Europe
Cubbie Roo's Castle is built on Wyre, Orkney.
A Benedictine priory is founded at Birkenhead, England, resulting in the first recorded Mersey Ferry.
Christchurch Priory is founded in Dorset, England.
Castle Rising is built in Norfolk, England by William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel.
The University of Paris, now known as the Sorbonne, is founded.
Christian Malone writes his Irish Chronology (Chronicum Scotorum).
The city of Neuruppin is founded in Brandenburg, Germany.
The city of Rinteln is founded in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Middle Dutch begins to be spoken in the Low Countries.
Peter the Lombard publishes Sentences.
Foundation of Dryburgh Abbey by Hugh de Morville, Lord of Cunningham the Constable of Scotland
The first doctorate degree is awarded in Paris, France.
Battle of Tara, fought between the Byzantine Empire and Serbian Grand Principality backed by the Kingdom of Hungary.
Middle East
Joscelin II of Edessa is taken prisoner during the Second Crusade.
The city of Ashkelon is fortified with 53 towers by Fatimid rulers.
The earliest textual reference is made to Gypsies working as musicians in Constantinople.
Asia
The temple at Angkor Wat is completed in Khmer (present-day Cambodia).
September 7 – Geoffrey of Anjou dies, and is succeeded by his son Henry, aged 18.
After the Battle of Ghazni the city is burned by the prince of Ghur.
The first plague and fire insurance policy is issued in Iceland.
Bolton Abbey is founded in North Yorkshire, England.
Anping Bridge is completed in China's Fujian province. Its total length will not be exceeded until 1846.
Confronted with internal strife, the commune of Bologna is the first Italian republic to turn to the rule of a podestà, Guido di Ranieri da Sasso (ends in 1155).
Africa
The Almohad Dynasty conquers the Maghrib al-Awsat, nowadays Algeria. Béjaïa becomes one of the main naval bases of the dynasty.
The Normans control most of the coast of Ifriqiya, nowadays Tunisia.
Asia
Aladdin of Ghur sacks Ghazni and destroys the Ghaznavid Empire.
March 31 – King Baldwin III of Jerusalem exiles his mother Melisende, with whom he has been jointly reigning, to Nablus.
Europe
March 4 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of the Germans.
May 18 – Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Henry of Anjou after getting her previous marriage to Louis VII annulled. Henry had claimed the County of Anjou, the County of Maine, and the province of Touraine upon the death of his father Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, the previous year. With the addition of Eleanor's lands, he now controls territory stretching unbroken from Cherbourg to Bayonne.
The Church of Ireland acknowledges the Pope's authority.
The archbishopric of Nidaros (Trondheim), Norway is established.
The town of Gorodets (modern Russia) is founded by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy.
The Synod of Kells-Mellifont established the present diocesan system of Ireland (with later modifications) and recognized the primacy of Armagh.
Africa
With the support of Muslim troops, the Normans suppress a rebellion in Sicilian-controlled island of Djerba and invade the island of Kerkenna.
Asia
Taira no Kiyomori assumes control of the Taira clan.
Islam is introduced to the Maldives.
=Middle East=
August 19 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem takes control of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from his mother Melisende, and also captures Ascalon.
Andronikos I Komnenos is imprisoned for conspiring against Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Raynald of Châtillon marries Constance of Antioch and becomes Prince of Antioch.
Europe
January 6 – Henry of Anjou arrives in England hoping to dethrone the reigning monarch, Stephen of England, and replace him with Henry's mother, Empress Matilda.
May 24 – Malcolm IV succeeds his grandfather as King of Scotland at the age of 12 and on May 27 is crowned at Scone Priory.
November 6 – The Treaty of Wallingford, under the direction of Theobald of Bec, reconciles Stephen of England and Matilda, ending "The Anarchy" which has occurred during their fight for the throne of England. The treaty grants the throne to Stephen for the duration of his life, but makes Matilda's son, Henry of Anjou, the heir apparent.
The city of Oberglatt (in modern-day Switzerland) is first mentioned in written literature.
Confronted with important financial difficulty due to the expenses of its Spanish crusade, the Republic of Genoa has to sell the city of Tortosa to the count of Barcelona, which had been conquered in 1148 during that same crusade.
Demography
Estimation: Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Merv in the Seljuk Empire.
Religion
July 12 – Pope Anastasius IV succeeds Pope Eugene III as the 168th pope.
Africa
Series of Norman raids in North Africa, including Annaba (Algeria) and the Nile Delta.
Asia
April 23 – Nur ad-Din Zangi gains control of Damascus, uniting Syria under one ruler.
(around): Nur ad-Din Zangi establishes the al-Nuri hospital in Damascus.
Europe
February 26 - Roger II of Sicily dies at Palermo . He is succeeded by his youngest son, William I of Sicily.
October 25 – Stephen, King of England dies at Dover, and is succeeded by Henry Plantagenet, the son of his cousin Matilda.
