ap Maredudd of Drwslyn rebels against the rule of Edward I.
• Alexander III dies after being thrown from his horse.

1287

• Khubilai Khan sends an expedition to Burma. Pagan is conquered by the Mongols in Burma.
• Robert the Bruce, claimant to the throne of Scotland, campaigns against the four year old "Maid of Norway".

1288

1289

• The University of Montpellier is founded in France.
• Qala'un, Sultan of Egypt, captures Tripoli, leaving Acre the only remaining Christian strongold in the East.

1290

• Eleanor of Castile, Queen of England dies. Edward orders 12 monuments raised to her.
• Margaret, Naid of Norway, does on her way to Scotland.
• A university is founded in Lissabon (Lisbon), in Portugal.
• Drunken Italian knights run wild through Acre, killing anyone who looks "non-Christian", violating the truce with the Sultan of Egypt.
• England expels its Jewish population, and Edward confiscates their properties.
• Osman I founds the dynasty of the Ottoman Turks.
• Moses de Leon composes the Kabbalistic work Zohar.
• "Beatrice", Dante's love, dies.

1291

• Rudolph of Hapsburg dies. The three forest Cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden sign a pact.
• Acre falls to the Mameluke army of the Sultan of Egypt, ending the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem..
• London furnishes ships and troops for French War.
• The Swiss Confederation (Switzerland) is formed.
• Il-Khan Arghun dies, and is succeeded by Gaykhatui (who apparently makes an attempt to introduce paper money).

1292

• Roger Bacon completes a massive compendium of theological studies before his death.
• Adolf of Nassau is elected King of Germany.

1293

• The Mongol expedition to attack Java ends in failure.
• The Majapahit Empire is founded in Java.
• Italian poet Dante writes his first book La vita nuova (The New Life).

1294

• Philip IV of France institutes sumptuary laws against extravagant costumes.
• Anglo-French relations breack down after Edward I is spurned by Margaret, sister of Philip IV.
• War breaks out between Edward of England (also Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony) and Philip the Fair of France.
• John Baliol, King of Scots, delcares that he will fight for Edward against France.
• Celestine V is made Pope.
• Celestine V abdicates the Papacy (to retire to a hermet's existance). Boniface the VIII is elected.
• Khubilai Khan, Shih-Tsu, ruler of all the lands between the Danube and Manchuria, dies.
•  

1295

• Marco Polo brings a pasta recipe to Italy from Asia (Legendary).
• Il-Khan Gaykatui dies. He is succeeded first by Baydu, then Mahmud Ghazan. Ghazan and all of his emirs convert to Islam.
• Edward puts down rebellion in Wales.

1296

• Frederick, brother of James (who has renounced the throne), is enthroned as King of Sicily.
• The Scots ally with France. John Balliol refuses to meet with Edward.
• The English invade Scotland. Dunbar surrenders. John Balliol abdicates his throne.
• Alu ud-din, Sultan of Delhi founds a Dynasty and extends his power over much of India.

1297

• The Pope gives Corsica and Sardinia to James II, the King of Aragon, in exchange for reliquishing all claims on Sicily.
• The Scots, led by William Wallace rebel against the English, defeating them at Stirling Bridge.
• A treaty is drawn up defining the Castillian and Portuguese borders.
• The Genoese defeat the Venetian fleet at Curzola.
• The Burmese become vassals of the Mongols.

1298

• Adolf of Nassau, King of Germany, is killed near Worms by his rival, Albert of Austria. Albert, son of Rudolf, becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
• At Falkirk, Edward crushes Wallace's army.
• English king Edward I defeats William Wallace and reconquers Scotland.
• Marco Polo dictates the memoirs of his Travels from a prison in Genoa.

1299

• Edward marries Margaret of France as part of the peace treaty between the two countries.

About 1300

• Drought in North America finally wipes out the Anasazi civilization
• The city of Cholula regains prominence under the Mixtecs in Mexico.
• The Forbidden City is built in Peking about this time.
• Apothecaries become popular in Germany.
• The first mechanical clocks appear in Europe.
• The use of eyeglasses (spectacles) becomes "common"
• The spinning wheel is in use in Europe.

1300

• The University of Lerida is founded in Spain.
• Ilkhan Ghazan invades Syria and drives the Mamlukes out.
• Stone of Destiny is taken from Scotland.

1301

• Ottoman Turk tribes defeat the Imperial Cavalry in Anatolia under their leader Osman.
• Andrew III, King of Hungary, dies. The Succession is unclear.
• Dante Alighieri is banished from Florence.
• Edward of England makes his son "Prince of Wales".
• Kaidu, son of Ogedai assumes the title of Great Khan, dies, leaving a region carved out of the Chagataid Khanite region in Semirechye, Kashgaria, and Transoxonia.

