User:Dr. Grampinator/sandbox/Crusader States Chronology

Crusader states

This chronology presents the timeline of the Crusades from the beginning of the First Crusade in 1095 to the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. This is keyed towards the major events of the Crusades to the Holy Land, but also includes those of the Reconquista and Northern Crusades as well as the Byzantine-Seljuk wars.

The First Crusade

In order to recover the Holy Land and aid the Byzantines in their fight against the Seljuks, the First Crusade was called for by Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 and culminated with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099.

1095

• 1–7 March. The Council of Piacenza is convened, with ambassadors from Alexius I Komnenos beseeching Urban II for help in fighting the Seljuk Turks.
• 17–27 November. At the Council of Clermont, Urban II issues a call to arms to reconquer the Holy Land for Christendom.

The routes of the First Crusaders

1096

• Early February. The First Crusade begins as the leaders are identified and form their armies.
• 12 April. The People's Crusade commences with Peter the Hermit and his army arriving at Cologne.
• August 15. The Armies of the First Crusade begin to depart for the Holy Land.
• 21 October. The People's Crusade ends with their defeat at the Battle of Civetot.
• November. Hugh of Vermandois and his army arrive at Constantinople.
• 23 December. The army led by Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin of Boulogne arrive at Constantinople.

1097

• 26 April. The army of Bohemond of Taranto led by his nephew Tancred arrives at Constantinople. Bohemond himself had arrived earlier on 2 April.
• 27 April. The Provençal army of Robert of Flanders arrives at Constantinople.
• Late April. Raymond of Saint-Gilles and Adhemar of Le Puy arrive with their armies at Constantinople.

Bohemond and his Norman troops scale the walls of Antioch, in an engraving by Gustave Doré.

• 14–28 May. The armies of Stephen of Blois and Robert Curthose arrive in Constantinople.
• 14 May – 19 June. The Seljuk Turks under Kilij Arslan surrender the city of Nicaea to the Byzantines after the Crusader Siege of Nicaea.
• 1 July. After defeating the Seljuk forces of Kilij Arslan at the Battle of Dorylaeum, the Crusaders capture Arslan's treasure.
• 20 October. The Siege of Antioch begins, pitting the combined Crusader armies against the defenders of Antioch.

1098

• 9 March. Baldwin of Boulogne establishes the County of Edessa, the first of the Crusader states.
• 3 June. The city of Antioch is captured. The next day, a counterattack is mounted by Kerbogha.
• 28 June. The forces of Kerbogha are defeated at the Battle of Antioch.
• Early July. The Principality of Antioch is established under Bohemond.
• 1 August. Adhemar of Le Puy, the pope's representative for the expedition, dies of the plague.

Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders (1847) by Émile Signol.

1099

• 7 June – 15 July. The Crusaders capture the Holy City after the Siege of Jerusalem.
• 22 July. Godfrey of Bouillon becomes the first ruler of Jerusalem.
• 29 July. Urban II dies, never knowing that his crusade was successful.
• 1 August. Arnulf of Chocques is elected as the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
• 12 August. The First Crusade ends with the successful Battle of Ascalon, defeating the Fatimids under Al-Afdal Shahanshah.
• 13 August. Paschal II is elected pope.
• 25 December. Arnulf of Chocques abdicates and Daimbert of Pisa becomes Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). Tancred becomes prince of Galilee.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Kingdom of Jerusalem was formed in 1099 and enjoyed relative success against the warring Seljuks and Fatimids in its early years until the advent of the Zengids in 1127.

1100

• 18 July. Godfrey of Bouillon dies.
• August. A force led by Bohemond of Taranto is defeated by that of Gazi Gümüshtigin at the Battle of Melitene. Bohemond is captured, to be held for three years. Tancred then becomes regent of Antioch.
• 2 October. Baldwin of Bourcq becomes Count of Edessa.
• Christmas Day. Baldwin I of Jerusalem is elected king.

A map of western Anatolia, showing the routes taken by Christian armies in the Crusade of 1101

1101

• Summer. The Crusade of 1101 begins with a force of Lombards, Nivernais, French and Bavarians to reinforce the young Kingdom of Jerusalem.
• August. The Seljuks and Danishmendids defeat the Lombard force at the Battle of Mersivan.
• August. The remaining Crusader forces are defeated by Kilij Arslan at Heraclea Cybistra, ending the Crusade of 1101.
• 7 September. Baldwin I of Jerusalem leads his crusader force to victory over the Fatimids at the First Battle of Ramla.

1102

• Spring. The first Siege of Acre by the Crusaders is inconclusive.
• 17 May. The Fatimids defeat the forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Second Battle of Ramla.
• 28 May. The Crusaders recover from their loss at Ramla and defeat the Fatimids at the Siege of Jaffa.
• (Date unknown). Mons Peregrinus (Castle of Mount Pilgrim) is constructed by Raymond of Saint Gilles near Tripoli.
• (Date unknown). The Crusader states begin their Siege of Tripoli, then under the Seljuks. The siege would last until 12 July 1109, with a Crusader victory.

1103

• August. Bohemond of Taranto returns to Antioch after being ransomed by Latin Patriarch Bernard of Valence with the help of the Armenian noble Kogh Vasil.

1104

• 7 May. The Crusader states of Antioch and Edessa, are defeated by Jikirmish and Sökman at the Battle of Harran, their first major battle.
• Afterwards. Baldwin of Bourcq (then count of Edessa and later king of Jerusalem as Baldwin II) and Joscelin I of Edessa are taken captive. Tancred of Galilee becomes regent of the County of Edessa. Richard of Salerno becomes governor.
• 25 May. With the help of a Geneose fleet, Baldwin I of Jerusalem defeats the Fatimids at the second Siege of Acre that began 20 days earlier.

1105

• Spring. Tancred is successful at the Battle of Artah, defeating the Aleppine forces of Ridwan.
• 27 August. Baldwin I of Jerusalem defeats the Fatimids at the Third Battle of Ramla.

1106

• Late. Jikirmish is murdered by Jawali Saqawa as he takes Mosul. Baldwin of Bourcq is now Jawali's prisoner.

1107

• Autumn. The Norwegian Crusade led by Sigurd the Crusader begins.

1108

• Summer. Baldwin of Bourcq is released and returns to Edessa.
• September. Negotiations between Alexius I Komnenos and Bohemond of Taranto begin, resulting in the Treaty of Devol in which Bohemond agrees to become a vassal to the emperor. This ended the Siege of Dyrrhachium.

Fakhr al-Mulk ibn Ammar submitting to Bertrand of Toulouse after the Siege of Tripoli, in an 1842 painting by Charles-Alexandre Debacq.

1109

• 12 July. The Crusaders take the city after the successful conclusion of the Siege of Tripoli. This led to the establishment of the County of Tripoli under Bertrand of Toulouse.

1110

• February – 13 May. Baldwin I of Jerusalem and Bertrand of Toulouse defeat the Fatimids at the Siege of Beirut.
• 19 October – 5 December. Baldwin I and Sigurd the Crusader capture the city from the Fatimids after the Siege of Sidon.
• (Date unknown). Tancred takes control of the Arab fortress of Krak des Chevaliers.

1111

• 13–29 September. The forces of Baldwin I of Jerusalem meet those of Mawdud at the Battle of Shaizar. The battle is inconclusive and the Crusaders withdraw.

1112

• April–June. Mawdud attacks Edessa.
• 12 October. Vasil Dgha becomes ruler of Raban and Kaisun upon the death of his father Kogh Vasil.
• 12 December. Tancred dies and is succeeded by Joscelin I of Edessa at Galilee.
• December. Arnoulf of Chocques is elected as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

1113

• 15 February. Paschal II issues papal bull Pie postulatio voluntatis recognizing the Knights Hospitaller.
• 28 June. Mawdud and Toghtekin lead the Seljuks to victory over the forces of Baldwin I of Jerusalem at the Battle of al-Sannabra.
• August. Having repudiated his wife Arda of Armenia, Baldwin I of Jerusalem marries Adelaide del Vasto.

1114

1115

• Summer/Fall. Baldwin I of Jerusalem begins construction of the castle Krak de Montreal.
• 14 September. A Crusader army led by Roger of Salerno defeats the Seljuks under Bursuk ibn Bursuk at the Battle of Tell Danith (Battle of Sarmin).

1116

• (Date unknown). The Armenian lands of Vasil Dgha are conquered by Baldwin I of Jerusalem.

1117

The Crusader states and their neighbors.

1118

• March. Baldwin I of Jerusalem launches a campaign against Egypt where he becomes ill and dies at el-'Arish.
• 2 April. Baldwin II of Jerusalem becomes king. Joscelin I of Edessa becomes Count of Edessa.

• December. Roger of Antioch and Leo I of Armenia capture Azaz from Ilghazi.

1119

• 1 February. Callixtus II becomes pope.
• 28 June. Roger of Salerno's Crusader army is annihilated by the forces of Ilghazi at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis (Battle of the Field of Blood).
• 14 August. Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeats Ilghazi at the Battle of Hab (also known as the Second Battle of Tell Danith).
• (Date unknown). Hugues de Payens founds the Knights Templar and becomes its first Grand Master.

1120

• 16 January. The Council of Nablus establishes the written laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1121

1122

• 8 August. The Venetian Crusade begins with Battle of Jaffa in which the Venetian fleet defeated the Fatimids.
• 13 September. Joscelin I of Edessa and Waleran of Le Puiset are captured by Belek Ghazi, later emir of Aleppo.

1123

• 18 March. The First Council of the Lateran is convened.
• 18 April. Baldwin II of Jerusalem is captured by Belek Ghazi at Kharput, joining Joscelin I and Waleran.
• 29 May. A Crusader force under Eustace Grenier defeats the Fatimids at the Battle of Iberlin.

1124

• 29 June. The Venetians and Franks are successful in the Siege of Tyre, capturing the city from Toghtekin and ending the Venetian Crusade.
• 29 August. Baldwin II of Jerusalem is released after paying Timurtash a ransom and providing additional hostages, including his daughter Ioveta of Bethany.
• 6 October. Baldwin II of Jerusalem begins Siege of Aleppo to secure the release of Timurtash's hostages.

Alfonso the Battler lauches the campaign against Granada, in an engraving by Gustave Doré.

1125*

• 25 January. Ibn al-Khashshab is reinforced by al-Bursuqi, causing Baldwin II of Jerusalem to withdraw from the Siege of Aleppo.
• 11 June. Baldwin II of Jerusalem and Leo I of Armenia defeat the forces of al-Bursuqi and Toghtekin at the Battle of Azaz.
• September. Ioveta of Bethany and the other hostages are ransomed with the booty of Azaz.
• 2 September. Alfonso I lauches the Granada campaign to attempt to capture the city.
• (Date unknown). Bavarian abbot Ekkehard of Aura writes his Hierosolymita, covering the period 1098–1125.
• (Date unknown) English historian William of Malmesbury writes Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the Kings of the English).

1126

• 26 January. Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeats Toghtekin at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar but fails to take Damascus, the untimate objective of the campaign.
• 26 November. Al-Bursuqi is murdered by Assassins, believed to be on the orders of Mahmud II.
• November. Toghtekin grants the castle at Banias to the Assassins.

Zengi and the Fall of Edessa

In 1094, the governor of Aleppo, Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, was beheaded by Tutush I for treason. His son Imad al-Din Zengi was raised by Kerbogha, the governor of Mosul, and would rise to challenge the Crusader states. His successful Siege of Edessa would both result in the Second Crusade and the eventual fall of the County of Edessa.

1127

• September. Zengi becomes atabeg of Mosul, beginning the Zengid dynasty.
• Summer/Fall. Stephen II of Hungary sacks Belgrade, beginning the Byzantine–Hungarian War.

1128

• 12 February. Toghtekin dies and is succeeded by his son Taj al-Muluk Buri.
• 18 June. Zengi becomes atabeg of Aleppo.
• (Date unknown). The Santa Maria Alemanna (Church of Saint Mary of the Germans) is founded in Jerusalem.

1129

• 13 January. Bernard of Clairvaux convenes the Council of Troyes which approves the Latin Rule for Templar conduct.
• 2 June. Fulk V of Anjou, later king of Jerusalem, marries Melisende of Jerusalem, the heir to the kingdom.
• October – 5 December. Baldwin II of Jerusalem begins the Crusade of 1129 against Damascus defended by Buri. The attack was abandoned with only the castle of Banias captured.

Territories conquered by Zengi (in green).

1130

• 14 February. Innocent II becomes pope.
• February. Bohemond II of Antioch is killed in battle with the Danishmends near the Ceyhan River and is succeeded at Antioch by his daughter Constance of Antioch.
• Later. Alice of Antioch (wife of Bohemond II and daughter of Baldwin II) attempts to make an alliance with Zengi and is expelled from Antioch.
• May. The Moors defeat Aragon at the Battle of Valencia.
• Spring. Zengi lays siege to the Crusader-held city of al-Atharib defended by Baldwin II of Jerusalem. After winning the Battle of al-Atharib, Zengi reduces the city to rubble.
• October. Alfonso I of Aragon launches the Siege of Bayonne against the Aquitainian city of Bayonne defended by William X of Aquitaine. The siege was lifted after a year without success.

