1120s

Events

1120

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Siege of Sozopolis: Byzantine forces under Emperor John II Komnenos conquer Sozopolis in Pisidia, from the Sultanate of Rum. The Seljuk garrison is defeated while they are trapped between the Byzantine cavalry and the army (who is besieging the fortress).

Levant

• January 16 – Council of Nablus: King Baldwin II and Patriarch Warmund convenes an assembly at Nablus – establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. The prelates and noblemen who attend the meeting confirm the clergy's right to collect the tithe and to bear arms "in the cause of defense".
• Baldwin II grants the Knights Templar under Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer a headquarters in a wing of the royal palace on the Temple Mount in the captured Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Summer – Baldwin II leads a expedition to Antioch to defend the northern Crusader states. He signs a 1-year truce with Ilghazi, Artuqid ruler of Mardin, securing the possession of Kafartab and other fortresses in Syria.

Europe

• June 17 – Battle of Cutanda: The combined forces of Aragon and Navarre under King Alfonso the Battler crush the Almoravid army near Calamocha. Alfonso recaptures the fortified towns of Calatayud and Daroca.
• The Almoravid fleet under Admirals Abu Abd Allah ibn Maymum of Almeria, and Isa ibn Maymum of Sevilla attacks the coastline of the Christian Kingdom of Galicia.
• Freiburg is founded by Conrad I and his elder brother, Duke Berthold III of Zähringen, as a free market town.

England

• King Henry I gives a portion of the Stoneleigh estate (located in Warwickshire) to Geoffrey de Clinton, his chamberlain and treasurer. He builds a motte and bailey castle and forms a lake to provide better defences.
• November 25 – The White Ship is sunk in the English Channel, off Barfleur. Henry I's only legitimate son, William Adelin, is among 300 (many of them Anglo-Norman nobility) who drown.
• The Pseudo-Ingulf's Croyland Chronicle records Cornwall, as a nation distinct from England.

Asia

• Fang La, a Chinese rebel leader, leads an uprising against the Song Dynasty in Qixian Village (modern-day Zhejiang) in southeast China. He raises an army and captures Hangzhou.
• August – September (the eighth month of the Chinese calendar) – Wanyan Xiyin, a Jurchen nobleman and minister, completes the design of the first version of the Jurchen script.
• The flourishing south Chinese coastal city of Quanzhou claims a population of 500,000 citizens, including the hinterland.

By topic

Religion

• Order of Premonstratensians founded by Norbert of Xanten at Prémontré in Picardy.
• Bishop Urban begins the construction on Llandaff Cathedral in Wales.

Science

• Walcher of Malvern, an English astronomer and mathematician, creates a system of measurement for the Earth using degrees, minutes and seconds of latitude and longitude.

1121

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Emperor John II Komnenos recovers southwestern Anatolia (modern Turkey) from the Seljuk Turks and then hastens to the Balkans, where the Pechenegs are continuing their incursions. He transfers Byzantine troops to the Danube frontier at Paristrion.

Levant

• Summer – Seljuk forces under Toghtekin make extensive raids into Galilee. King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, in reprisal, crosses the Jordan River with a Crusader army and ravages the countryside. He occupies and destroys a fortress that Toghtekin has built at Jerash.

Europe

• March 2 – Petronilla of Lorraine becomes regent of Holland (Low Countries) after her husband, Floris II ("the Fat") dies. He is succeeded by his 6-year-old son Dirk VI (Theodoric).
• A large rebellion takes place in Córdoba (modern Spain) against the ruling Almoravid dynasty.

England

• January 24 – Adeliza of Louvain, age 17, marries King Henry I of England two months after the accidental death of the heir to the English throne, Henry's only legitimate son, William Adelin.

Eurasia

• Summer – Sultan Mahmud II of the Seljuk Empire declares a Holy War on the Kingdom of Georgia. He sends an expedition under Ilghazi, the Artukid ruler of Mardin, to invade the country.
• August 12 – Battle of Didgori: King David IV ("the Builder") of Georgia with a Georgian army of 55,600 men) defeats the 300,000-strong Seljuk coalition forces at Mount Didgori.

