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August 24 – After touring an army through Aquitaine to assert his right to it, John of England marries 12-year-old Isabella of Angoulême at Bordeaux.
The Iroquois invade modern-day Ohio from the north.
The Mongols defeat Northern China.
The University of Paris receives its charter from Philip II of France.
The rebel Ivanko is captured and executed by the Byzantine general Alexios Palaiologos
July 31 – Attempted usurpation of the throne of the Byzantine Empire by John Komnenos the Fat; he is overthrown and decapitated by the end of the day.
John, King of England, puts an embargo on wheat exported to Flanders in an attempt to force an allegiance between the states. He also puts a levy of a fifteenth on the value of cargo exported to France, and disallows the export of wool to France without a special license. The levies are enforced in each port by at least six men, including one churchman and one knight. John also affirms this year that judgements made by the court of Westminster are as valid as those made "before the king himself or his chief justice".
The town of Riga is chartered as a city by Albert of Buxhoeveden, Bishop of Livonia, who'd landed on the site with 1,500 crusaders earlier in the year.
Boniface, Marquess of Montferrat is elected leader of the Fourth Crusade, after the death of Theobald III, Count of Champagne.
Pope Innocent III supports Otto IV as Holy Roman Emperor, against the rival Emperor, Philip of Swabia.
Asia
May 20 – Earthquake strikes in Syria.
Genghis Khan crushes the Tatars.
Europe
May–October – Fourth Crusade gathers in Venice.
July – John, King of England rescues his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, from near capture by the rebellious forces of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany.
July 27 – Georgians defeat the Seljuqids of Rüm at the Battle of Basian.
August 1 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany is captured in Mirebeau, north of Poitiers, during a battle with John, King of England.
November 10–23 – Fourth Crusade – Siege of Zara: In the first major action of the Crusade, the Crusaders besiege and conquer Zadar in Dalmatia. Unable to pay the Republic of Venice in cash for its contributions to the Crusade, the Crusaders agree to sack the city (an economic rival to Venice) despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication (which is carried out at the urging of Emeric, King of Hungary). This is the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic Crusaders.
The Almohad fleet expels the Banu Ghaniya from the Balearic Islands.
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword is founded to support a crusade against the inhabitants of Medieval Livonia.
Pope Innocent III reasserts his right to evaluate and crown the Holy Roman Emperor, in a letter to Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen.
Culture
Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa writes Liber Abaci, about the modus Indorum, the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, including use of zero; it is the first major work in Europe to move away from the use of Roman numerals.
Approximate date – The first jesters are hired in European courts.
Religion
The Rueda Abbey is founded by Cistercians at Sástago in the Kingdom of Aragon (modern-day Spain).
Asia
Minamoto no Sanetomo becomes shogun of the Kamakura shogunate
Europe
April 16 – Philip II of France enters Rouen, leading to the eventual unification of Normandy and France.
William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber becomes the guardian of Arthur I, Duke of Brittany, and is possibly responsible for his death.
Battle of Basiani: The Georgians defeat a Muslim coalition.
The Almohads begin the conquest of the Balearic Islands.
The troops of the Fourth Crusade reach the Byzantine heartland:
June 23 – The Fleet of the crusaders enters the Bosphorus.
July 17 – The armies of the Fourth Crusade capture Constantinople by assault; the Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile.
August 1 – The Fourth Crusade elevates Alexios IV Angelos as Byzantine emperor, after the citizens of Constantinople proclaim as emperor Isaac II Angelos (Alexius IV's father).
Oeselians ravage Danish Scania. Later the returning pirates skirmish with the German settlers of Riga near Visby in Gotland.
Markets
First evidence that the Temple in London is extending loans to the king of England. The sums remained relatively small but were often used for critical operations such as the ransoming of the king’s soldiers captured by the French.
Religion
April 8 – Congress of Bilino Polje: Ban Kulin officially declares his allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church and denounces heresy.
The Temple of Nataraja is completed at Chidambaram in India.
Foundation of the Benedictine abbey of Iona by Ragnall mac Somairle on previous Columban site.
January – Four-year-old Guttorm is proclaimed King of Norway; his "reign" ends with his death a few months later.