1131

• 21 August. Baldwin II of Jerusalem dies and is succeeded by his daughter Melisende of Jerusalem and her husband Fulk of Jerusalem as queen and king of Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). Joscelin II of Edessa becomes Count of Edessa after his father Joscelin I of Edessa was gravely wounded in battle with the Danishmends.

1132

• 6 June. Taj al-Muluk Buri dies and his son Shams al-Mulk Isma'il becomes ruler of Damascus and head of the Burid dynasty.
• Summer. Zengi marches on Baghdad to add it to his dominions and is defeated by the forces of caliph al-Mustarshid.
• 11 December. Shams al-Mulk Isma'il captures Banias from the Crusaders.
• (Date unknown). Alice of Antioch reasserts her claim to Antioch.

1133

• (Date unknown). Zengi raids the County of Tripoli and defeats the Crusades at the Battle of Rafaniyya.

1134

• March. Tashfin ibn Ali defeats a Castilian raiding party at the Battle of Badajoz.
• 17 July. Moors defeat Alfonso I of Aragon at the Battle of Fraga.
• Late. Hugh II du Puiset revolts against Fulk of Jerusalem and is exiled for three years.
• (Date unknown). The Saxons erect the castle of Segeberg.

1135

• 17 April. Zengi's campaign against Antioch begins with the capture of al-Atharib, followed by Zardana, Ma’arat al-Nu’man, Ma’arrat Misrin and Kafartab.
• (Date unknown). Pons of Tripoli is repelled by Zengi in the Battle of Qinnasrin.
• (Date unknown). A Moorish fleet raids the Catalan town of Elna.
• (Date unknown). Eric II of Denmark defeats the Lechites under Ratibor I of Pomerania in a naval battle off the coast of Denmark.

1136

• Summer. Danish forces under Eric II of Denmark attack Slavic Rügen, taking its capital Arkona.

1137

• (Date unknown). Forces under Fulk of Jerusalem are defeated by those of Zengi at the Battle of Ba'rin.
• (Date unknown). Fulk of Jerusalem takes refuge in the castle at Montferrand and surrenders to Zengi.

John II Komnenos directs the unsuccessful Siege of Shaizar against Zengid territory. From a French manuscript, dated 1338.

1138

• 14–20 April. John II Komnenos led a Byzantine and Frankish force in the unsuccessful Siege of Aleppo, with the city defended by Zengi.
• 28 April – 21 May. The Byzantine and Frankish forces were successful in their Siege of Shaizar. The siege captured the city but not the citadel, and the emir became a vassal of Byzantium.
• July. At the first Siege of Coria, Alfonso VII of León and Castile fails in his attempt to take the city.
• 11 October. The 1138 Aleppo earthquake strikes, the third deadliest in history..

1139

• 29 March. Innocent II issues papal bull Omne Datum Optimum giving papal protection to the Knights Templar.
• April – October. Alfonso VII of León and Castile wins the first major victory against the Moors in the Reconquista at the Siege of Oreja.
• 25 July. Afonso Henriques defeats the Moors at the Battle of Ourique.
• Shortly thereafter. Kingdom of Portugal is declared and Alfonso Henriques becomes Afonso I of Portugal.

1140

• February. Crusaders en route to Jerusalem asked by Afonso I of Portugal to take Lisbon, but fail to take the city after the first Siege of Lisbon.
• 12 June. Mu'in al-Din Unur enters a pact with Fulk of Jerusalem and they take Banias.
• 2 June. Zengi unsuccessfully besieges Damascus and retires from Syria.
• (Approximate). The Castilian epic poem about El Cid, Cantar de mio Cid, is written.

1141

• 9 September. The Qara Khitai defeat the Seljuks at the Battle of Qatwan.

1142

• May – June. Alfonso VII of León and Castile takes the city from the Moors in the second Siege of Coria.
• (Date unknown). Raymond II of Tripoli grants the Krak des Chevaliers to the Knights Hospitaller.
• (Date unknown). Matthew of Edessa writes his Chronicle covering Armenian history from 951–1136.

1143

• 1 March. Muño Alfonso and an army of knights from Ávila, Segovia, and Toledo defeats Moors at the Battle of Montiel.
• 8 April. John II Komnenos is killed in a hunting accident and his succeeded by his son Manuel I Komnenos.
• 25 December. Fulk of Jerusalem is killed in a hunting accident and Baldwin III of Jerusalem becomes king of Jerusalem, co-ruling with his mother Melisende of Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). Henry the Lion grants the Slavic lands of Wagria and Polabia to Saxon counts.

1144

• 28 November – 24 December. Zengi is successful in his Siege of Edessa that would both result in the Second Crusade and the eventual fall of the County of Edessa.
• (Date unknown). Pope Celestine II issues the bull Milites Templi (Soldiers of the Temple) protecting the Knights Templar.
• (Date unknown). The first stronghold of the Knights Templar is established in the Kingdom of León and Castile.
• (Date unknown). During the reign of Sverker I of Sweden, the Cistercians establish Catholic abbeys in Sweden and Denmark at the invitation of queen Ulvhild Håkansdotter.

1145

• January. Zengi's successful attack on the fortress at Saruj results in the Fall of Saruj.
• 15 February. Eugene III becomes pope.
• (Date unknown). Eugene III issues the bull Militia Dei (Knights of God) providing for the Knights Templar's independence from local clerical hierarchies.

The Second Crusade

The fall of Edessa in 1144 would lead to the Second Crusade which would include French and German expeditions to the Holy Land, a campaign in Iberia (part of the Reconquista) and the Wendish Crusade (part of the Northern Crusades). The failure of the campaigns in the Holy Land would reverberate for decades.

1145

• 1 December. Eugene III issues the papal bull Quantum praedecessores calling for the Second Crusade.
• 25 December. Louis VII of France declares his intention at Bourges to support the crusade.

1146

• 1 March. The reissue of papal bull Quantum praedecessores allows Bernard of Clairvaux to preach the crusade throughout Europe.
• 31 March. Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine take the cross and lead the French forces of the crusade.
• Spring. Manuel I Komnenos leads the unsuccesful Expedition to Iconium against the Seljuks under Mesud I.
• 14 September. Zengi is assassinated by one of his slaves and is succeeded by his sons Nūr-ad-Din in Aleppo and Sayf al-Din Ghazi I in Mosul.
• 5 October. Eugene III issues the first part of the papal bull Divina dispensatione urging Italians to join the Second Crusade.
• October–November. Joscelyn II of Edessa recaptures Edessa but loses it shortly after Nūr-ad-Din's successful second Siege of Edessa.
• 24 December. Conrad III of Germany and Frederick Barbarossa take the cross and lead the German forces of the crusade.
• (Date unknown). The Military Order of Aviz, a body of Portuguese knights, is founded to fight the Moors.
• (Date unknown). Otto of Freising writes the first part of his Chronica sive Historia de duabus civitatibus covering the First Crusade and Crusade of 1101. This contains the first reference to Prester John.

Map of the Second Crusade.

1147

• 16 February. French forces meet in Étampes to discuss their route to the Holy Land.
• 15 March. Afonso I of Portugal completes the Conquest of Santarém.
• 11 April. The second part of the papal bull Divina dispensatione is issued, calling for the Wendish Crusade against the Polabian Slavs.
• Later. In response, Christian forces are assembled including Saxons under Albert the Bear and Henry the Lion and Danes under Canute V of Denmark and Sweyn III of Denmark assemble.
• 27 April. Eugene III extends the crusade to Iberia. The first contingent of Crusaders depart from England, but bad weather forces them to stop in Porto where they will aid the Portuguese.
• Spring. In the first battle of the crusade, Baldwin III of Jerusalem is defeated by Damascene forces under Mu'in ad-Din Unur at the Battle of Bosra.
• June. The French contingent leaves for Constantinople.
• 26 June. The Wendish Crusade begins as the Wends under Slavic prince Niklot sack Lübeck.

• 1 July – 25 October. In one of their few successes, crusaders led by Afonso I of Portugal defeat the Moors at the second Siege of Lisbon.
• July – 17 October. The forces of Alfonso VII of León and Castile are successful in the Siege of Almería.
• August. The Provençal contingent under Alfonso Jordan departs for Constantinople burt engage in no combat.
• September 10. The German contingent arrives in Constantinople and engage with the Byzantines at a Skirmish in Constantinople. They depart without waiting for the French.
• September–October. Roger II of Sicily captures Corfu, beginning the second Norman invasion of the Balkans.
• 25 October. The German forces of Conrad III of Germany are defeated by the Seljuks led by sultan Mesud I at the Battle of Dorylaeum.
• October. The Christian forces of the Wendish Crusade led by Anselm of Havelberg withdraw after the Danes are defeated and the crusade is abandoned by the Saxons.
• November. The remnants of the Germany army meets up with the French contingent at Nicaea. A wounded Conrad III of Germany departs for Acre.
• 24 December. The combined crusader army successfully engages the Seljuks at the Battle of Ephesus.
• Later. Louis VII of France fends off the Seljuks at the Battle of the Meander.
• Approximate. De expugnatione Lyxbonensi, an account of the second Siege of Lisbon, is written.

The Siege of Damascus of 1148. Miniature by Jean Colombe from Sébastien Mamerot's book "Passages d'Outremer" (1474).

1148

• 6 January. A French crusader army led by Louis VII of France was defeated by the Seljuks at the Battle of Mount Cadmus.
• 24 June. The Haute Cour of Jerusalem meets with the Crusade leaders to determine the strategy at the Council of Acre. It was decided that the objective would be Damascus.
• 1 July – 30 December. Ramon Berenguer IV leads a multi-national force in the successful Siege of Tortosa as part of the Second Crusade.
• 24–28 July. The Crusader forces are defeated at the Siege of Damascus by Mu'in ad-Din Unur as supported by Nūr-ad-Din and Sayf al-Din Ghazi I.
• 28 July. The Crusader commanders retreat to Jerusalem, ending the Second Crusade.
• (Date unknown). Anna Komnene writes her The Alexiad that covers the history of her father Alexios I Komnenos' reign and beyond, the years from 1081 to 1108.

The Reign of Nūr-ad-Din

The death of Zengi in 1146 would give rise to an even more powered leader of the Zengid dynasty, his son Nūr-ad-Din who would come to dominate Syria and, to some extent, Egypt.

1149

• Spring. Roger II of Sicily sends a fleet under George of Antioch to pillage the suburbs of Constantinople.
• 29 June. The army of Nūr-ad-Din defeats the crusaders under Raymond of Poitiers at the Battle of Inab, establishing him at the leader of the counter-Frankish forces.
• 15 July. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is consecrated after reconstruction.
• Summer/Fall. Eugene III sends Englishman Nicholas Breakspear (the future pope Adrian IV) on a mission to Catalonia.
• 24 October. Lérida falls to forces from Barcelona under Ramon Berenguer IV.

1150

• August. A Crusader force commanded by Baldwin III of Jerusalem repels an attack by Nūr-ad-Din at the Battle of Aintab. Baldwin III then evacuates the County of Edessa.
• Approximate. Erik IX of Sweden conducts an expedition to Finland in the (likely mythical) First Swedish Crusade.
• (Date unknown). Odo of Deuil, a French historian and participant in the Second Crusade as the chaplain to Louis VII of France, writes his De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem (On Louis VII's journey to the East).

1151

• Spring. After Joscelin II of Edessa ceded Turbessel to the Byzantines, a coalition of Nūr-ad-Din, Mesud I and Kara Arslan leads to Fall of Turbessel.
• Late. Raymond II of Tripoli is killed by Assassins, the first such Christian leader murdered by the sect.
• (Date unknown). Danish nobleman Wetheman founds a lay confraternity in Roskilde organized into leidang to help fight the Wends.
• (Date unknown). Rognvald Kali Kolsson begins his pilgrimage to the Holy Land as documented in the Orkneyinga saga.

1152

• Early. Baldwin III of Jerusalem demands coronation as sole ruler of the kingdom and the Haute Cour of Jerusalem divides the kingdom into two administrative districts.
• (Date unknown). Clergyman and historian John of Salisbury writes his Historia Pontificalis quae Supersunt, covering the years 1148–1152.

Baldwin III of Jerusalem receiving capitulation of Ascalon, by Sébastien-Melchior Cornu (1841).

1153

• 25 January – 22 August. Baldwin III of Jerusalem leads the assault on the Fatimid fortress in the successful Siege of Ascalon.
• (Date unknown). Eugene III again authorizes a crusade in Spain.

1154

• 18 April. Nūr-ad-Din overthrows the Burid Mujir al-Din Abaq to become the first Zengid atabeg of Damascus, uniting Syria under a single ruler.
• (Date unknown). English historian Henry of Huntingdon writes his Historia Anglorum (The History of the English).