1302

• (May) Charles of Valois and his French Troops, called in to Florence by the Pope, connive at the return of the extreme
• Guelf faction (aka the "Blacks") involved in a power struggle with the more moderate "Whites". The leading Whites flee.
• (18 May) The Weaver Peter de Coningk leads a massacre of the Flemish Oligarchs.
• (11 Jul) An army of French Knights, led by the Count of Artois, is routed by Flemish pikemen in Flanders.
• (31 Aug) In Sicily, Charles of Valois agrees to terms with Frederick, The Aragonese ruler of Sicily, ending the War of
• the Vespers.
• John Balliol, former king of Scots, is freed from his imprisonment.

1303

• (20 May) In Paris, the war between France and England over Gascony is settled by a treaty restoring the pre-war position.
• Philip IV of France tries to abduct Pope Boniface VIII.
• (7 Sep) Pope Boniface VIII is taken captive by the French.
• Mercenaries employed by the Byzantine Emperor, Andronicus II, defeat the Ottomans, but then turn against the Empire.
• The University of Avignon is founded in France.
• The University of Rome is founded in Italy.

1304

• Il-Khan Ghazan of Persia dies. He is succeeded by Oljeitu.

1305

• Florentine painter Giotto begins his frescoes in the Arena Chapel in Padua.
• (5 Aug) Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaut, is elected to the Papacy, assuming the name Clement V.
• King Wenceslas II of Poland dies.
• (23 Aug) William Wallace is executed in England.

1306

• The University of Orleans is founded in France.
• Robert the Bruce leads the Scots in a rebellion against English rule.
• Philip the Fair, King of France, expells the Jews and confiscates their property.
• (8 Aug) King Wenceslas III of Poland is murdered.

1307

• (7 Jul) Edward of England dies of dysentery in Cumbria on his way to invade Scotland.
• Edward II succeeds to the Crown of England.
• (6 Aug) Piers Gaveston is named Earl of Cornwall.
• (12 Oct) Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar is a pallbearer at the funeral of the King of France's sister in law.
• (13 Oct) The Knights Templar (including Jacques de Molay) are arrested all across France under order of King Philip the Fair and Pope Clement.
• Italian poet Dante begins his masterwork The Divine Comedy.
• The Emperor Albert is defeated in his attempt to reclaim Thuringia. He is also threatened because of his abolition of tolls on the Rhine.
• Bernard Gui becomes Inquisitor at Toulouse.
• The University of Coimbra is founded in Portugal.
• The Universit of Krakow is founded.

1308

• In Hungary, Charles Robert of Anjou, the nearest kin of Andrew III of Hungary is chosen as King. Charles I becomes the first Angevin king of Hungary
• (25 Jan) Edward II marries Isabella of France.
• (1 May) The Emperor Albert is murdered by his nephew John.
• (25 Jun) Piers Gaveston is sent to Ireland as Lieutenant of Ireland.
• The University of Perugia is founded in Italy.

1309

• The Grand Master of the Teutonic Order transfers his headquarters from Venice to Marienburg, in Prussia.
• The Knights Hospitaller occupy Rhodes.
• Henry VII is elected Holy Roman Emperor.
• (9 Mar) Pope Clement V moves to Avignon.
• Robert the Bruce calls his first Parliament.
• Piers Gaveston returns from Ireland.
• London Wall repaired.
• Pope Clement V moves the papal court from Rome to Avignon in France.

1310

• The Bishop of Mainz excommunicates the sisterhood known as the Beguines, holy conmmunities of beggers and textile workers.

1311

• In Greece, Catalan mercenaries defeat Walter of Brienne, the Frankish Duke of Athens, at Cephisus, and take possession of the Duchy.

1312

• (6 May) A General Council at Vienne, abolishes the Order of the Temple, intervenes in the Franciscan dipute about poverty, and condemns the heresy of the Beguines.
• (19 Jun) Four Leading English barons lynch Piers Gaveston.
• Ala-ud-din's forces conquer the Deccan.
• A French ship discovers the (uninhabited) Canary Islands.
• Henry VII is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
• Mansa Musa becomes emperor of Mali in West Africa.

1313

• (24 Aug) Henry VII, HRE, dies in Italy while trying to revive Imperial power there.

1314

• Louis of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria contest the rule of the Holy Roman Empire.
• (21 Jun) Battle of Bannockburn. The English lose to the Scots, confirming Robert the Bruce as the power in Scotland.
• (29 Nov) Louis X (The Headstrong) succeeds Philip the Fair to the throne of France.