January 28 – Byzantine emperor Alexios IV Angelos is overthrown in a revolution.
February 5 – Alexios V Doukas is proclaimed Byzantine emperor.
April 13 – Fourth Crusade: The Crusaders take Constantinople by storm, and pillage the city for 3 days. Forces of the Republic of Venice seize the antique statues that will become the horses of Saint Mark.
May 16 – Baldwin, Count of Flanders is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire a week after his election by the members of the Fourth Crusade.
Theodore I Laskaris flees to Nicaea after the capture of Constantinople, and establishes the Empire of Nicaea; Byzantine successor states are also established in Epirus and Trebizond.
Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat, a leader of the Fourth Crusade, founds the Kingdom of Thessalonica.
The writings of French theologian Amalric of Bena are condemned by the University of Paris and Pope Innocent III.
Tsar Kaloyan is recognized as king of Bulgaria by Pope Innocent III after the creation of the Bulgarian Uniate church.
Valdemar II of Denmark, is recognized as king in Norway.
Angers and Normandy are captured by Philip II of France.
The Cistercian convent of Port-Royal-des-Champs is established.
The district of Cham becomes subject to Bavaria.
Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia submits to Philip of Swabia.
Beaulieu Abbey is founded.
The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey decide, after a plebiscite of wealthy land owners, to remain with the English crown after Normandy is recaptured by Philip II of France.
Africa
The general Muhammad al_Inti b. Abi Hafs establishes the Almohad domination over the eastern parts of Ifriqiya and enters in Tripoli.
Asia
Theodore I Laskaris is proclaimed Byzantine Emperor, formally founding the Empire of Nicaea, after repelling the invasions of rivals David Komnenos and Manuel Maurozomes into his domains.
Europe
January 6 – Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans.
April 14 – The Bulgarians defeat the Latins in the Battle of Adrianople.
Anjou is conquered by Philip II of France. Fearing a French invasion of England itself, John of England requires every English male over 12 to enter an association "for the general defence of the realm and the preservation of peace".
Othon de la Roche founds the Duchy of Athens.
William of Wrotham, Lord Warden of the Stannaries of England, oversees a reform of English currency. In keeping with other high-ranking bureaucrats of his time and place, this is just one of Wrotham's many offices: he is also Keeper of the King's Ports & Galleys, supervisor of the mints of Canterbury and London, ward of the vacant Diocese of Bath and Wells, an archdeacon of Taunton, a canon of Wells, and will serve the following year as a circuit judge.
Religion
July 15 – Pope lays down the principle that Jews are doomed to perpetual servitude because they had crucified Jesus.
Asia
Temüjin is proclaimed Genghis Khan of the Mongol people, founding the Mongol Empire.
Mukhali is appointed myriarch of the left wing of the newly reorganized Mongol army, and granted immunity for up to 9 breaches of the law.
Qutb-ud-din Aybak, a Turkish mameluke from Central Asia proclaims the Mameluk dynasty in India, the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.
Europe
Theodore Lascaris is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Nicaea.
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword, in alliance with the Semigallians, conquer Livs.
King Valdemar II and Archbishop Andreas Sunonis raid Saaremaa Island, Estonia, forcing the islanders to submit. The Danes build a fortress, but finding no volunteers to man it, they burn it down themselves and leave the island.
Arts and culture
Sugar, an import from the Muslim world, is mentioned for the first time in a royal English account. Almonds, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are also imported for royal banquets.
Education
Colchester Royal Grammar School founded in England.
Religion
Foundation of the Order of the Friars Minor by Francis of Assisi.
A peasant named Thurkhill in England claims that Saint Julian took him on a tour of Purgatory. Thurkhill includes realistic touches including descriptions of Purgatory’s torture chambers, and is believed by Roger of Wendover, one of his society’s leading historians.
This year, Dominic de Guzmán claims to have received the Holy Rosary from the Virgin Mary.
Technics
The Arab engineer al-Jazari describes many mechanical inventions in his book (title translated to English) The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.
Asia
Before 1207 – Kosho makes Kuya Preaching. Kamakura period. It is now kept at Rokuhara Mitsu-ji, Kyoto.