Asia

• Emperor Emperor Huizong of Song sends an expedition to crush the rebellion at Hangzhou (modern-day Zhejiang) in China. The rebels are defeated and their leader Fang La is captured and executed.

By topic

Religion

• Spring – Peter Abelard, a French theologian and philosopher, is condemned and charged with the heresy of Sabellius in a synod at Soissons. Abelard writes Sic et Non.
• April 22 – Antipope Gregory VIII (supported by Emperor Henry V) is arrested by papal troops at Sutri. He is taken to Rome and imprisoned in the Septizonium.
• December 25 (Christmas Day) – The Praemonstratensian Order (Norbertines) is formed, when a group of canons make solemn vows at Prémontré.
• Henry I founds Reading Abbey in England. The Cluniac Order populates the abbey.
• The third and largest church is completed at Cluny Abbey (modern France).
• L'Aumône Abbey is founded by Count Theobald IV of Blois at Loir-et-Cher.

1122

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Battle of Beroia: Emperor John II Komnenos transfers the Byzantine field army from Asia Minor (where it has been engaged against the Seljuk Turks) to the Balkans. The Pechenegs who have set up their camp (defended by a circular formation of wagons) near Beroia (modern Bulgaria) are defeated. John orders the Varangian Guard (some 480 men), the elite Palace Guard to hack their way through the Pecheneg circle of wagons, causing a general rout in their camp. Pecheneg survivors are taken captive and enlisted into the Byzantine army.

Egypt

• February 13 – Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi is formally proclaimed vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate by Caliph al-Amir.

Levant

• September 13 – Count Joscelin I and Waleran of Le Puiset are taken prisoner by Turkish forces led by Belek Ghazi near Saruj in northern Syria. Belek offers Joscelin liberty in return for the cession of Edessa. He refuses to accept these terms; Joscelin and Waleran and 60 other Crusaders are taken to the castle at Kharput.

Europe

• August 8 – A Venetian fleet under Doge Domenico Michiel with well over a hundred ships sets sail from Venice, carrying an army of around 15,000 men and siege-material on the Venetian Crusade. The fleet departs for Palestine – but the Venetians pause to attack Corfu (this in retaliation for the refusal of John II to renew exclusive trading privileges). For six months, throughout the winter of 1122–23, the Venetians lay siege to the Byzantine island.
• King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon creates the lay community of knights known as the Confraternity of Belchite. It is the first local attempt to imitate the Order of the Knights Templar created in Palestine.
• The Almoravid fleet attacks Sicily to suppress the Italo-Norman raiders. The same year (related?), the Muslim population of Malta rebels against the Normans.

Eurasia

• Siege of Tbilisi: The Georgians led by King David IV ('the Builder') re-conquer the city of Tbilisi from the Emirate of Tbilisi after a 1-year siege. David makes it his capital and unifies the Georgian State.

By topic

Religion

• September 23 – The Concordat of Worms: Emperor Henry V recognizes freedom of election of the clergy and promises to restore all Church property. This brings an end to the power struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, known as the Investiture Controversy. In the aftermath, Cappenberg Abbey is founded by Count Gottfried II for the new order of Premonstratensians.

1123

By date

January–March

• January 29 – Frederick I, Archbishop of Bremen since 1104, dies after a reign of more than 18 years, and is succeeded by Adalbert II.
• February 25 – Japan's Emperor Toba abdicates in favor of his 3-year-old son Sutoku after a 16-year reign. The retired Emperor Shirakawa rules as regent during Toba's minority.
• March 18 –
  • The First Council of the Lateran convenes in Rome; it confirms the 1122 Concordat of Worms and demands clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church.
  • The coronation of Japan's Emperor Sutoku takes place.
• March 25 – St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, commonly known as Barts, is founded by Rahere, a favourite courtier of King Henry I; it is now the oldest hospital in the United Kingdom operating on its original site.