1156

• 28 May. The Kingdom of Sicily defeats the Byzantines at the Battle of Brindisi.
• Spring. Raynald of Châtillon makes an alliance with Thoros II of Armenia and invades Cyprus.

1157

• 19 June. A Crusader army led by Baldwin III of Jerusalem was ambushed and badly defeated by Nūr-ad-Din at the Battle of Lake Huleh.
• 12 August. The 1157 Hama earthquake damages much of the Levant.
• October. With the arrival of a crusading force under Thierry of Flanders at Antioch, the combined Frankish army attacks Shiazar whose citadel was held by the Assassins. The city is later abandonded due to internal disputes among the Franks.
• 23 October. Sweyn III of Denmark is defeated by Valdemar I of Denmark in the last phase of the Danish Civil Wars, culminating in the Battle of Grathe Heath.

• (Date unknown). Pope Adrian IV rejects the calls for a crusade in Spain made by Henry II of England and Louis VII of France.

The Battle of Putaha on July 15, 1159 [sic], between King Baldwin III of Jerusalem and Emir Nur ad-Din. Original painting by Éloi Firmin Féron. The work is exhibited in the Salles des Croisades at the Palace of Versailles.

1158

• 15 July. Crusader forces of Baldwin III of Jerusalem repel an attack by Nūr-ad-Din at the Battle of Butaiha (Putaha).
• Winter. Manuel I Komnenos attacks Armenian Cilicia.

1159

• 12 April. Manuel I Komnenos enters Antioch, establishing himself as the suzerain of the principality.
• Later. Manuel I Komnenos enters into a truce with Nūr-ad-Din and secures the release of prisoners including Templar Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort.
• 7 September. Alexander III becomes pope.
• (Date unknown). Joscelin III of Edessa becomes titular Count of Edessa after the death of his father Joscelin II of Edessa.

1160

• June. Henry the Lion begins his conquest of the Wends.
• 23 July. Al-Adid becomes the last Fatimid caliph, supported by vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik.
• Autumn. Raynald of Châtillon makes a plundering raid at Marash to seize livestock. Upon his return, he and his retinue are captured.
• (Date unknown). The Obotrites are attacked by Saxons and Danes, resulting in the death of Niklot, and the partition of the Obotrite lands.

1161

• 11 September. Melisende of Jerusalem dies and is buried at the Abbey of Saint Mary of the Valley of Jehosaphat.

Amalric of Jerusalem leads the Crusader invasions of Egypt against Nūr-ad-Din and later Saladin.

1162

• 6 July. The Slavic duchy of Demmin is taken by Henry the Lion.
• December. Shawar becomes vizier of Fatimid Egypt under caliph al-Adid after overthrowing Tala'i ibn Ruzzik.

1163

• 18 February. Amalric of Jerusalem becomes king upon the death of Baldwin III of Jerusalem eight days earlier.
• 13 August. Dirgham overthrows Shawar as Fatimid vizier.
• September. Amalric begins the first of his Crusader invasions of Egypt on the premise that the Fatimids had not paid their yearly tribute.
• (Date unknown). Amalric of Jerusalem leads an army that defeats Nūr-ad-Din at the Battle of al-Buqaia.
• (Date unknown). At the Council of Tours, the Albigensians are named and condemned as heretics.
• (Date unknown). Pribislav of Mecklenburg rises in revolt against the Saxons.

The Rise of Saladin

Saladin was a Kurdish officer in Nūr-ad-Din's army who would unite both Syria and Egypt under his rule, forming the Ayyubid dynasty that would threaten the very existence of the Franks in the Holy Land.

1164

• April. Saladin accompanies Shirkuh with an army sent to Egypt by Nūr-ad-Din to assist Shawar who is returned to power by August.
• 6 July. The army of Henry the Lion, assisted by the fleet of Valdemar the Great, defeat the West Slavic Obotrites at the Battle of Verchen.
• Summer. Amalric of Jerusalem begins his second Crusader invasion of Egypt.
• 12 August. Nūr-ad-Din defeats a large Crusader army at the Battle of Harim (Battle of Artah), taking many of the leaders prisoner, including Raymond III of Tripoli, Bohemund III of Antioch, Joscelin III of Edessa and Konstantinos Kalamanos.
• August–October. Shawar forms an alliance with Amalric of Jerusalem to attack Shirkuh at Bilbeis. The ensuing stalemate caused both Amalric and Shirkuh to withdraw from Egypt.
• 26 September. Alexander III recognizes the Order of Calatrava.
• (Date unknown). Aimery of Limoges sends a letter to Louis VII of France describing the events in the Crusader states.

• (Date unknown). The Archbishopric of Uppsala is created in Sweden.

Map of route taken by Benjamin of Tudela.

1165

• (Date unknown). Bohemund III of Antioch and Thoros II of Armenia, held in captivity by Nūr-ad-Din, are ransomed by Manuel I Komnenos.
• (Date unknown). Alexander III calls for a new crusade to the Holy Land.
• (Date unknown). Benjamin of Tudela begins his pilgrimage through Iberia to the Holy Land.

1166

• September. Évora is taken by the Portuguese warrior and folk hero Gerald the Fearless.
• (Date unknown). Genoese admiral Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone writes the Annales ianuenses (Genoese annals) providing a Genoese perspective on the First Crusade and the Embriaco family.

1167

• January. Amalric of Jerusalem begins his third Crusader invasion of Egypt.
• 18 March.The Syrian forces of Shirkuh and Saladin defeat those of Amalric of Jerusalem at the Battle of al-Babein.
• Late March – early August. Shirkuh retires to Alexandria and is besieged by Shawar and Amalric of Jerusalem. Shirkuh leaves the city in the hands of Saladin, who then enters into a truce with Amalric.
• 10 August. Shirkuh and Saladin depart Egypt, arriving at Damascus in September.
• 20 August. Amalric of Jerusalem returns to Ascalon.

1168

• 1 October. William of Tyre negotiates and alliance between Amalric of Jerusalem and Manuel I Komnenos against Egypt.
• 4 November. Amalric of Jerusalem takes the city of Bilbeis after a three-day siege.
• (Date unknown, through 1169). Valdemar I of Denmark defeats the Wends at the Siege of Arkona.

1169

• 18 January. Shawar is executed by Shirkuh who then becomes Fatimid vizier.
• 22 March. Shirkuh dies of natural causes and is succeeded by his nephew Saladin.
• 21 May. The Moors, supported by Ferdinand II of León, defeat Afonso I of Portugal and Gerald the Fearless at the Siege of Badajoz.
• 21–23 August. Saladin crushes a rebellion by Sudanese forces of the Fatimid army at the Battle of the Blacks consolidating his power in Egypt.
• 15 October. A joint Frankish-Byzantine force begins the fourth Crusader invasion of Egypt.
• 20 October – 13 December. Amalric of Jerusalem and Andronikos Kontostephanos conduct the unsuccessful Siege of Damietta.

1170

19th-century depiction of Saladin, by Gustave Doré

• 29 June. The 1170 Syria earthquake strikes with a magnitude of 7.7.
• August. Nūr-ad-Din takes control of Mosul following the death of his brother Qutb al-Din Mawdud.
• December. Saladin invades Jerusalem besieges Darum on the Mediterranean coast. Amalric of Jerusalem withdraws his Templar garrison from Gaza to assist him in defending Darum. Saladin raises the siege and marches on Gaza, but is forced to retreat.
• (Date unknown). The Order of Santiago (Order of Saint James of Compostela) is founded to defend Christianity and expel the Moors from Iberia.
• (Date unknown). Danish forces led by Valdemar I of Denmark and Absalon defeat those of Casimir I of Pomerania and Bogisław I of Pomerania at the Battle of Julin Bridge.
• (Date unknown). German priest John of Würzburg writes his Descriptio terrae sanctae (Description of the Holy Land) after his travels to the Levant.

1171

• June. Nūr-ad-Din directs Saladin to restore the Abbasid caliphate in Egypt.
• 11 September. Alexander III issues the papal bull Non parum animus noster to promote the Northern Crusades against the pagan Estonians and Finns.
• 13 September. Caliph al-Adid dies with no Fatimid successor.
• 18 September. An Abbasid khutba is pronounced in Cairo, proclaiming al-Mustadi as caliph.
• Shortly thereafter. Saladin becomes the effective ruler of Egypt, beginning the Ayyubid sultanate.
• (Date unknown). Saxon priest Helmold of Bosau writes his Chronica Sclavorum (Chronicle of the Slavs) of the northwestern Slavic tribes up to 1171.

1172

• June–July. Henry the Lion takes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword is founded in Portugal.
• (Date unknown). Libellus de Locis Sanctis (Little Book of the Holy Places), travelogue for use by pilgrims on their travels to the Holy Land, is written.

1173

• Late. Raymond III of Tripoli is ransomed after eight years of captivity.
• (Date unknown). Jewish Spaniard Benjamin of Tudela writes The Travels of Benjamin, documenting his travels in 1166–1172 through Europe, Asia and Africa.

1174

• 15 May. Nūr-ad-Din dies and is succeeded by his son as-Salih Ismail al-Malik under the protection of Gümüshtekin.
• 11 July. Amalric of Jerusalem dies and his son Baldwin IV of Jerusalem is coronated as king at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre king on 15 July.
• 28 July – 2 August. The Normans of Sicily are unsuccessful at the Siege of Alexandria, their attempt to overthrow Saladin.
• August. Saladin begins his invasion of Syria, leaving his brother al-Adil I to run Egypt.
• August. Raymond III of Tripoli claims the regency of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
• 28 October. Saladin occupies Damascus and appoints his brother Turan-Shah as governor.
• 28 December. Saladin's forces defeat those of as-Salih Ismail al-Malik at Hama and Azaz, and advances on Aleppo.
• 30 December. Assassins attack Saladin's camp and are dispatched.
• (Date unknown). Rodrigo Álvarez founds the Order of Mountjoy to protect Christian pilgrims in the Iberian Peninsula.

1175

• 26 January – 2 February. Saladin withdraws from Aleppo to Hama to await a Crusader force led by Raymond III of Tripoli.
• 17–28 March. The citadel at Homs and Baalbek surrender to Saladin.
• 2 April. Saladin agrees to withdraw from northern Syria.
• 13 April. Saladin defeats an Aleppo-Mosul force at the Battle of the Horns of Hama.
• 6 May. Saladin signs a treaty with as-Salih Ismail al-Malik in which he gains control of all of Syria except Aleppo.
• 8 June. William of Tyre becomes archbishop of Tyre.
• 22 July. Before leaving Syria, Saladin again attacks the Assassins and agrees to a truce with Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
• Autumn. A Sicilian fleet attacks the Egyptian port city of Tinnis.
• (Date unknown). Pope Alexander III calls for a crusade in Spain.

1176

• Early. With Baldwin IV of Jerusalem's leprosy confirmed, embassies are sent to William Longsword to offer him the hand of Sibylla of Jerusalem to secure succesion in the kingdom.
• After 11 April. Saladin defeats the forces of as-Salih Ismail al-Malik at Sultan's Mound (Tell-es-Sultan or Mound of the Sultan) near Aleppo.
• 1 May – 21 June. Saladin captures a ring of castles south and west of Aleppo, including Buza'a, Manbij and Azaz.
• May. Bohemond III of Antioch makes an alliance with Zengid Aleppo for the release of Joscelin III of Courtenay and Raynald of Châtillon.
• 15 July. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem comes of age and Raymond III of Tripoli steps down as regent. The truce between Raymond and Saladin ends.
• 29 July. Saladin makes peace with Aleppo and Mosul.
• Early August. Saladin leads an unsuccessful attack on the Assassins' strongholds in the an-Nusayriyah Mountains after the second attempt on his life on 22 May.
• Mid-August. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raymond III of Tripoli raid the Beqaa Valley near Damascus, later defeating a Damascene army led by Turan Shah at Ayn al-Jarr.
• 25 August. Saladin marries Ismat ad-Din Khatun, the widow of Nūr-ad-Din.
• Late August. Joscelin III of Courtenay is appointed seneschal of Jerusalem.
• 10 September. Saladin leaves Damascus for Egypt.
• 17 September. Manuel I Komnenos and his allies are defeated by the Seljuk Turks under Kilij Arslan II at the Battle of Myriokephalon. Militarily, the Byzantines will never recover from the loss.
• November. Sibylla of Jerusalem and William Longsword marry.
• (Date unknown). William Longsword and Raynald of Châtillon give a land grant to the Order of Mountjoy.

The Battle of Montgisard, 1177 by Charles Philippe Larivière, 1842–1844.