Hōnen and his followers are exiled to remote parts of Japan, while a few are executed, for what the government considers heretical Buddhist teachings.
Europe
February 2 – Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, is established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire.
November – Leeds, a market town in England, receives its first charter.
Pope Innocent III declares for Philip of Swabia as Holy Roman Emperor, a reversal of his previous support for Otto IV.
King John issues letters patent creating the new Borough of Liverpool.
Markets
First evidence of forced loans in Venice. This technique becomes the staple of public finance in Europe until the 16th century.
Religion
June 17 – Stephen Langton is consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Innocent III.
Asia
April 15 – A fire breaks out in the Song Chinese capital city of Hangzhou, raging for 4 days and nights, destroying 58,097 houses over an area of more than 3 miles, killing 59 people, and an unrecorded number of other people who are trampled while attempting to flee. The government provides temporary lodging for 5,345 people in nearby Buddhist and Taoist monasteries. The collective victims of the disaster are given 160,000 strings of cash, along with 400 tons of rice. Some of the government officials who lost their homes take up residence in rented boathouses on the nearby West Lake.
Europe
January 15 – Peter of Castelnau is killed by a vassal of Raymond VI of Toulouse, who is held responsible and excommunicated by Pope Innocent III.
January 31 – Inferior Swedish forces defeat the invading Danes in the Battle of Lena and king Sverker the Younger is deposed as king of Sweden. He is succeeded by his rival Erik Knutsson.
March 24 – Pope Innocent III places England under an interdict as punishment for King John of England rejecting his choice for Archbishop of Canterbury. Under the interdict, Church sacraments including marriage and consecrated burial are probably stopped, but there is no sign of the popular discontent which interdicts are intended to produce over the next several years.
June 21 – Philip of Swabia, King of Germany and rival to Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV, is assassinated in Bamberg by German Count Otto of Wittelsbach, because Philip had refused to give him his daughter in marriage.
Livonian Crusade: With the help of the newly converted local tribes of Livs and Letts, the crusader Livonian Brothers of the Sword initiate raids into Ugandi County in southern Estonia. The resulting Estonian ancient fight for independence lasts until 1227.
Arts and culture
Robert of Courçon writes his Summa.
Asia
Genghis Khan conquers Western Xia.
The army of the Kingdom of Georgia raids the Muslim principalities in north Iran.
Europe
The Albigensian Crusade is launched against the Cathars.
July 22 – Massacre at Béziers: Simon de Monfort, leader of the Crusade, sacks Béziers, killing many Cathars and Catholics alike.
August – Simon de Monfort takes over Carcassonne.
May – The First Parliament of Ravennika is held.
June – Treaty of Sapienza: the Republic of Venice recognizes the possession of the Peloponnese by the Prince of Achaea, Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, and keeps only the fortresses of Modon and Coron.
November – John of England is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III. Despite the excommunication, John will continue to make amends to the Church, including giving alms to the poor whenever he defiles a holy day by hunting during it. This year, he feeds a hundred paupers to make up for when he "went into the woods on the feast of St. Mary Magdalen" and three years from now, he will feast 450 paupers "because the king went to take cranes, and he took nine, for each of which he feasted fifty paupers."
London Bridge is completed.
Black Monday, Dublin: A group of 500 recently arrived settlers from Bristol are massacred by warriors of the Gaelic O'Byrne clan. The group leaves the safety of the walled city of Dublin to celebrate Easter Monday near a wood at Ranelagh and are attacked without warning. Although in modern times a relatively obscure event in history, it is commemorated by a mustering of the Mayor, Sheriffs and soldiers on the day as a challenge to the native tribes for centuries afterwards.
Education
Cambridge University is founded.
Markets
Philippe Auguste of France grants a "conduit" to merchants going to the Champagne fairs guaranteeing the safety of their travel as any attempt made against them is now to be considered as a crime of lese-majesty. The decision increases again the appeal of the fairs to merchants from Italy and the Low Countries.
Formation of the banking firm known as the Gran Tavola, most of the partners are members of the Bonsignori family.
Religion
The Franciscan Order is founded.
1200s (decade) Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