April–June

• April 18 – King Baldwin II of Jerusalem is captured by Turkish forces under Belek Ghazi – while preparing to practice falconry near Gargar on the Euphrates. Most of the Crusader army is massacred, and Baldwin is taken to the castle at Kharput. To save the situation the Venetians are asked to help. Doge Domenico Michiel lifts the siege of Corfu (see 1122) and takes his fleet to Acre, arriving at the port in the end of May.
• May 9 – A fire in the city of Lincoln, England, nearly destroys the Lincolnshire town; it is memorialized 600 years later by historian Paul de Rapin.
• May 29 – Battle of Yibneh: A Crusader army led by Eustace Grenier defeats the Fatimid forces (16,000 men) near Ibelin. Despite the numerical superiority, Vizier Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi is forced to withdraw to Egypt while his camp is plundered by the Crusaders. Eustace returns to Jerusalem in triumph, but later dies on June 15.
• May 30 – The Venetian fleet arrives at Ascalon and instantly sets about attacking the Fatimid fleet. The Egyptians fall into a trap, caught between two Venetian squadrons, and are destroyed or captured. While sailing back to Acre, the Venetians capture a merchant-fleet of ten richly laden vessels.
• May – Baldwin II and Joscelin I are rescued by 50 Armenian soldiers (disguised as monks and merchants) at Kharput. They kill the guards, and infiltrate the castle where the prisoners are kept. Joscelin escapes to seek help. However, the castle is soon besieged by Turkish forces under Belek Ghazi – and is after some time recaptured. Baldwin and Waleran of Le Puiset are moved for greater safety to the castle of Harran.
• June – King David IV of Georgia, nicknamed "Davit IV Aghmashenebeli" ("David the Builder") by his subjects, defeats Sultan Mahmud II of the Seljuk Empire (encompassing much of what is now Iraq and Iran).

July–September

• July 22 – William de Corbeil is installed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest-ranking cleric in England, after his February 4 election is approved by Pope Callixtus II.
• August 9 – Battle of Al-Dimas: An Italo-Norman campaign in North Africa ends with their troops being massacred by Zirid forces near Mahdia (modern Tunisia).
• August 29 – King Eystein I (Magnusson) dies during a feast at Hustad after a 20-year reign, leaving his brother Sigurd the Crusader to rule over Norway.
• September 27 – Prince Wuqimai of the House of Wanyan becomes the new Emperor of China after the death, on September 19, of his elder brother, the Emperor Taizu, founder of the Jin dynasty. Wuqimai is proclaimed the Emperor Taizong of Jin.

October–December

• October 7 – Pope Calixtus II issues the papal bull Aequitatis et justitiae, placing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tricarico in Italy under the protection of the papacy.
• November 12 – In Spain, Queen Urraca of León and Castile, the self-proclaimed Imperator totius Hispaniae ("Empress of All Spain"), formally acknowledges 8-year-old Fernando Pérez de Lara as her son and an heir, after he was born out of wedlock from her relationship with Count Pedro González de Lara.
• December 12 – At Sankt Veit an der Glan, Engelbert II of the House of Sponheim becomes the new Duke of Carinthia and the Margrave of Verona (an area encompassing parts of Austria, Slovenia and Italy) upon the death of his older brother Henry IV.

By place

Middle East

• The Pactum Warmundi: A treaty of alliance, is established between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Republic of Venice at Acre. The Venetians receive a street, with a church, baths and a bakery, free of all obligations, in every town of the kingdom. They are also excused of all tolls and taxes.

Europe

• Sigurd I performs a Crusade, the Kalmare ledung, to Christianize the Swedish province of Småland. He makes a pact with King Niels of Denmark.

By topic

Religion

• Diego Gelmírez, archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, declares a Crusade in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) against the Almoravids.
• Furness Abbey (or St Mary of Furness) is founded in England by Stephen, count of Boulogne, for the Order of Savigny.