1315

• (May) Edward, brother of Robert the Bruce, lands in Antrim, in Ireland, to challenge Anglo-Norman Rule.
• (15 Nov) Swiss footsoldiers at Lake Zug rout the Hapsburg's army sent to supress the Cantons.

1316

• Torrential rains cause famine in England.
• Earl Thomas of Lancaster has a violent quarrel with Edward over Scotland.

1317

• Pope John XXII publishes an edict banning Alchemy.
• Il-Khan Oljeitu of Persia dies and is succeeded by Abu-Sa'id Nahadur Khan, the last effective Il-Khan.

1318

• The University of Trevisa is founded in Italy.
• The forces of the Delhi Sultanate conquer the kingdom of Maharashtra.
• The Scottish Parliament names Walter the Stewart as heir to the throne after Robert the Bruce.

1319

• Edward II signs peace treaty with Robert of Scots, and pays homage to Philip V of France for his French lands.

1320

• The Declaration of Arbroath. Robert the Bruce and other Scots lords pledge themselves to Scots independence.
• Dante completes the Divine Comedy.
• Vladyslav, ruler of Kujavia on the lower Vistula is crowned as King, reuniting Poland.

1321

• (14 Sept) Dante Alighieri dies in Ravenna.
• The University of Firenze is founded in Italy.

1322

• Louis IV defeats Frederick of Austria at the Battle of Muhldorf.
• Edward II signs a truce with the Scots.
• English folk hero Robin Hood is first mentioned in documents.

1323

• Pope John XXII clashes in Avignon with the Franciscans over the subject of the Poverty of Christ.
• Peace is finally established between the Egyptian Mamluks under al-Malik An-Nasir and the Il-Khan Abu-Sa'id Bahadur Khan of Persia.

1324

1325

• Bernard Gui publishes Practica Inquisitionis Heretice Pavitatis.
• Arab geographer Ibn Battuta begins his explorations.
• The poet Amir Khusrau dies in Delhi.
• Mansa Musa, king of Mali, makes a pilgimage to Mecca.

1326

• (6 Apr) Orkhan, son of Osman, captures Brusa, in Anatolia, from the Byzantines and makes it his capitol.
• Isabella, wife of Edward II, and Roger Mortimer land in Essex with foreign mercenaries.
• Edward II of England is deposed by Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer.

1327

• Louis IV king of Germany invades Italy.
• The city of Munich is destroyed by fire.
• (24 Jan) Edward II abdicates in favor of Edward III.
• (1 Feb) Edward III is crowned King of England.
• (21 Sept) Edward II of England is murdered by Isabella and Roger Mortimer.
• In London, Liberties of London extended by Charter. Goldsmiths, Skinners, and Merchant Taylor's companies are
• chartered.
•  

1328

• (28 Aug) Philip VI, king of France, defeats an army of Flemish peasants and artisans at Mount Cassell.
• Louis IV crowns himself as Holy Roman Emperor and installs an antipope.
• The Peace of Northhampton. England relinquishes claims of suzerainty over Scotland.

1329

• King Robert of Scots dies. His son, David, succeeds him.

1330

• Edward III assumes the throne of England. He sends his mother into a convent and has her lover Roger Mortimer killed.
• William of Occam sharpens his Razor.

1331

• The Moscow Kremlin (fortress) is mentioned for the first time.

1332

• The University of Cahors is founded in France.

1333

• The Minamoto shogunate comes to an end. Civil war breaks out in Japan.

1334

1335

• Carinthia and Carniola become part of the Empire.
• Il-Khan Abu-Sa'id Nahadur Khan dies.

1336

1337

• The Hundred Years' War begins between England and France.

1338

• The Ashikaga shogunate begins in Japan.

1339

• The University of Grenoble is founded in France.

1340

• A British fleet defeats the French at Sluys.
• The Brethren of the Common Life are founded by Gerhard Groote in the Netherlands.

1341

• The Muslims rule Kashmir in India.

1342

• The University of Pisa is founded in Italy.

1343

1344

1345

• The Aztecs found Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City).
• The building of the present Doge's Palace begins in Venice.

1346

• Louis IV is deposed by Charles IV as king of Germany.
• English archers defeat the French at Crecy. Cannons (bombards) are used in the battle.
• Stephen Dusan crowns himself emperor of Serbia and the Greeks.
• The University of Valladolid is founded in Spain.

1347

• The English capture the French port of Calais.
• The Black Death (bubonic plague) arrives in Europe, killing up to a third of the population. It first breaks out among the troops of Kipchack Khan, besieging Kaffa on the Black Sea. The Khan ordered the infected corpses of his men flun over the city walls. Genoese trading vessels in port took the disease back to Constantinople.

1348

• Italian writer Boccaccio begins the Decameron.
• Prague University is founded in Bohemia.