1177

• Spring. Raynald of Châtillon marries Stephanie of Milly, lady of Oultrejordain, and is granted the castles at Kerak and Montréal as well as the lordship of Hebron.
• June. William Longsword dies leaving Sibylla of Jerusalem pregnant with the future Baldwin V of Jerusalem.
• 2 August. Philip I of Flanders lands in the Holy Land and is offered the regency of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. He refuses and Raynald of Châtillon becomes regent to the king.
• 25 November. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem routs Saladin's army at the Battle of Montgisard.
• 8 December. Saladin returns to Cairo with one-tenth of his army.
• (Date unknown). Alexander III recognizes the Order of Alcántara (Knights of St. Julian), founded in León in 1166.
• (Date unknown). The Byzantines destroy a large Seljuk force at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir.

1178

• March. Saladin marches to relive Harem, under siege by Philip I of Flanders.
• August. The Franks break the truce and attack Hama. They are driven off by Saladin.
• (Date unknown). Tamar of Georgia is named co-ruler of Georgia by her father George III of Georgia.

The Fall of Jerusalem

The Ayyubid dynasty under Saladin began their attacks against the Kingdom of Jerusalem, eventually leading the the fall of Jerusalem in 1187.

1179

• February–March. The Byzantines defeat the Seljuq Turks at the Siege of Claudiopolis.
• March. Alexander III presides over the Third Council of the Lateran.
• March. Hugh III of Burgundy agrees to marry Sibylla of Jerusalem, planning to depart for Jerusalem early the next year.
• 10 April. The Ayyubid army of Farrukh Shah defeats that of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem at the Battle of Banias. Constable Humphrey II of Toron dies of wounds inflicted in the battle on 22 April.
• April. The castle at Le Chaselet is completed and handed over to the Knights Templar.
• 23 May. Alexander III recognizes Afonso Henriques as king of Portugal in the papal bull Manifestis Probatum.
• June. Saladin defeats Baldwin IV of Jerusalem at the Battle of Marj Ayyun.
• 23–30 August. Saladin defeats Baldwin IV of Jerusalem at the Siege of Jacob's Ford, destroying the castle at Le Chaselet.

1180

• 13 January. Henry the Lion is stripped of his imperial fiefs at an Imperial Diet in Würzburg for having breached the peace of Frederick Barbarossa.
• 20 April. Sibylla of Jerusalem marries Guy of Lusignan.
• May. Representatives of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Saladin sign a two-year truce (which excludes Tripoli).
• Spring. Baldwin of Ibelin returns to Jerusalem to discoved the Sibylla of Jerusalem has remarried.
• 29 June. Sayf al-Din Ghazi II, emir of Mosul, dies.
• 24 September. Manuel I Komnenos dies and is succeeded by his son Alexios II Komnenos.
• 16 October. Heraclius of Jerusalem named Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

1181

• Summer. Raynald of Châtillon breaks the truce with Saladin by attacking two caravans between Syria and Egypt. Saladin complains to Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and demands compensation.
• November. Henry the Lion is deposed and exiled.
• 4 December. As-Salih Ismail al-Malik dies.
• (Date unknown). The Kingdom of Denmark defeats the Scanian rebels at the Battle of Dösjebro.

1182

• April. Andronikos I Komnenos returns from exile and instigates the Massacre of the Latins in Constantinople.
• May–August. Saladin fights the inconclusive Battle of Belvoir Castle as part of his campaign against the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

1183

• February. Raynald of Châtillon's fleet attacks Muslim targets on the Red Sea, including the Egyptian fortress on Pharaoh's Island, before being destroyed by a fleet dispatched by al-Adil.
• 12 June. Saladin takes posession of Aleppo.
• September. Andronikos I Komnenos becomes emperor upon the death of Alexios II Komnenos.
• 30 September – 6 October. A force led by Guy of Lusignan skirmished with Saladin's army at the Battle of al-Fule with inconclusive results.
• Early November – 4 December. Saladin conducts the unsuccessful Siege of Kerak, interrupting the marriage ceremony of Isabella I of Jerusalem and Humphrey IV of Toron, the stepson of Raynald of Châtillon.
• November. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem removes Guy of Lusignan from his executive regency.
• 20 November. Baldwin V of Jerusalem becomes co-king with his ailing uncle Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). Byzantine historian John Kinnamos writes his Epitome Historiarum (Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus), an extension of The Alexiad covering the years 1118–1176.

1184

• June–July. Abu Yaqub Yusuf crosses the straits of Gibraltar and marched inland. He was stopped by Afonso I of Portugal and Ferdinand II of León at the Siege of Santarém.
• 4 November. Pope Lucius III issues the papal bull Ad abolendam after the Synod of Verona, conducted with emperor Frederick Barbarossa, condemning heretics and calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land.
• (Date unknown). William of Tyre writes his Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum (History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea).

1185

• Early. Raymond III of Tripoli is appointed regent to the kingdom and Baldwin V of Jerusalem by the dying Baldwin IV of Jerusalem.
• August. Saladin becomes seriously ill while advancing north of Mosul.
• 25 November. Urban III becomes pope.
• (Date unknown, may be 1186). Canute VI of Denmark invades Pomerania and forces Bogisław I of Pomerania to acknowledge him as overlord. Canute and his successor monarchs of Denmark then used the title King of the Wends.

1186

• August. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem dies.
• Late summer. Sibylla of Jerusalem and Guy of Lusignan are coronated as queen and king of Jerusalem.
• October. Raymond III of Tripoli and Baldwin of Ibelin refuse to pay homage to the king and queen.
• Later. Guy of Lusignan marches against Tiberias, a fief of Raymond III of Tripoli who invites Saladin to intervene.

Saladin and Guy of Lusignan after the Battle of Hattin

1187

• Early. Raynald of Châtillon attacks a large convoy en route to Cairo.
• 14 March. Saladin establishes a base at Bosra to protect convoys.
• 26 April. Saladin attacks Kerak unsuccessfully for the third time.
• 1 May. A Frankish force led by Gerard de Ridefort and Roger de Moulins are decisively defeated by Saladin's general Gökböri at the Battle of Cresson.
• 26 June. Saladin gathers his forces in the Hauran, crossing the Jordan River five days later.
• 2 July. Saladin attacks Tiberias defended by Eschiva of Bures, wife of Raymond III of Tripoli. She surrenders the city three days later.
• 3–4 July. A Crusader force led by Guy of Lusignan and Raynald of Châtillon is defeated by Saladin and Gökböri at the Battle of Hattin. Guy is captured and Raynald is executed.
• 20 September – 2 October. Saladin conquest over the Franks is complete with the Siege of Jerusalem. The city was surrendered by Balian of Ibelin with Christians allowed to leave after paying a ransom.
• 20 October. Urban III dies and is succeeded by Gregory VIII on 25 October.
• 29 October. Gregory VIII issues the bull Audita tremendi calling for the Third Crusade.

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade was led by Frederick Barbarossa and Richard the Lionheart, and was followed shortly by the Crusade of 1197.

Richard Coeur De Lion On His Way To Jerusalem, by James William Glass, ca. 1850.

1188

• January. Henry II of England and Philip II of France take the cross at Gisors.
• 11 February. In order to finance the crusade, the Saladin tithe is begun in England.
• 27 March.  Frederick Barbarossa takes the cross at the Curia Christi held in Mainz.
• Spring. Saladin releases Guy of Lusignan from captivity.
• 26 May. Barbarossa sends Saladin an ultimatum to withdraw from the lands he had taken.
• 20–22 July. Bohemond III of Antioch is defeated by Saladin at the Siege of Laodicea.
• 26–29 July. Saladin defeats the Knights Hospitaller at the Siege of Sahyun Castle.
• 5–9 August. The Principality of Antioch is defeated by the forces of Saladin at the Siege of al-Shughur.
• 20–23 August. Shortly thereafter, Saladin successfully executes the Siege of Bourzey Castle.
• November. The Franks abandon Kerak Castle to the Ayybuids after the Siege of Kerak.
• Early November – 6 December. Saladin and his brother al-Adil I capture the Templar castle after the Siege of Safed.

The Near East, c. 1190, at the inception of the Third Crusade.

1189

• 9 January. After over a year, Saladin is successful in his Siege of Belvoir Castle.
• 11 May. The Third Crusade begins, with Frederick Barbarossa and his forces departing Regensburg.
• June. A Holy Roman Empire fleet, supported by Denmark and Flanders, en route to the Holy Land, stops in the Algarve and attack the castle there in the Alvor massacre.
• 6 July. Henry II of England dies and is succeeded by his son Richard the Lionheart, who was crowned on 3 September and continued his father's plans for the crusade.

• 21 July – 3 September. Sancho I of Portugal teams with Crusaders en route to the Holy Land defeat the Moors at the Siege of Silves.
• August. Guy of Lusignan marches to Tyre but is refused entry by Conrad of Montferrat.
• 26 August. Barbarossa's forces seize the Byzantine city of Philippopolis.
• 28 August. Guy of Lusignan begins the Siege of Acre.
• 1 September. The Holy Roman Empire fleet arrives at Acre.
• 11 November. William II of Sicily dies and the kingdom is seized by Tancred of Sicily.

1190

• April. An English fleet under the command of Richard de Camville and Robert de Sablé departs Dartmouth to meet Richard the Lionheart in Marseille.
• April. After a long siege, Muslim forces under Saladin capture Beaufort Castle from Reginald of Sidon.
• Spring. A northern fleet fought a battle with the Moors and is defeated at the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Spring. A Bulgarian force defeats the Byzantines at the Battle of Tryavna Pass.
• 7 May. A Crusader army led by Frederick of Swabia and Berthold of Merania defeat the Seljuk Turks led by Kaykhusraw I at the Battle of Philomelion.
• 18 May. Barbarossa led an army commanded by Frederick of Swabia, Děpolt II and Géza of Hungary to defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Iconium.
• 10 June. Frederick Barbarossa drowns while crossing the Saleph River and his army returns to Germany.
• Summer. An English ship separated from its fleet sails into Silves while the city was besieged by the Almohadsand the English crusaders participated in the successful defense of the city.
• 13–19 July. The Knights Templar under Gualdim Pais successfully repel the Moors at the Siege of Tomar.

The Battle between Richard Coeur de Lion and Saladin at the Siege of Acre, by Philip James de Loutherbourg, ca. 1807.

• 25 July. Sibylla of Jerusalem and her two daughters die and her sister Isabella I of Jerusalem becomes queen.
• 7 August. Richard the Lionheart leaves for Sicily, arriving at Messina on 23 September. His fleet had arrived earlier, on 14 September.
• 4 October. Richard the Lionheart captures Messina. Tancred of Sicily agrees to a treaty in exchange for his recognition and the release of Joan of England.
• Early November. The marriage of Isabella I of Jerusalem and Humphrey IV of Toron is annulled.
• 24 November Isabella I of Jerusalem marries Conrad of Montferrat.

1191

• 30 March. Celestine III becomes pope.
• 10 April. Richard the Lionheart leaves Sicily. Bad weather forces him to land in Cyprus, entering Limassol on 6 May.
• 15 April. Henry VI of Germany becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
• 20 April. Philip II of France arrives at Acre.
• 6 May. Bad weather forces the fleet of Richard the Lionheart to land at Limassol. The Conquest of Cyprus is complete by 1 June.
• 12 May. Berengaria of Navarre marries Richard the Lionheart in Cyprus. She was the eldest daughter of Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile.
• 8 June. Richard the Lionheart arrives at Acre.
• 12 July. Acre surrenders to the Crusaders, ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
• 31 July. Philip II of France, accompanied by Conrad of Montferrat, departs to Tyre and returns to France. He leaves behind a French army under the command of Hugh III of Burgundy.
• 20 August. Richard the Lionheart has the Muslim prisoners of war captured at Acre beheaded during the Massacre at Ayyadieh. In retaliation, Saladin does same to his Christian prisoners.
• 7 September. Richard the Lionheart leads a Crusader army to defeat Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf.
• November. The Crusader army advances on Jerusalem.
• 12 December. Saladin disbands most of his army under pressure from his emirs.
• (Date unknown). Canute VI leads a Danish Crusade to Finland.

1192

• Before 24 April. Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I of Jerusalem) is elected king of Jerusalem.
• 28 April. Conrad of Montferrat is murdered by two Assassins.
• 6 May. Henry II of Champagne marries Isabella I of Jerusalem, then pregnant with their child Maria of Montferrat. He becomes Henry I of Jerusalem.

Richard Coeur De Lion at the Battle of Jaffa, by John Cassell, ca. 1865.

• 21 June. Enrico Dandolo becomes doge of Venice.
• 8 August. In the final battle of the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart defeats Saladin at the Battle of Jaffa.
• 2 September. Richard the Lionheart and Saladin agree to the Treaty of Jaffa. Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control, while allowing unarmed Christian pilgrims and traders to visit the city.
• 9 October. Richard the Lionheart departs the Holy Land.
• Before Christmas.  Leopold V of Austria arrests Richard the Lionheart, accusing him of the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat, holding him in captivity at Dürnstein Castle.
• (Date unknown). The Teutonic Knights are recognized by Celestine III.
• (Date unknown). English chronicler and monk Richard of Devizes writes hisChronicon de rebus gestis Ricardi Primi covering the reign of Richard I of England from 1189–1192.