1124

1125

By place

Levant

• June 11 – Battle of Azaz: The Crusader states led by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem defeat the Seljuk forces at Azaz and raise the siege of the town. Baldwin mobilizes a force of 1,100 armoured knights (from Antioch, Edessa and Tripoli) and 2,000 foot-soldiers. The Crusaders capture the Seljuk camp and Baldwin takes enough loot to ransom the prisoners taken by the Seljuk Turks (including his 4-year-old daughter Ioveta and Joscelin II who are taken hostage). Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi, governor (atabeg) of Mosul, withdraws to Aleppo and is forced to make a truce, leaving the frontier in northern Syria in peace for 18 months.

Europe

• May 23 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, dies of cancer in Utrecht after leading an expedition against King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France and then against the citizens of Worms. Having no legitimate children, Henry leaves his possessions to his nephew, Frederick II ("the One-Eyed"), duke of Swabia. At the Hoftag diet in Regensburg, Lothair, duke of Saxony, is elected King of Germany and crowned at Aachen on September 13.
• Lothair II (supported by Pope Honorius II) asks Frederick II to restore to the crown the estates that he has inherited from Henry V. Frederick refuses, and by year's end a succession dispute breaks out between the House of Welf and the House of Hohenstaufen. The latter is led by Frederick and his brother Conrad III, duke of Franconia.
• King Inge the Younger of Sweden is murdered in Vreta Abbey at the instigation of Queen Ulvhild Håkansdotter after a 20-year reign. Her cousin Magnus I ("the Strong") proclaims himself ruler over the Lands of Sweden (Norrland, Svealand and Gothenland) (until 1134).
• The Republic of Venice pillages the islands of Rhodes, ravages Samos and Lesbos, and occupies Chios (controlled by the Byzantine Empire). The Republic of Florence sacks and conquers the neighboring independent republic of Fiesole in Italy.
• Saracen pirates raid the city of Antibes in Provence and the Benedictine monastery of Saint Honorat on the Lérins Islands (French Riviera).
• The first fair in Portugal is created in Ponte de Lima; it is an early sign of commercialization and economic development.
• King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre leads a Castellan raid in Andalusia (Southern Spain).

England

• King Henry I of England arranges a marriage between his nephew Stephen of Blois and the 20-year-old Matilda, daughter and heiress of Eustace III, count of Boulogne. This gives Stephen control of the County of Boulogne and also lands in England that have belonged to Eustace (who dies on his return from the Holy Land).

Asia

• November – Jin–Song War: Emperor Taizong of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty declares war on the Chinese Song dynasty – and orders his armies to invade Song territory. He sends the Western army to the city of Taiyuan in Shanxi province and the Eastern army to Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng), the Song capital. The Song forces are not expecting an invasion and are caught off guard.
• The Khamag Mongol, a Mongolic tribal confederation, begins to play an important role on the Mongolian Plateau. They occupy the fertile lands of the basins of the rivers Onon, Kherlen and Tuul in the Khentii Mountains.

Africa

• October 3 – Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi, the vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate, is dismissed and imprisoned by Caliph al-Amir.

By topic

Arts

• Albert of Aix, German historian and writer, begins his Historia Hierosolymitanae expeditionis (approximate date).

Education

• March 29 – Reading School is founded in Berkshire in England.

Religion

• A collection of Zen Buddhist koans is compiled, in the Chinese Blue Cliff Record.

1126

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Summer – Emperor John II Komnenos re-confirms the treaty of 1082. This ends the hostilities with Hungary and Venice. John secures Braničevo, and recovers the region of Sirmium on the Danube, but is forced by Venice to renew the exclusive commercial privileges.

Levant

• Spring – The Crusaders under Pons, count of Tripoli, attack the fortress of Rafaniya (once held by Pons' grandfather Raymond IV), which dominates the entry of the Buqaia from the Orontes Valley. They besiege the fortress for 18 days and capture it on March 31.
• Autumn – Bohemond II takes over his inheritance of the Principality of Antioch. He sails from Otranto with a Norman fleet of 24 ships, carrying a number of troops and horses. Bohemond lands at the port of St. Symeon early in October and is welcomed at Antioch.