1349

1350

• The University of Perpignan is founded in France.
• "No" drama develops in Japan about this time.
• The Eastern Settlement of Greenland is abandoned about this time (generally)

1351

• Zurich joins the Swiss Confederation.

1352

• Arab geographer Ibn Battuta explores Nigeria.
• Chu-Yuan-Chang joins Han Lin-Erh's uprising against the Mongol Emperor.

1353

1354

• The University of Huesca is founded in Spain.
• The Shroud of Turin is mentioned for the first time.
• The Ottomans occupy the Dardanelles, cutting off trade between the Kipchak Turks on the Volga and their Mamluk cousins.

1355

• Charles IV is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.

1356

• Edward the Black Prince defeats the French at Poitiers and captures King John II.
• Charles IV establishes the Golden Bull constitution for the Holy Roman Empire.

1357

• The University of Siena is founded in Italy.

1358

• Lubeck becomes headquarters of the Hanseatic League.

1359

1360

• The Treaty of Bretigny ends the first phase of The Hundred Years' War.
• Sir John Hawkwood leads his White Company of mercenaries into Italy.

1361

• The University of Pavia is founded in Italy.

1362

• According to the Kensington Rune Stone, the Vikings reach Minnesota in America.
• English poet William Langland writes Piers Plowman.

1363

• The Tyrole becomes part of the Empire.

1364

• Polish king Casimir III founds Krakow University.

1365

• The University of Orange is founded in France.
• The University of Wien is founded.

1366

1367

• The University of Pecs is founded.

1368

• The Ming dynasty begins in China, established by Chu-Yuan-Chang.
• The Mongolian army retreats to the Steppes. Bilikt-Khan, son of Togon Timur moves the Imperial throne to the partially restored Karakorum, which is renamed Erdeni Dzu.

1369

• The French renew the war against England and recapture most of Aquitaine.
• Mongol leader Timur (Tamerlane) captures Transoxonia, and makes Samarkand his capitol.

1370

• Timur begins his wars of conquest in Asia.
• The death of Casimir III ends the Piast dynasty in Poland.
• The building of the Bastille fortress begins in Paris.
• The first modern perfume Hungary Water is made for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.

1371

1372

1373

1374

1375

1376

1377

• Pope Gregory XI returns the papacy to Rome.
• Playing cards are described for the first time.

1378

• The Great Schism begins; 2 Popes reign from Rome and Avignon.

1379

• Italian historian Muraroti describes the use of rockets during the siege of Chiozzia, Italy.

1380

• Russian Prince Dimitry Donskoi defeats the Mongols at Kulikovo.
• Venice defeats Genoa and maintains sovereignty over the eastern Mediterranean.
• Timur enters Persia.

1381

• The Peasants' Revolt in England. Wat Tyler is eventually executed.

1382

• John Wycliffe translates the Bible into English.

1383

1384

• The Lollard movement grows after the death of John Wycliffe.
• Trieste becomes part of the Empire.

1385

1386

• Poland and Lithuania are united by the marriage establishing the Jagello dynasty.
• Heidelberg University is founded in Germany.
• English poet Geoffrey Chaucer begins The Canterbury Tales.

1387

• The Viscontis win the city-states of Verona and Vicenza from the Scala family.
• Timur (Tamerlane) conquers the city of Isfahan in Persia (Iran).

1388

• Koln University is established.
• The Battle of Puir Nur. The City of Karakorum is destroyed by the Ming Army.

1389

• Buda University is established.
• The Ottoman Turks defeat the Hungarians at the Battle of Kosovo.

1390

1391

• The University of Ferrara is founded in Italy.
• The Kalmar Union unites Sweden, Denmark, and Norway.

1392

• Erfert University is established.
• The Yi dynasty usurps power from the Koryos in Korea.

1393

• Timur captures Baghdad.

1394

• The Thais invade Cambodia (Kampuchea).

1395

1396

• A Christian army is defeated by the Ottoman Turks at Nicopolis, Bulgaria.

1397

• The Union of Calmar. An assembly of Scandinavian nobles unites the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark under a single crown.

1398

• Timur (Tamerlane) invades India and sacks the Kingdom of Delhi.

1399

• Bolingbroke (Henry IV) deposes Richard II and founds the House of Lancaster.
• Timur moves west towards Egypt.

1400

• Owen Glendower leads a Welsh revolt against English rule.

About 1400

• The Western Settlement of Greenland dies out in the next century.
• The Hohokam culture dies out in the American southwest.
• Bedlam, England's first hospital for the mentally ill, is founded in London.
• The first reported discovery is made of a frozen mammoth in Siberia.
• French historian Jean Froissart completes his Chronicles.

This page was created by Marc Carlson
It was last edited 9 June 2004