1193

• 4 March. Saladin dies and is succeeded by his sons Al-Aziz Uthman in Egypt and Al-Afdal in Syria.
• 28 March. Richard the Lionheart turned over to Henry VI of Germany who imprisons him in Trifels Castle.
• (Date unknown). Celestine III calls for a crusades in Spain and in Northern Europe.

1194

• 4 February. Richard the Lionheart is ransomed and released from captivity.

• 11 March. Forgiving his brother John of England for his revolt with Philip II of France during his captivity, Richard the Lionheart was crowned a second time and declares war on France.
• Spring. Casimir II the Just organizes an expedition against the Baltic Yotvingians.
• October. Leo I of Armenia invites Bohemond III of Antioch to Bagras to resolve their differences. Upon Bohemond's arrival, Leon captures him and his family, and takes them to the capital of Sis.
• (Date unknown). The Bulgarians defeat the Byzantines at the Battle of Arcadiopolis.
• (Date unknown). Raymond V of Toulouse, strong opponent of heresy, dies and his succeeded by his son Raymond VI of Toulouse who favored the Cathars.

1195

• March. Henry VI of Germany announces a new crusade, later known at the Crusade of 1197.
• 8 April. Alexios III Angelos becomes Byzantine emperor after deposing Isaac II Angelos.
• 1 June. A Georgian force defeats the Ildenizids of Azerbaijan at the Battle of Shamkor.

• 18 July. The Almohads led by caliph Yaqub al-Mansur attacked the Kingdom of Castile at the Battle of Alarcos.
• Later. Alfonso IX of León invades Castile and is excommunicated by Celestine III.

1196

• January. The Treaty of Louviers is signed by Philip II of France and Richard the Lionheart.
• (Date unknown). Bulgarian forces under Ivan Asen I defeat the Byzantine army at the Battle of Serres.
• (Date unknown). Norman poet and chronicler Ambroise of Evreux writes of the Third Crusade in his Old French poems L´Estoire de la guerre sainte and Itinerarium regis Ricardi.
• (Date unknown). Ephraim of Bonn write his Emeḳ ha-Bacha concerning the treatment of Jews in Europe in the 12th century.

1197

• March. The German forces under Henry VI of Germany begin the Crusade of 1197.
• 10 September. Al-Adil I leads a force that takes the city in the Battle of Jaffa.
• 10 September. Henry I of Jerusalem dies from falling out of a window at his palace in Acre. His widow, Isabella I of Jerusalem, becomes regent while the kingdom is thrown into consternation.
• 22 September. The German forces of the Crusade of 1197 arrive at Acre.
• 28 September. Henry VI of Germany dies of malaria at Messina, while preparing an expedition against the Byzantine usurper Alexios III Angelos.
• 28 November. The German crusaders fail to take the city during the Siege of Toron, which lasts until 2 February 1198.
• (Date unknown). Celestine III again calls for a crusade in Spain.
• (Date unknown). Knights of the Order of Calatrava take Salvatierra Castle from the Moors, holding it until 1211.

Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was launched to again go the Holy Land, but instead resulted in the Sack of Constantinople and the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. Shortly thereafter, the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics and the Children's Crusade began.

1198

• 8 January. Innocent III becomes pope.
• 2 February. Failing to take the city, the German crusaders lift the Siege of Toron and return home.
• Spring. Aimery of Cyprus marries Isabella I of Jerusalem and are crowned as king and queen of Jerusalem at Acre.
• July 1 Aimery of Cyprus signs a treaty with al-Adil I securing the Crusader possessions from Acre to as far as Antioch for five years and eight months.
• 15 August. Innocent III issues the bull Post miserabile calling for the Fourth Crusade.
• August. The Livonian Crusades begin with the Wars against Livs and Latgalians. Berthold of Hanover fails to defeat the Livonians and is killed.

1199

• 6 April. Richard the Lionheart dies and his brother John of England becomes king.
• 28 November. Due to the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly, a Crusade army is organized at a tournament held at Ecry-sur-Aisne by Theobald III of Champagne.
• (Date unknown). Michael the Syrian writes his Chronicle in Syriac, covering history of the world down to 1196.

1200

• 17 February. Al-Adil I proclaims himself sultan of Egypt.
• (Date unknown). Albert of Buxhoeveden, bishop of Riga, leads a crusade to conquer Latvia.
• (Date unknown). The Livre au Roi, the earliest surviving text of the Assizes of Jerusalem, is written.

1201

• March. Envoys are sent to Venice, then led by doge Enrico Dandolo, to negotiate sea transportation of the crusaders to Cairo, believed to be the best route to secure Jerusalem.
• 24 May. Theobald III of Champagne dies and is replaced by Boniface of Montferrat as leader of the crusade that summer.
• (Date unknown). Alexios IV Angelos, son of Isaac II Angelos, takes refuge in Germany with his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia. He begins to get backing to be placed as Byzantine emperor.

The Crusaders conquering the City of Zara (Zadar) in 1202, painted by Andrea Vicentino

1202

• May. The Crusader force gathers in Venice, but in smaller numbers that expected. Unable to pay the Venetians for the boats they built, Enrico Dandolo proposes an attack on Adriatic ports as payment.
• Spring. Crusaders who chose to continue to the Holy Land arrive in Acre.
• Later. As part of the War of the Antiochene Succession, Leo I of Armenia attacks Antioch, defended by recently arrived Crusaders.  Renard of Dampierre is captured, to be held prisoner until 1233.
• 10–24 November. The Crusaders and Venetians sack the city after the Siege of Zara.
• Later. Innocent III excommunicates those who attacked Zara and orders them to proceed to Jerusalem. The excommunication is lifted for non-Venetians in February 1203.
• Winter. Boniface of Montferrat meets with Alexios IV Angelos who offers to provide resources to the crusade in exchange for being placed as Byzantine emperor.
• (Date unknown). Anders Sunesen leads a crusade against the Finns as part of the Danish Crusade.
• (Date unknown). The Livonian Brothers of the Sword is established.

1203

• April. The Crusaders depart for Constantinople.
• 11 July – 1 August. The Crusaders are victorious after the Siege of Constantinople.
• 19 July. Isaac II Angelos and Alexios IV Angelos become co-emperors of Byzantium.
• Late August. Crusade leadership writes to Innocent III explaining their actions and vowing to proceed to Egypt in the spring.

The siege of Constantinople in 1204, by Palma il Giovane

1204

• 27 January. Nicholas Kanabos is proclaimed as rival Byzantine emperor. Isaac II Angelos dies shortly thereafter.
• 8 February. Alexios IV Angelos is murdered and Nicholas Kanabos is imprisoned. Alexios V Doukas becomes emperor.
• 12–15 April. The Crusaders and Venetians participate in the Sack of Constantinople, essentially ending the Byzantine empire. The new Latin Empire was created under Baldwin IX of Flanders, as Baldwin I.
• May. Alexios I of Trebizond establishes the Empire of Trebizond with the backing of Tamar of Georgia.
• September–October. The Byzantine empire is formally partitioned with the signing of the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae, creating the Frankokratia.
• September. Realizing that the Fourth Crusade will not bring sufficient reinforcements to Acre, Aimery of Cyprusnegotiates a six-year truce with al-Adil I.
• December. Alexios V Doukas is captured by Thierry de Loos and executed by being thrown from the Column of Theodosios in Constantinople.
• Late. Innocent III authorizes those who took a crusading vow but could not go may crusade in the Baltic instead.

Partition of the Byzantine Empire into The Latin Empire and its Crusader vassals, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond, and Despotate of Epirus after 1204.

1205

• Early. Theodore I Laskaris founds the Empire of Nicaea.
• 18 March. Nicaea defeats the Latins at the Battle of Adramyttion, the first battle of the Nicaean–Latin wars.
• 1 April. Aimery of Cyprus dies and is succeeded by Hugh I of Cyprus. Isabella I of Jerusalem is the sole ruler of Jerusalem.
• 14 April. The Bulgarians are successful in the Battle of Adrianople, the first of the Bulgarian–Latin wars. This if followed by a similar victory at the Battle of Serres in June.
• April. Isabella I of Jerusalem dies and is succeeded as queen of Jerusalem by her daughter Maria of Montferrat.
• Summer. The Franks defeat the remaining Byzantines at the Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountouras completing their conquest of the Morea. The Principality of Achaea is founded shortly thereafter.
• (Date unknown). The Seljuk Turks led by Kaykhusraw I fail in their first Siege of Trebizond with the defenses of the city led by Alexios I of Trebizond, emperor and claimant to the Byzantine throne.
• (Date unknown). Othon de la Roche founds the Duchy of Athens.
• (Date unknown). German monk Gunther of Pairis writes his Historia Constantinopolitana about the Fourth Crusade.

1206

• 31 January. Bulgarian forces under Kaloyan, defeat the remnants of the Latin army at the Battle of Rusion.
• February. The Bulgarians attack and loot the fortified town after the Battle of Rodosto, defended by a Venetian garrison.
• July. Baldwin I, Latin Emperor, captive since the Battle of Adrianople, dies at Baldwin's Tower and is succeeded by Henry of Flanders who is crowned on 20 August.
• Late. Saint Dominic and Diego de Acebo establish the Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille which embraced Albigensianism.
• (Date unknown). Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates writes Nicetæ Choniatæ Historia, covering the period 1118–1207.

1207

• 2 February. Terra Mariana (Old Livonia) is established as a vassal state of the Holy See.
• March. The Seljuk Turks are successful at the Siege of Antalya.
• May. Raymond VI of Toulouse is excommunicated for not dealing with the Cathars.
• 4 September. The Bulgarians defeat the Latins at the Battle of Messinopolis. Latin commander Boniface of Montferrat is killed.

1208

• 13 January. Senior papal legate Pierre de Castelnau meets with Raymond VI of Toulouse over the Cathar issue and is murdered the next day.
• March. Innocent III calls for the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars.
• Early June. The Bulgarians defeat the Latins at the Battle of Beroia.
• 30 June. The Latin Empire defeats the Bulgarians at the Battle of Philippopolis.

1209

Depiction of the death of Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade, by Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville, dated 1883.

• July. The Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars begins under the command of Arnaud Amalric.
• 22 July. The Crusaders conduct the Massacre at Béziers.
• 15 August. Cathar stronghold Carcassonne falls to the Crusaders.
• Later. Simon de Montfort given control of the conquered territories of Béziers and Carcassonne and takes command of the Crusade.
• (Date unknown). At the Council of Avignon, Raymond VI of Toulouse and the inhabitants of Toulouse are excommunicated for failing to expel the Cathars.

1210

• Early June – 22 July. Simon de Montfort and Arnaud Amalric defeat the Cathars at the Siege of Minerve.
• 3 October. John of Brienne is crowned king of Jerusalem by virtue of his marriage to Maria of Montferrat.
• (Date unknown). The forces of Peter II of Aragon defeat the defending Moorish forces at the Siege of al-Dāmūs.

The Children's Crusade, by Gustave Doré, 1877.

1211

• April. Simon de Montfort lays siege to Lavaur, destroying the city and its inhabitants.
• 17 June. The Nicean forces of Theodore I Laskaris defeat the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Antioch on the Meander. Kaykhusraw I, was killed on the field of battle and Alexios III Angelos was taken prisoner.
• 15 October. Latin forces under Henry of Flanders defeat the Niceans led by Theodore I Laskaris at the Battle of the Rhyndacus.

1212

• Early. Simon de Montfort takes Toulouse, causing his brother-in-law Peter II of Aragon to intervene later in the year.
• Early Spring. The Children's Crusade begins with disastrous results.
• 16 July. Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre and Peter II of Aragon defeat the Moorish forces under Muhammad al-Nasir at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
• (Date unknown). Isabella II of Jerusalem becomes queen of Jerusalem after the death of her mother Maria of Montferrat.
• (Date unknown). Pope Innocent III calls for a crusade in Spain.

• (Date unknown). Benedictine monk and chronicler Arnold of Lübeck writes Duellum Nicænum, a continuation of Helmold's Chronica Sclavorum.
• (Date unknown). German knight and poet Wolfram von Eschenbach writes Willehalm, a tale involving Saracens.

Fifth Crusade

The Fifth Crusade attacked Egypt with disastrous results.

1213

• 18 January. Tamar of Georgia dies and is succeeded by her son George IV of Georgia.
• 19 April. Innocent III issues his papal bull Quia maior calling for what will become the Fifth Crusade.
• 12 September. Peter II of Aragon dies fighting his brother-in-law Simon de Montfort in the Battle of Muret, the last major battle of the Languedoc phase of the Albigensian Crusade.
• (Date unknown). French knight and historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin writes his chronicle De la Conquête de Constantinople (On the Conquest of Constantinople) on the Fourth Crusade based on his experiences in the endeavor.
• (Date unknown). Cistercian monk Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay writes his chronicle Historia Albigensis about the Albigensian Crusade, a primary source of that endeavor.

The Siege of Damietta during the Fifth Crusade in a painting by Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen.