Europe

• February 18 – Battle of Chlumec: Duke Soběslav I defeats a German army under King Lothair III and his Moravian ally, Duke Otto II the Black. Soběslav becomes the head of the Bohemian Principality.
• March 8 – Queen Urraca of León ("the Reckless") dies after a 17-year reign. She is succeeded by her 21-year-old son Alfonso VII el Emperador who becomes king of León (until 1157).
• Ragnvald Knaphövde, pretender to the Swedish throne, is killed by upset peasants at a local thing. Sweden is without a ruler, but Magnus I ("the Strong") claims sovereignty over Gothenland.
• Summer – King Alfonso the Battler of Aragon and Navarre launches a campaign raid into Granada in Andalusia (modern Spain) against the Almoravids. In the aftermath, the Almoravid deport Jews and Christians from Andalusia to Morocco.
• Winter – King Lothair III makes Henry X ("the Proud"), duke of Bavaria to succeed his late father, Henry IX ("the Black"), who has died on December 13.

Britain

• Shrewsbury Castle is granted by King Henry I to his second wife, Queen Adeliza of Louvain (or Adelicia). The command of the castle is given to William FitzAlan.
• Rutherglen (located in South Lanarkshire) becomes one of the first of the Royal Burghs in Scotland.

Asia

• Spring – In China, scholars and farmers demonstrate around the capital city of Kaifeng, for the restoration of a trusted military official, Li Gang (李綱). Small conflicts erupt between the protestors and the government.
• January 18 – Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty abdicates in favour of his eldest son, Qin Zong after a 24-year reign. Hui Zong assumes the honorary title of Taishang Huang (or "Retired Emperor").
• Jin–Song War: Jurchen forces reach the Yellow River Valley, two days after New Year. Remnants of the court flee south, including much of the populace, and communities such as the Kaifeng Jews.
• January 31 – Jurchen forces lay siege to Kaifeng. Qin Zong negotiates the terms of surrender, agreeing an annual indemnity. He orders Song forces to defend the prefectures of the Northern Song.

By topic

Literature

• Adelard of Bath, an English philosopher, translates Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī's arithmetic and astronomical works into Latin.
• Two previously written Chinese pharmaceutical works, one by Shen Kuo and one by Su Shi, are combined into one written work.

Religion

• Olegarius, archbishop of Tarragona, creates a community of knights (known as the "Confraternity of Tarragona"), to combat the Almoravids in Catalonia.

1127

By place

Europe

• March 2 – Charles the Good, count of Flanders, is murdered by a band of knights while praying in church; he leaves no children. King Louis VI of France appoints William Clito (son of Robert Curthose) as new ruler. But the Flemish towns of Bruges, Ghent, Saint-Omer and Ypres recognize (with English financial support) Thierry of Alsace as rival count.
• Spring – The forces of Alfonso VII of León and Castile begin the Siege of Guimarães, which will end in their withdrawal.
• Summer – King Roger II of Sicily claims the Hauteville possessions in Italy as well the overlordship of Capua. However, a coalition of Norman noblemen in Apulia and Calabria resist (supported by Pope Honorius II) against Sicilian rule. The same year, Roger regains control over Malta after a rebellion. Roger II also establishes a pact with the maritime Republic of Savona to guarantee the security of the Mediterranean Sea, probably following an Almoravid raid against the Sicilian realm.
• December 18 – Conrad III (with support of the imperial cities, Swabia and Austria) is elected and crowned as anti-king of Germany at Nuremberg.

England

• King Henry I of England arranges the marriage of his daughter Matilda (the widow of Emperor Henry V) to the 14-year-old Geoffrey of Anjou (son of Count Fulk V). This is done to ensure an alliance between England and Anjou, and to prevent Fulk allying with Louis VI. Henry has the English nobles swear allegiance to Matilda as the rightful heir to the throne. Upon his death, her cousin Stephen of Blois crosses the channel and usurps her throne, becoming the King of England. She wages a lengthy civil war known as the Anarchy, which lasts from 1135–1154.

Levant

• Imad ad-Din Zengi, a Turkish military leader, becomes governor (atabeg) of Mosul. He seizes the cities of Nisibin, Sinjar and Harran in the Jazira Region (Northern Mesopotamia).

