Directory

1162 CE

King Henry II has his chancellor Thomas Becket elected to succeed the late Theobald of Bec as archbishop of Canterbury. He accepts the pallium sent by Pope Alexander III. Norwegian forces supporting 6-year-old Magnus V (Erlingsson) defeat the 15-year-old King Haakon II (Sigurdsson), who is killed in battle in Romsdal after a 5-year reign. Ladislaus II, duke of Bosnia, is declared king of Hungary and Croatia. He is crowned by Archbishop Mikó and grants one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen IV.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • July 24 – Emperor Gaozong of Song becomes embroiled in war again as hostilities resume with the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (or "Great Jin") after 21 years of peace. Another peace treaty is signed, Gao abdicates the throne in favor of his adopted son Xiaozong. The smaller Southern Song empire becomes richer than the Song dynasty.source

Conflict & Security

  • March 6 – German forces led by Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, capture Milan; much of the city is destroyed three weeks later on the emperor's orders. The fortifications are demolished and the churches are destroyed. The population is dispersed, and the commune abolished. The fate of Milan leads to the submission of Brescia, Piacenza, and many other northern Italian cities.source
  • July 7 – Norwegian forces supporting 6-year-old Magnus V (Erlingsson) defeat the 15-year-old King Haakon II (Sigurdsson), who is killed in battle in Romsdal after a 5-year reign.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Egyptian military commander Shawar appointed Vizier of Egypt.source

Religion & Belief

  • June 3 – King Henry II has his chancellor Thomas Becket elected to succeed the late Theobald of Bec as archbishop of Canterbury. He accepts the pallium sent by Pope Alexander III.source
  • July 15 – Ladislaus II, duke of Bosnia, is declared king of Hungary and Croatia. He is crowned by Archbishop Mikó and grants one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen IV.source

Culture & Society

  • The Beisi Pagoda (or North Temple Pagoda) is completed during the Song dynasty in China.source

Births

  • March 5 – Ogasawara Nagakiyo, Japanese warrior (d. 1242)source
  • March 11 – Theodoric I, margrave of Meissen (d. 1221)source
  • June 20 – Benchō, Japanese Buddhist patriarch (d. 1238)source
  • June 30 – Yang (or Gongsheng), Chinese empress (d. 1233)source
  • Fujiwara no Teika, Japanese poet and calligrapher (d. 1241)source
  • Renier of Montferrat, Byzantine politician (d. 1183)source
  • Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Abbasid traveler and writer (d. 1231)source
  • Gebre Mesqel Lalibela, ruler of the Ethiopian Empire (d. 1221)source
  • Guillem de Cabestany, Spanish troubadour (d. 1212)source
  • Geoffrey Fitz Peter, 1st Earl of Essex (approximate date)source
  • Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire (d. 1227)source
  • Kajiwara Kagesue, Japanese nobleman (d. 1200)source

Deaths

  • February 18 – Theotonius, Portuguese advisor (b. 1082)source
  • May 31 – Géza II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1130)source
  • July 7 – Haakon II (Sigurdsson), king of Norway (b. 1147)source
  • July 29 – Guigues V, count of Albon and Grenoble (b. 1125)source
  • July 31 – Fujiwara no Tadazane, Japanese nobleman (b. 1078)source
  • August 6 – Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona (b. 1114)source
  • September 27 – Odo II, duke of Burgundy (b. 1118)source
  • Odo of Deuil (or Eudes), French abbot and historiansource
  • The Almohad emir, Abd al-Mu'min, prepares a gigantic fleet of some four hundred ships to invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain). He dies the following year, before the fleet is completed.source
  • Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, Norman nobleman and knightsource
  • Angharad ferch Owain, queen consort of Gwynedd (b. 1065)source
  • Tiantong Zongjue, Chinese Buddhist monk (b. 1091)source
  • Ibn Zuhr (or Avenzoar), Moorish physician (b. 1094)source
  • Richard de Belmeis II, English bishop and politiciansource