1214

• 1 November. The Seljuk Turks under Kaykaus I defeat the Empire of Trebizond at the Siege of Sinope. Alexios I of Trebizond is taken prisoner.
• December. After the Battle of the Rhyndacus, the Treaty of Nymphaeum is signed between the Latin Empire and the Empire of Nicaea.

1215

• 8 January. Simon de Montfort is elected lord of Languedoc after his campaign against the Cathar heretics during the Albigensian Crusade.
• Summer. Frederick II becomes king of Germany after the excommunication and abdication of Otto IV, taking the cross for the first time.
• 24 August. Raymond VI of Toulouse captures Beaucaire, the first heretic victory in the Albigensian Crusade.
• 11 November. The Fourth Lateran Council endorses the Fifth Crusade.

1216

• 14 February. Leo I of Armenia reconquers the Principality of Antioch and Raymond-Roupen is installed as prince.

• 18 July. Honorius III becomes pope, continuing the support of the new crusade.
• (Date unknown). French knight Robert de Clari writes La Conquête de Constantinople, covering the period 1202–1205.

1217

• 1 July. Forces depart France on the Fifth Crusade.
• 30 July – 18 October. Portugal and the Crusaders under Soeiro II of Lisbon and William I of Holland defeat the Moors at the Siege of Alcácer do Sal, the first engagment of the Fifth Crusade.
• 23 August. The forces of Andrew II of Hungary depart from Split for Syria on what is known as the Crusade of Andrew II of Hungary (Hungarian Crusade), part of the Fifth Crusade.
• 21 September. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword defeat the Estonians at the Battle of St. Matthew's Day.
• 22 September. Simon de Montfort begins the Siege of Toulouse, to put down the Languedoc revolt of the Albigensian Crusade.
• 30 November – 7 December. The army of Andrew II of Hungary fails in their Siege of Mount Tabor against the fortress held by the Ayyubids.
• 15 December. The Hungarian Crusade ends with their defeat at the Battle of Machghara by the Ayyubids.

1218

• 10 January. Hugh I of Cyprus dies and is succeeded in Cyprus by his one-year old son Henry I of Cyprus.
• March. Honorius III authorizes the Prussian Crusade.
• 27 May. The first of the Crusader ships arrive in Egypt. Led by John of Brienne, other commanders include Leopold VI of Austria, Simon III of Sarrebrück, and masters Peire de Montagut, Hermann of Salza and Guérin de Montaigu.
• 29 May. The Siege of Damietta begins.
• 25 June. Simon de Montfort dies at the Siege of Toulouse. His son Amaury de Montfort continues the Albigensian Crusade with little success.
• 1 August. Honorius III proclaims a new Albigensian Crusade.
• 24 August. The siege engines of Oliver of Paderborn breach the main tower of Damietta which is taken is taken the next day.
• 31 August. Al-Adil I dies and Al-Kamil becomes Ayyubid sultan of Egypt.
• 9 November. Papal delegate Pelagius Galvani arrives in Egypt and takes command of the Crusade from John of Brienne.

Saint Francis of Assisi and Illuminato da Rieti before the Sultan al-Kamil, in a 15th century fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli.

1219

• Early. Valdemar II of Denmark invades Estonia, which is elevated to a crusade by Honorius III, and takes Tallinn(Revel).
• May. Leopold VI of Austria returns home from the Fifth Crusade.
• 19 June. The forces of Valdemar II of Denmark defeat the Estonians at the Battle of Lyndanisse.
• 29 August. After his overtures of peace were rejected, al-Kamil defeats the Crusaders under Pelagius Galvani and John of Brienne at the Battle of Fariskur.
• September. Saint Francis of Assisi arrives in Egypt to negotiate with the sultan.
• 5 November. The Crusaders take the city from the Ayyubids after the successful Siege of Damietta.

1220

• Summer. An Egyptian fleet attacks a crusader fleet at Limassol, resulting in over a thousand casualties. The sea lanes had been left unguarded by Pelagius.
• 8 August. The Estonians defeat the invading Swedes at the Battle of Lihula, ending their aggression for centuries.
• 22 November. Frederick II and Constance of Aragon are crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Empress by Honorius III, taking the cross for the second time.
• (Date unknown). Cardinal Oliver of Paderborn writes his Historia Damiatina, reflecting his experience in the Fifth Crusade.

1221

• 26–28 August. In the final battle of the Fifth Crusade, the Crusader forces under Pelagius Galvani and John of Brienne are defeated by the Ayyubid forces of al-Kamil at the Battle of Mansurah.
• 8 September. Pelagius Galvani surrenders and the Crusaders begin to depart Egypt. The Fifth Crusade has ended with nothing gained by the West.
• (Date unknown). A Kievan Rus' force fails to defeat the Seljuk Turks under Kayqubad I at the Battle of Sudak.
• (Date unknown). An Estonian force fails to take the city from the Danes in the Siege of Tallinn.

1222

• September. The Mongols are successful at the Battle of Khunan, beginning the Mongol Invasions of Georgia.
• (Date unknown). The Seljuk Turks fail in their second Siege of Trebizond.

Sixth Crusade

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, undertook the Sixth Crusade and made significant gains with no military actions.

1223

• 23 March. In a meeting between Honorius III and Frederick II and John of Brienne, preparations begin for the Sixth Crusade to recapture Jerusalem. Frederick agrees to lead the Crusade and again takes the cross.
• 14 July. Louis VIII of France becomes king after the death of his father Philip II of France.
• (Date unknown). The Niceans defeat the Latins at the Battle of Poimanenon.

1224

• (Date unknown). Amaury de Montfort cedes his titles and lands in Languedoc to Louis VIII of France.
• (Date unknown). English chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall writes his Chronicon Anglicanum on the Fourth Crusade.

1225

• 9 November. Frederick II marries Isabella II of Jerusalem, becoming king of Jerusalem.
• (Date unknown). At the first Siege of Jaén, the forces of the Taifa of Jayyān defeat the forces of Ferdinand III of Castile.
• (Date unknown). Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson writes his Heimskringla concerning Scandinavian involvement in the Northern Crusades.

1226

• 10 June – 9 September. Louis VIII of France is successful in his Siege of Avignon as part of the Royal intervention phase of the Albigensian Crusade.
• 8 November. Louis IX of France becomes king after the death of his father Louis VIII of France.
• (Date unknown). The Teutonic Knights undertake a new Crusade to subdue the pagan Prussians.
• (Date unknown). French historian Jacques de Vitry writes his Historia Hierosolymitana on the Holy Land from the advent of Islam until the Fifth Crusade.

Frederick II meets al-Kamil. anonymous painting, 1341.

1227

• January. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and their allies defeat the last Estonian strongholds in the Battle of Muhu.
• 19 March. Gregory IX becomes pope.
• 22 July. Holstein forces defeat Valdemar II of Denmark and Otto the Child at the Battle of Bornhöved.
• 8 September. The forces of the Sixth Crusade depart Europe. Shortly thereafter, Frederick II is forced to return due to illness. The rest of the army, now under the command of Henry of Limburg and Gérold of Lausanne.
• 29 September. Gregory IX excommunicates Frederick II for his failure to fulfil his crusading vows.
• 11 November. After the death of his brother al-Muazzam Isa, al-Kamil takes control of Jerusalem. His brother al-Ashraf Musa maintains control of Syria.
• (Date unknown). Henry of Latvia writes his Livonian Chronicle.

1228

• 4 May. Conrad II of Jerusalem becomes king of Jerusalem upon the death of his mother Isabella II of Jerusalem.
• 28 June. Gregory IX resinds his excommunication of Frederick II.
• 7 September. Frederick II arrives at Acre. He sends Thomas of Accera and Balian Grenier to negotiate with the sultan al-Kamil.
• (Date unknown). Ibn Hud seizes power over much of al-Andalus.
• (Date unknown). Willibrand of Oldenburg leads the Drenther Crusade against the residents of Drenthe, lasting until 1232.

1229

• 13 February. Gregory IX issues a papal bull calling for a new crusade in Spain.
• 18 February. The Sixth Crusade end with the signing of the Treaty of Jaffa between Frederick II and al-Kamil. Jerusalem is restored to Christian rule.
• 17 March. Frederick II enters Jerusalem and crowns himself king. He departs eight days later.
• 12 April. Louis IX of France and Raymond VII of Toulouse sign the Treaty of Paris ending the Albigensian Crusade.
• 5 September. James I of Aragon begins the Conquest of Majorca resulting in the creation of the Kingdom of Majorca.

• 12 September. The Aragonese win the first engagement at Majorca at the Battle of Portopí.
• (Date unknown). The Council of Toulouse entrusts the Inquisition to deal with the surviving heretics remaining from the Albigensian Crusade.
• (Date unknown). The Chronicle of Ernoul is written.

1230

• 9 March. Bulgaria defeats Thessalonica at the Battle of Klokotnitsa.
• 24 June. The forces of Ferdinand III of Castile and García Fernández de Villamayor fail in their second Siege of Jaén.
• 10–12 August. The Seljuks and Ayyubids defeat the Khwarazmians at the Battle of Yassıçemen.
• October. The Teutonic Knights occupy Chelmno Land and begin their conquest of Prussia as authorized by Gregory IX.
• 30 October. The Conquest of Majorca is completed.
• (Date unknown). Berber historian Ibn Hammad writes his Akhbar muluk bani Ubayd wa-siratuhum about the Fatimids.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem after the Sixth Crusade.

1231

• Autumn. John of Brienne is crowned Latin Emperor.
• (Date unknown). The crusade of Ferdinand III of Castile begins.
• (Date unknown). The forces of Ferdinand III of Castile led by Alfonso de Molina and Álvaro Pérez de Castrodefeat those of Ibn Hud at the Battle of Jerez, leading to the rise of Muhammad I of Granada.

1232

• 15 June. Forces loyal to Henry I of Cyprus defeat those of Richard Filangieri at the Battle of Agridi.
• 13 July. The Nasrid dynasty begins ruling the Emirate of Granada under Muhammad I of Granada, the first sultan of Granada.
• (Date unknown). James I of Aragon begins his campaign against the Moors occupying Valencia.

1233

• May–July. As part of his Valencian campaign, James I of Aragon and Bernat Guillem d'Entença defeat Zayyan ibn Mardanish at the Siege of Burriana.
• (Date unknown). The papal attacks on heretics in the Stedinger Crusade is finally successful in 1234.
• (Date unknown). Arab historian Ali ibn al-Athir writes his Complete Work of History.

Barons' Crusade

After the truce that ended the Sixth Crusade, a further military action known as the Barons' Crusade was launched by Theobald I of Navarre and Richard of Cornwall, returning the Kingdom of Jerusalem to its largest extent since 1187.

1234

• 7 April. Theobald I of Navarre becomes king.
• 17 November. Gregory IX issues the papal bull Rachel suum videns calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land. This would result in the Barons' Crusade to begin in 1239.

1235

• (Date unknown). An inconclusive Siege of Constantinople was launched by John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaeaand Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria against the city defended by John of Brienne.
• (Date unknown). Hungarian prince Coloman fails to quell the heretics during the Bosnian Crusade.

1236

• 29 June. Ferdinand III of Castile captures Córdoba from Ibn Hud after the Siege of Córdoba, regaining the city held by the Moors since 711.
• 22 September. Pagan troops of Samogitians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword at Battle of Saule.

1237

• 22 March. John of Brienne dies and is succeeded by Baldwin II, Latin Emperor.
• 15 August. James I of Aragon and Bernat Guillem d'Entença defeat Zayyan ibn Mardanish at the Battle of the Puig, completing their Valencian campaign.

1238

• Spring. The Portuguese conquest of the Algarve begins.
• (Date unknown). The Taifa of Valencia becomes part of Aragon.
• (Date unknown). Ibn Hud is assassinated.

1239

• 2 November. Theobald I of Navarre initiates the Barons' Crusade after the expiration of the ten-year treaty between the West and the Ayyubids.
• 13 November. The army of Theobald I of Navarre is defeated by the Ayyubids at the Battle at Gaza.
• 3 December. Theobald I of Navarre departs the Holy Land. Four days later, Damascene emir an-Nasir Dawudcaptures Jerusalem from the Franks but does not hold it.

Map depicting gains made by the Barons' CrusadeRed: Crusader states in 1239; Pink: territory acquired in 1239–1241

1240

• 8 October. The English forces of Richard of Cornwall arrive in the Holy Land.
• 15 July. In the beginning of the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars, the Novgorods defeats the Kingdom of Sweden at the Battle of the Neva.
• (Date unknown). The Teutonic Knights of the Livonian Order are unsuccessful in their Livonian campaign against Rus'.