December 14 – Pope Adrian IV (also known as Hadrian IV) succeeds Pope Anastasius IV as the 169th pope. Born Nicholas Breakspear, he is the only English pope in history.
December 19 – King Henry II of England, aged 21, is crowned along with his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine.
The Château de Chinon is built by Theobald I, Count of Blois.
The Almohad army conquers the last independent Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, after six years of siege.
Birmingham, England, and the Birmingham Bull Ring are founded.
Bosnia becomes an autonomous duchy.
Belgrade is rebuilt by Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos.
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is first marked on the world map by Muhammad al-Idrisi.
Arts and culture
January 15 – Muhammad al-Idrisi completes his atlas of the world, the Tabula Rogeriana, which will remain one of the most accurate maps until the Age of Discovery.
Asia
Emperor Go-Shirakawa ascends to the throne of Japan.
Europe
June 18 – Frederick I Barbarossa is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
The city of Bari rebels against the king of Sicily and recognizes the Byzantine emperor, Manuel I, as its overlord.
The city of Bristol, UK (Brigstow) given a Royal Charter.
The Papal bull Laudabiliter gives the King of England lordship over Ireland.
Theotokos of Vladimir is taken to Vladimir from Suzdal.
Religion
Robert of Chichester becomes Bishop of Exeter.
Africa
Revolt of Sfax against the Norman occupiers and massacre of the Christians found in the city.
Asia
The Hōgen Rebellion erupts in Japan.
Europe
January 20 – According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland.
December 25 – King Sverker the Elder is murdered on his way to church and is soon succeeded as king of Sweden by his rival Eric Jedvardsson.
Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy founds and fortifies Moscow.
The Privilegium Minus elevates Austria to the status of a duchy ruled by the Babenburgs family.
Mosan artists create the Stavelot Triptych, a masterpiece of goldsmithing, as a reliquary to house purported pieces of the True Cross.
A rebellion breaks out against William I of Sicily, and the Byzantine Empire, encouraged by Pope Adrian IV, invades Apulia. William II crushes the rebellion, defeats the Byzantine armies at Brindisi, and humbles the Pope at Benevento. The city of Bari is laid to waste for the coming ten years.
Raynald of Châtillon sacks Cyprus.
Religion
The Carmelite Order is established.
January 12–March 16 – Caliph Al-Muqtafi successfully defended Baghdad against the coalition forces of Sultan Muhammad of Hamadan, and Atabeg Qutb-adin of Mosul.
Albert I of Brandenburg begins his ruthless program to pacify the Slavic region.
June 11 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called, The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first Margrave.
August 21 – Sancho III and Ferdinand II, the sons of King Alfonso VII of Castile, divide his kingdom between them upon his death.
October 23 – Battle of Grathe Heath: A civil war in Denmark ends with the death of King Sweyn III. Valdemar I of Denmark becomes king of all Denmark and restores and rebuilds the country.
Henry II of England grants a charter to the merchants of Lincoln (approximate date).
Henry II of England invades Wales and is defeated at the Battle of Ewloe by Owain Gwynedd.
Nur ad-Din Zengi besieged the Knights Hospitaller in the crusader fortress of Banyas, routed a relief army led by King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, and took Grand Master Bertrand de Blanquefort prisoner.
Asia
Emperor Nijō formally succeeds Emperor Go-Shirakawa on the throne of Japan; Go-Shirikawa continues a cloistered rule until his death in 1192.
Europe
January 11 – Vladislav II becomes king of Bohemia.
November 29 – Eleanor of Aquitaine arrives in Salisbury, Wiltshire on royal business.
The Diet of Roncaglia is convoked by Frederick Barbarossa.
The newborn Margaret of France is shipped to England as the future wife of the three-year-old Henry the Young King. The Vexin region is promised as her dowry & is put under the care of the Knights Templar until her future husband is old enough to take control of it.
Margrave Ottokar III of Styria inherits the County of Pitten.
The Portuguese conquer Palmela, Alcácer do Sal and Sesimbra from the diminished Almoravids.
Spain: Raymundo, abbot of the Fitero Abbey (Navarra), pledges to defend the fortress of Calatrava from incoming Muslim raiders. It is the founding moment of the Order of Calatrava, the spearhead of the Iberian armies during the Reconquista.
Economy
British Pound Sterling (currency) is introduced.
Education
The University of Bologna is granted its first privileges by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
Religion
The Diocese of Derry is founded in Ireland.
In the Roman Catholic Church, cardinals are given the right to elect the Pope. Prior to this, the pope has been elected by the clergy and congregation of the church.
September 7 – Pope Alexander III succeeds Pope Adrian IV as the 170th pope.
The Heiji Rebellion breaks out in Japan.
Tunis is reconquered from the Normans by the Almohad caliphs.
Approximate date - Churchman Richard FitzNeal is appointed Lord High Treasurer in England in charge of Henry II of England's Exchequer, an office he will hold for almost 40 years.