Asia

• January 9 – Jin–Song Wars: Jurchen forces sack the Chinese capital of Kaifeng of the Northern Song dynasty during the Jingkang incident. They capture Emperor Qinzong, along with his father, Huizong, and members of the House of Zhao.
• June 12 – Qinzong's younger brother, the 20-year-old Gaozong, re-establishes the Song dynasty (as the Southern Song dynasty) in Lin'an (modern-day Hangzhou) and is proclaimed emperor.

By topic

Religion

• The Kalyan minaret (as part of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex) is completed in Bukhara (modern Uzbekistan).

1128

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Byzantine–Hungarian War: Emperor John II Komnenos defeats the Hungarians and their Serbian allies at the fortress of Haram (or Chramon), which is modern-day Nova Palanka.

Europe

• June 24 – Battle of São Mamede: Count Alfonso I (Henriques) defeats the forces led by his mother, Queen Theresa of Portugal, near Guimarães, and gains control of the county. Alfonso styles himself "Prince of Portugal".
• June 29 – Conrad III, anti-king of Germany, is crowned "King of Italy" by Archbishop Anselmo della Pusterla at Monza in Lombardy.
• July 27 – The city of Bruges (modern Belgium) is founded. It receives its city charter – as well new walls, and canals are built.
• Pope Honorius II invests Roger II of Sicily as duke of Apulia at Benevento, after his failure to form an coalition against Roger.
• King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France agrees to the accession of Thierry of Alsace (or Theoderic), as count of Flanders.

England

• June 17 – King Henry I of England marries his only legitimate daughter, dowager Empress Matilda, to the 14-year-old Geoffrey Plantagenet ("the Fair"), count of Anjou.

Britain

• Hugues de Payens, French Grand Master of the Order of the Knights Templar, visits both England and Scotland, where he raises men and money for the Order.

Asia

• Jin–Song Wars: Emperor Gaozong of the Song dynasty establishes a new capital at Yangzhou, while the government retreats south, after Jurchen forces capture the previous capital of Kaifeng in the Jingkang Incident.
• Forces of the kingdom of Champa invade Vietnam.

By topic

Religion

• November 24 – Waverley Abbey is founded by Bishop William Giffard in the south of England. The first abbot and 12 Cistercian monks are brought from L'Aumône Abbey in Normandy.
• Honorius II recognizes and confirms the Order of the Knights Templar. The French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux codifies the rule of the Order.
• Holyrood Abbey is founded in Edinburgh by King David I of Scotland.
• Kelso Abbey is founded by Scottish monks of the Tironensian Order.

1129

By place

Europe

• April 14 – Following the Capetian tradition, King Louis VI (the Fat) has his eldest son Philip crowned as co-ruler of France at Rheims Cathedral. Louis himself becomes the national protector of all France.
• June 2 – Fulk V, count of Anjou, marries Melisende (daughter of King Baldwin II) the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Fulk gives up his title which passes to his 15-year-old son, Geoffrey V (the Fair).
• September – Roger II of Sicily gains recognition as duke at Melfi from the Norman nobles of Naples, Bari, Capua, Salerno and other cities that have resisted him.
• Burgsteinfurt Castle is built in what is now Steinfurt (modern Germany).

Asia

• Jin–Song War: Emperor Gao Zong of the Song dynasty moves the capital from Yangzhou to Hangzhou, after the Jurchen Jin dynasty captures Kaifeng in the Jingkang Incident.
• March 26 – Gao Zong abdicates the throne after a mutiny of the palace guard. His 2-year-old son Zhao Fu succeeds him, but Empress Meng becomes regent and the sole ruler.
• April 20 – Gao Zong regains the throne (with the support of the imperial army led by General Han Shizhong). Zhao Fu is forced to abdicate with Meng having ruled for 25 days.
• July 24 – Former Emperor Shirakawa dies at his native Kyoto. His son Toba begins his cloistered rule, sharing power with Sutoku, a grandson of Shirakawa.

By topic

Religion

• January 23 – Henry of Blois becomes bishop of Winchester after the death of William Giffard (who was also Lord Chancellor to King Henry I) in England.