1241

• 13 February. In the first Mongol invasion of Poland, the Mongols conduct their Sack of Sandomierz.
• March. The First Mongol invasion of Hungary is successful.
• 9 April. The Battle of Legnica completes the Mongol invasion of Poland.
• 23 April. Richard of Cornwall completes the negotiation of the treaty with Al-Salih Ismail.
• 3 May. The forces of Richard of Cornwall depart Acre, ending the Barons' Crusade.
• May–June.The fleet of the Republic of Venice defeats that of the Empire of Nicaea at the Battle of Constantinople.
• August. The first of the Danish Campaigns to Novgorod is inconclusive.

1242

• 12 April. The forces of the Republic of Novgorod led by Alexander Nevsky defeat the forces of the Livonian Order at the Battle on the Ice. As a result, the Teutonic Order dropped all territorial claims over Russian lands
• 28 May. During the Royal intervention phase of the Albigensian Crusade, a group of Cathars killed a group of inquisitors at the Avignonet massacre..
• (Date unknown). Aleppan historian Kamal al-Din writes his Chronicle of Aleppo.

1243

• May. The royal forces of Louis IX of France defeat the Cathars at the Siege of Montségur.
• 25 June. Innocent IV becomes pope.
• 23 September. Innocent IV issues the papal bull Qui iustis causis authorizing crusades in Prussia and Livonia.

1244

• 22 May. The Moors surrender Xativa Castle to James I of Aragon following a five-month siege. The terms of surrender of the Moors were laid out in the subsequent Treaty of Xàtiva.
• 11 July – 23 August. The Khwarazmians destroy the city and its inhabitants after their successful Siege of Jerusalem.
• 17–18 October. The Ayyubid army as-Salih Ayyub, reinforced with Khwarezmian mercenaries, defeat the Franksh forces at the Battle of Forbie.
• Late. After a near-fatal illness, Louis IX of France takes the cross (prior to papal authorization of a crusade).

Seventh Crusade

Louis IX of France launched the Seventh Crusade against Egypt, again resulting in disaster.

1245

• 28 June. At the First Council of Lyon, the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land under Louis IX of France is authorized.
• October. Jean de Joinville joins the Crusade.

1246

• 28 February. Kingdom of Castile and the Order of Santiago commanded by Ferdinand III of Castile and Grand Master Pelayo Pérez Correa defeat a defending force of the Taifa of Jaén and the Emirate of Granada under Muhammad I of Granada at the Third Siege of Jaén.
• March. Muhammad I enters into peace agreement with Castile and Granada becomes its vassal.
• 15 April. James I of Aragon and his son-in-law Alfonso X of Castile enter into the Al-Azraq Treaty of 1245 with Moorish commander al-Azraq.
• August. As an embassy of Innocent IV, Franciscan John of Plano Carpini travels to Mongolia to meet with Güyük Khan who demands that the pope pay him homage. Upon his return at the end of 1247, John reports to Rome that the Mongols were only out for conquest.

Map of the route of the Seventh Crusade.

1247

• May. Dominican Ascelin of Lombardy is sent to meet the Mongol general Baiju Noyan. Baiju and Ascelin discussed an alliance against the Ayyubids.
• July. Castile begins the 16-month Siege of Seville.
• August – 15 October. The Ayyubids defeat the Hospitallers at the Siege of Ascalon and occupy the city.

1248

• 25 August. The Seventh Crusade begins when Louis IX of France leaves Paris with his queen Margaret of Provence, her sister Beatrice of Provence and two of Louis' brothers, Charles I of Anjou and Robert I of Artois.
• 28 November. Ferdinand III of Castile, supported by Ramón de Bonifaz, defeats the Moors led by Axataf after the 16-month Siege of Seville.

1249

• March. Afonso III of Portugal and Paio Peres Correia capture the Algarve from the Taifa of Niebla after the Siege of Faro. This marked the end of the Portuguese conquest of the Algarve and therefore their Reconquistaefforts in the Iberian peninsula.
• 6 June. The Crusades capture the Egyptian city after the successful Siege of Damietta.
• 22 November. Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub dies and is succeeded by his son Turanshah.
• Approximate. The Tavastians are defeated in the Second Swedish Crusade.

1250

Louis IX being taken prisoner at the Battle of Fariskur, in an 1850 painting by Gustave Doré.

• 8–11 February. Louis IX of France and his forces are defeated by the Ayyubids at the Battle of Mansurah (1250).
• 6 April. In the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade, the Franks are totally defeated by the Ayyubids at the Battle of Fariskur. Louis IX of France and much of his force is captured.
• 2 May. Turanshah is murdered by a group of Mamluks led by Baibars. He is succeeded by his father's widow Shajar al-Durr, marking the end of the Ayyubid dynasty.
• 6 May. Louis IX of France is freed and later goes to Acre where he works to free his captive force. He finally returns home in 1254.
• 31 July. Aybak becomes the first Mamluk sultan and later marries Shajar al-Durr.
• 13 December. Frederick II dies and the Holy Roman Empire enters the Great Interregnum.

1251

• 2 February. The Mamluks of Egypt defeat the Ayyubids of Syria at the Battle of al-Kura.
• (Date unknown). A popular crusade known as the Shepherds' Crusade is formed to free Louis IX of France from captivity. The crusade does not advance out of France.
• (Date unknown). Cistercian monk Alberic of Trois-Fontaines writes his Chronicle.

1252

• 15 May.  Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes the torture of heretics in the Inquisition.
• (Date unknown). Italian historian Philip of Novara writes his History of the War between the Emperor Frederick and Sir John of Ibelin. This was included in Les Gestes des Chiprois.

1253

• 8 July. Theobald II of Navarre becomes king.

1254

• 24 April. Louis IX of France departs from Acre, ending the Seventh Crusade.
• 21 May. Conradin becomes the nominal king of Jerusalem upon the death of Conrad II of Jerusalem.

1256

• 15 December. Mongol forces under Hulagu Khan end their campaign against the Assassins and Abbasid Caliphate, begun in the Spring, with the capture of Alamut Castle.

1257

• (Date unknown). Arab historian Ibn al-Jawzi writes his Al-Muntadham fi tarikh al-muluk wa-'l-umam (History of the caliph and the nation).

Depiction of the army of Hulagu Khan during the Siege of Baghdad in 1258. Painting by an unknown artist, c. 1430.

1258

• 10 February. The Mongols under Hulegu attack the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and are successful if their Siege of Baghdad. Caliph al-Musta'sim is killed 10 days later and the caliphate goes into decline.  

1259

• Summer/Fall. The Empire of Nicaea is successful against the Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and Principality of Achaea in the Battle of Pelagonia.
• Late. The Second Mongol invasion of Poland is successful.
• (Date unknown). English chronicler Matthew Paris writes his Chronica Majora, presenting a universal history from Creation until 1259.

1260

• 18–24 January. Mongol leader Hulagu Khan, supported by forces of Bohemond VI of Antioch and Hethum I of Armenia, conquer the city in their Siege of Aleppo.
• January–August. The Latin Empire defeats an attempt by the Empire of Nicaea to conquer the city in the Siege of Constantinople.
• 3 September. The Mamluks defeat the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut.
• 10–23 September. After the Battle of Salé, a Castilian fleet sent by Alfonso X of Castile temporarily occupies Salé in Morocco.
• 24 October. Baybars becomes Mamluk sultan of Egypt.
• (Date unknown). Persian historian Ata-Malik Juvayni writes his Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā (History of the World Conqueror), an account of the Mongol Empire.

Map of the restored Byzantine Empire of Michael VIII Palaiologos and the surrounding states in 1265

1261

• 24 July. The Empire of Nicaea is successful in their Reconquest of Constantinople, ousting the Latin Empire and restoring the Byzantine Empire.
• 15 August 1261. Michael VIII Palaiologos begins the Palaiologan dynasty to rule the Byzantine Empire until 1453.
• 29 August. Urban IV becomes pope.
• 25 November. After the 11-month Siege of Jerez, the Moorish enclave of Jerez de la Frontera is incorporated into the Crown of Castile.

1263

• (Date unknown). The Principality of Achaea defeats the Byzantines at the Battle of Prinitza.
• (Date unknown). The Achaea again defeats the Byzantines at the Battle of Makryplagi.

1265

• 5 February. Clement IV become pope.
• 8 February. Abaqa becomes second to rule the Mongol Ilkhanate, after the death of his father Hulagu Khan.
• 21 March – 29 April. The Mamluks under Baibars defeat the Knights Hospitaller in battle, resulting in the Fall of Arsuf.
• October. James I of Aragon begins the Conquest of Murcia, taking the Muslim-held Taifa of Murcia on behalf of his ally Alfonso X of Castile. He is supported by Manuel of Castile and Paio Peres Correia.
• Fall–Winter. Clement IV issues a general Crusade bull for the whole of Spain, when the kings of Aragon and Castile joined in the expedition against the Taifa of Murcia.
• (Date unknown). Baibars destroys the city of Caesarea Maritima.

Eighth Crusade

Louis IX of France again takes the cross, launching Eighth Crusade against Tunis. His death marked the end of the crusade.

1266

• 5 January 1266. Charles I of Anjou and Beatrice of Provence crowned king and queen of Sicily.
• Mid-January. Clement IV calls for a new expedition to the Holy Land which will become the Eighth Crusade.
• 31 January. Murcia surrenders to James I of Aragon.
• 13 June – 23 July. Baibars destroys the contingent of Knights Templar at the Siege of Safed.
• 24 August. Baibars conquers Cilician Armenia at the Battle of Mari.

1267

• 2 March. German knights depart on the Crusade of 1267 in response to the papal bull Expansis in cruce issued in August 1265. The crusade accomplished nothing.
• 24 March. Louis IX of France takes the cross to go on the Eighth Crusade.

Death of Louis IX in Tunis

1268

• 18 February. The combined forces of Danish Estonia and the Livonian Order engage the forces of Novgorod and Pskov at the inconclusive Battle of Wesenberg.
• May. Baibars is successful in his Siege of Antioch.
• 29 October. Conradin is beheaded on orders of Charles I of Anjou. and is succeeded by Hugh III of Cyprus as king of Cyprus and Jerusalem.

1269

• 1 September. Fernando Sánchez de Castro and Pedro Fernández de Híjar begin the Crusade of the Infants of Aragon, abandoning it the next year with no results.
• 24 September 1269. Hugh III of Cyprus is crowned king of Jerusalem. The claim of Maria of Antioch to the throne is rejected.

1270

• 1 July. The Eighth Crusade begins as the forces of Louis IX of France depart for Tunis.
• 17 August. Philip of Montfort killed by Assassins on the orders of Baibars.
• 25 August. Louis IX of France dies while on the Eighth Crusade and succeeded by his son Philip III of France.
• 20 October. Lord Edward and his forces depart for Tunis. They will arrive too late for the Eighth Crusade and proceed to the Holy Land.
• 21 October. Hethum I of Armenia abdicates and is succeeded by his son Leo II of Armenia.
• 1 November. The Treaty of Tunis is signed, ending the Eighth Crusade. Philip III of France, Charles I of Anjouand Theobald II of Navarre signed for the Latin Christians and sultan Muhammad I al-Mustansir for Tunis.

Lord Edward's Crusade

English forces en route to the Eighth Crusade arrived too late and launched Lord Edward's Crusade in the Holy Land, the last major Western offensive there.

Operations during Lord Edward's Crusade  Mamluks   Crusaders   Mongols

1270

• 18 November. Lord Edward and his forces arrive in Sardinia.

1271

• Winter–Spring. Baibars besieges Safita in February, then takes Krak des Chevaliers, Gibelacar and Tripoli.
• 13 March – 8 April. Baibars captures the Hospitaller stonghold with the Fall of Krak des Chevaliers.
• 9 May. Lord Edward and his forces arrive in Acre.
• Late May. Baibars offers Bohemond VI of Antioch a ten-year truce after the Siege of Tripoli.
• 1 September. Gregory X is elected pope and preaches new crusade in coordination with the Mongols.

• (Date unknown). The Gran conquista de Ultramar, a late 13th-century Castilian chronicle of the crusades for the period 1095–1271, is written.

Edward I kills his attempted assassin. Engraving by Gustave Doré

1272

• 21 February. Charles I of Anjou proclaimed king of Albania.
• 22 May. Lord Edward's Crusade, the last major crusade to the Holy Land, ends inconclusively with a ten-year truce with Baibars. Edward is attacked by an Assassin the next month.
• 20 November. Edward I of England becomes king after the death of his father Henry III three days earlier.

Decline and Fall of the Crusader States

The Mamluks under Baibars, later Qalawun, continued their onslaught on the Franks in the Levant, leading to the Fall of Tripoli in 1289 and, two years later, their successful Siege of Acre. The West would never recover Jerusalemeven though the Crusades continued for many centuries.

1273

• 22 January. Muhammad II of Granada becomes the Nasrid ruler of the Emirate of Granada.
• 11 March. Gregory X issues the papal bull Dudum super generalis asking for information on Islamic threats to Christendom.
• Early. Haymo Létrange puts Beirut and their ruler Isabella of Beirut under the protection of Baibars.
• July. Al-Kahf, the last Assassin stronghold in Syria, falls to the Mamluks.
• 1 October. Rudolf I of Germany elected king, ending the Great Interregnum.
• October. Philip of Courtenay becomes Latin Emperor upon the death of Baldwin II.
• (Date unknown). William of Tripoli publishes De statu Saracenorum in response to the papal bull serving as a handbook for the Christian missionary on the history, law and beliefs of Islam.

1274

• Early. Gregory X receives reports on the failure of the crusades including Gilbert of Tournai's Collectio de scandalis ecclesiae, Bruno of Olomouc's Relatio de statu ecclesiae in regno alemaniae, and Humbert of Romans'Opus tripartitum.
• 7 May – 17 July. The Second Council of Lyon discusses reconquest of the Holy Land. Representatives of the Ilkhanate attend and the Union of Churches approved.
• (Date unknown). Byzantine forces are defeated by John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly, at the Battle of Neopatras.
• (Date unknown). The forces of Euboea and Crete are defeated by the Byzantines at the Battle of Demetrias.
• (Date unknown). Geoffrey of Beaulieu writes his The Life of Saint Louis, a biography of Louis IX of France, as directed by the pope.

Marco Polo meeting Kublai Khan.

1275

• March. Baibars continues his campaign against Armenia and demands the return of the Christian half of Latakia.
• Spring. Marco Polo arrives at the court of Kublai Khan.
• 13 May. Marinid forces led by Abu Yusuf Yaqub begin their first Invasion of Spain.
• 4 June. Hugh III of Cyprus negotiates a truce with Baibars that protects Latakia in exchange for an annual tribute.
• 8 September. The Moors defeat Castile at the Battle of Écija.
• 21 October. The Moors defeat the army of Castile led by Sancho II de Aragon at the Battle of Martos. Sancho II was killed and Alfonso X of Castile was forced to accept a peace treaty.
• (Date unknown). Philip III of France and Rudolf I of Germany take the cross without corresponding action.

1276

• 19 January. Abu Yusuf Yaqub ends his Invasion of Spain, and, with Muhammad II of Granada, agrees to a truce with Alfonso X of Castile for two years.

• October. The Knights Templar purchase La Fauconnerie (La Féve), omitting to secure the consent of Hugh III of Cyprus.
• October. Hugh III of Cyprus relocates from Acre to Cyprus.

1277

• January/March. Philip of Sicily dies and the title to the Principality of Achaea reverts to his father Charles I of Anjou.
• 18 March. Charles I of Anjou secures the disputed title of king by purchasing Maria of Antioch's claim to the throne of Jerusalem.
• 15 April. Mamluk forces defeat a Mongol occupying force at the Battle of Elbistan.
• 25 November. Nicholas III is elected pope after the death of John XXI on 20 May 1277.
• 1 July. Baibars dies and is succeeded by sons Barakah and then Solamish.

• August. Abu Yusuf Yaqub begins his second Invasion of Spain, ravaging the districts of Jerez de la Frontera, Seville and Córdoba.
• Approximate. The Estoire d'Eracles, a history of the Crusades, is written.

1278

• January. Charles I of Anjou is crowned king of Jerusalem at Acre and is recognized by the kingdom's barons. He appoints Roger of San Severino as his representative.

• 1 May. William of Villehardouin dies and his lands in Achaea revert to Charles I of Anjou.
• 24 May. Charles I of Anjou swears fealty to Nicholas III and promises not to invade the Byzantine Empire.

• 25 July. Castile defeated by the Marinids at the naval Battle off Algeciras.
• 5 August. Alfonso X of Castile launches the unsuccessful first Siege of Algeciras. Castilian forces were commanded by Peter of Castile and Alfonso Fernández el Niño.

1279

• 16 February. Alfonso III of Portugal dies and is succeeded by his son Denis of Portugal.
• 5 March. The Teutonic Knights are defeated by Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the Battle of Aizkraukle.
• November. Qalawun becomes Mamluk sultan after deposing Solamish.

1280

• April–June. Sunqur al-Ashqar, Mamluk governor of Damascus, revolts against Cairo. He flees after Qalawuninvades the city.
• 23 June. The Emirate of Granada defeats Castile and León at the Battle of Moclín.
• 22 August. Nicholas III dies suddenly and the 1280–1281 papal election begins 22 September.
• 29 October. The Mongols sack Aleppo.
• (Date unknown). The Byzantines defeat Sicily after the Siege of Berat.

1281

• 22 February. Martin IV is elected pope.
• 10 April. Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos is excommunicated.
• 3 May. Qalawun renews the truce with the Kingdom of Jerusalem for another ten years.
• 16 July. Bohemond VII of Tripoli agrees to Qalawun's truce for the County of Tripoli.
• 29 October. The Mamluks defeat a coalition of Mongols, Armenians and Hospitallers at the second Battle of Homs.

War of the Sicilian Vespers, by Francesco Hayez.

1282

• January. Bohemond VII of Tripoli kills Guy II Embriaco, alienating the Genoese.
• 30 March. The War of the Sicilian Vespers begins with European powers and the papacy vying for control of Sicily.
• 28 April. Charles I of Anjou's fleet at Messina is sunk, and Mategriffon Castle is forced to surrender.
• 1 May. Guelphs and Ghibellines fight at the Battle of Forti, with the Guelph army defeated.
• 6 May. Tekuder becomes ruler of the Ilkhanate after the death of his brother Abaqa on 1 April, and soon converts to Islam taking the name Ahmad.
• 25 August. Tekuder sends an embassy to Qalawun seeking an alliance.
• 30 August. Peter III of Aragon lands in Sicily, claims the crown four days later and is excommunicated by Martin IV.
• September/October. Hungary defeats the Cumans at the Battle of Lake Hód.
• 11 December. Andronikos II Palaiologos becomes Byzantine emperor, succeeding Michael VIII Palaiologos.
• (Date unknown). Roger of Lauria named commander of the Aragonese fleet.
• (Date unknown). George Akropolites publishes his Annales (Chronike Syngraphe), the main Greek source for the period 1203–1261.

1283

• 13 January. Martin IV declares the Aragonese Crusade against Peter III of Aragon.
• Before 5 March. Ata-Malik Juvayni writes his Tarīkh-i Jahān-gushā (History of the World Conqueror), an account of the Mongol Empire.
• 8 July 1283, Roger of Lauria defeats the Angevins at the Battle of Malta.
• Late July. Hugh III of Cyprus sails for Acre, arriving in August to lukewarm reception.
• Summer. The Prussian rebellion against the Teutonic Knights collapses.
• (Date unknown). German pilgrim Burchard of Mount Sion writes Descriptio Terrae Sanctae (Description of the Holy Land) of his travels in Syria, Egypt and Armenia.

The Battle of Meloria.

1284

• 4 March. Hugh III of Cyprus dies in Tyre and his son John I of Cyprus crowned king of Jerusalem two months later. John is recognized as king only in Beirut and Tyre.
• 4 April. Alfonso X of Castile dies and is succeeded by his son Sancho IV of Castile.
• 5 June. Roger of Lauria defeats the Neapolitan fleet at the Battle of the Gulf of Naples, capturing the commander Charles II of Naples.
• 5–6 August. Pisa is ruined after loss to Genoa at the naval Battle of Meloria.
• 11 August. Arghun becomes the fourth ruler of the Ilkhanate after the murder of his uncle Tekuder. He relies on advice from the patriarch Yahballaha III.
• 16 August. Joan I of Navarre marries Philip IV of France, and thus Navarre forms a personal union with the Kingdom of France.

1285

• 7 January. Charles I of Anjou dies and is succeeded by his son Charles II of Naples, who also claims the crown of Jerusalem.
• 28 March. Martin IV dies and Honorius IV is elected pope on 2 April.
• 25 April – 24 May. Mamluks capture of the Hospitaller castle at Marqab.
• 20 May. John I of Cyprus dies, and his brother Henry II of Cyprus is crowned king of Cyprus.
• 26 June. Philip III of France invades Aragon in response to call to crusade of 1282.
• 4 September. The Aragonese fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeats a French and Genoese at the Battle of Les Formigues.
• 1 October. Aragon defeats the French at the Battle of the Col de Panissars.
• 5 October. Philip IV of France becomes king upon the death of his father Philip III of France.
• 5 October. Joan I of Navarre becomes queen consort of France by virtue of her marriage to Philip IV of France. Navarre goes under French rule.
• Winter. The Teutonic Knights launch the Lithuanian Crusade.
• (Date unknown). Arghun writes to Honorius IV proposing a military alliance against the Mamluks.
• (Date unknown).The Second Mongol invasion of Hungary is unsuccessful, with the invaders retreating after just two months.

1286

• March. Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr becomes Marinid sultan of Morocco upon the death of his father Abu Yusuf Ya'qub.
• 24 June. Henry II of Cyprus returns to Acre.
• 29 July. Angevin bailli Odo Poilechien, loyal to Charles II of Naples, hands the citadel over to Henry II at the insistence of the three military orders.
• 15 August. Henry II of Cyprus is crowned king of Jerusalem at Tyre. A few weeks later, he returns to Cyprus after appointing Philip of Ibelin as regent.

1287

• 22 March. A major earthquake strikes Syria causing serious damage to the walls of Latakia.
• 3 April. Honorius IV dies and Rome enters into lengthy 1287–1288 papal election.
• Easter. Arghun's ambassador to the West, Rabban Bar Sauma, enters Constantinople.
• 20 April. Qalawun takes Latakia, claiming it is not covered by the truce of 1281.
• 31 May. The Genoese fleet defeats the Pisan and Venetian fleets at Acre, and begins a blockade of the city.
• 18 June. Rabban Bar Sauma records the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
• 23 June. Aragon defeats Naples at the naval Battle of the Counts.
• 19 October. Bohemond VII of Tripoli dies, succeeded by his sister Lucia of Tripoli.
• 6 December. The third Mongol raid into Poland begins.

1288

• 28 October. Edward I of England enters into the Treaty of Canfranc with Alfonso III of Aragon to secure the release of Charles II of Naples, captured four years earlier.

• Early. Lucia of Tripoli and her husband Narjot de Toucy arrive in Acre.
• February. The Mongols are repulsed by Poland after the third of the Mongol raids into Poland.
• 22 February. Nicholas IV becomes pope, immediately supports a crusade to the Holy Land.
• 8 August. Nicholas IV declares a crusade against Ladislaus IV of Hungary.
• 28 October. Edward I of England enters into the Treaty of Canfranc with Alfonso III of Aragon to secure the release of Charles II of Naples, captured four years before.
• (Date unknown). Nicholas IV sends envoy Giovanni da Montecorvino to Persia and China.

The Siege of Tripoli by the Mamluks of Qalawun in 1289.

1289

• 27 March – 26 April. Mamluk sultan Qalawan begins the Siege of Tripoli, causing the fall of one of the last remnants of the kingdom in the Levant a month later.
• Easter. Arghun sends Buscarello de Ghizolfi to Italy and France to announce that he intends to invade Syria in 1291.
• May. Fort Nephin and Le Boutron are occupied by Qalawan. Peter Embriaco is allowed to retain his estates in Tripoli.
• September. Jean de Grailly is sent to the West to appeal for help.
• (Date unknown). Osman I forms what is to become the Ottoman Empire.
• (Date unknown). Leo II of Armenia dies and is succeeded by his son Hethum II of Armenia.

1290

• 10 February. Nicholas IV calls for a crusade against the Mamluks.
• August. Venetian and Aragonese crusaders arrive at Acre, and instigate a massacre of Muslims in the city.
• Fall. The Egyptian army mobilizes towards Acre.
• 4 November. Qalawun leaves Cairo for Syria, en route to Acre. He dies six days later.
• 10 November. Qalawun's son al-Ashraf Khalil becomes Mamluk sultan.

1291

Matthieu de Clermont défend Ptolémaïs en 1291, by Dominique Papety (1815–49) at Salles des Croisadesin Versailles

• 6 August. Genoese-Sevillian fleet led by Benedetto Zaccaria wins a victory over Marinid fleet at Alcácer Seguir.
• Approximate. The annals of the Crusades Annales de Terre Sainte is written.

• 12 March. Mongol Ieader Arghun dies, destablizing the Ilkhanate.
• 4 April – 18 May. Crusaders lose their last stronghold in the Holy Land when Mamluk sultan Khalil successfully executes the Siege of Acre.
• May–July. Tyre, Sidon, Beirut surrender to Mamluks.
• 18 June. Alfonso III of Aragon dies and is succeeded by his brother James II of Aragon.
• 15 July. Rudolf I of Germany dies, and is succeeded by his son Albert I.
• 30 July. Mamluks occupy Haifa.
• 3–14 August. Templar castles Tortosa and Château Pèlerin evacuated, but retain their presence on the island fortress of Ruad. The Fall of Ruad to the Mamluks on 26 September 1302 marks ends the presence of the Crusaders in the mainland of the Levant.

See also

• Chronologies of the Crusades
• Historians and histories of the Crusades
• Medieval Jerusalem
• Saladin in Egypt

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