Directory

1214 CE

Upon the death of their father, King Alfonso VIII of Castile ("the Noble"), and of their mother, Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile on October 31, Berenguela becomes regent of her 10-year-old brother, Henry I. Siege of Sinope: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Kaykaus I capture the strategic Black Sea port city of Sinope – at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond (one of the Byzantine successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade). Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond leads an army to break the siege, but he is defeated and captured. His capture forces the Byzantines to accept tributary status to Kaykaus. A group of English nobles, after finding a copy of the Charter of Liberties, swear an oath at the altar of Bury St Edmunds, to force King John to acknowledge their rights.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • September 18 – Treaty of Chinon: John of England makes a truce with Philip II at the Castle of Chinon, and recognizes the Capetian (French) territorial gains at the expense of the Angevin Empire.source

Conflict & Security

  • June – Otto IV arrives in Flanders with a small army; four German nobles have joined him, but he is soon reinforced by troops of Renaud I, duke of Boulogne, Ferdinand, (jure uxoris) count of Flanders and the mercenaries under William Longespée. On July 26, Philip II arrives at the Flemish town of Tournai with his army (some 7,000 men), while the allied forces encamp 12 kilometers south at the Castle of Mortagne (France).source
  • July 27 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II defeats an army (some 9,000 men) of German, English and Flemish soldiers led by Otto IV near Bouvines, ending the Anglo-French War. The French forces have taken a considerable number of soldiers prisoner, including 131 knights and five counts with Ferdinand, Renaud I and William Longespée among them.source
  • November 1 – Siege of Sinope: The Seljuk Turks under Sultan Kaykaus I capture the strategic Black Sea port city of Sinope – at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond (one of the Byzantine successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade). Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond leads an army to break the siege, but he is defeated and captured. His capture forces the Byzantines to accept tributary status to Kaykaus.source
  • In his campaigns in Liaodong, the Mongol general Muqali (or Mukhali) forms a newly Khitan-Chinese army and a special corps of some 12,000 Chinese auxiliary troops.source
  • Spring – Emperor Xuan Zong of the Jurchen-led Chinese Jin dynasty surrenders to the Mongols under Genghis khan – who have besieged the capital of Zhongdu (modern-day Beijing) for a year. He is forced to pay tribute (including some 3,000 horses, 10,000 'bolts' of silk and his daughter), along with subjugation to the Mongol Khan. Xuan Zong abandons northern China and moves his court to Kaifeng.source
  • After securing all Jin lands north of the Yellow River, Genghis Khan receives a message that Xuan Zong has moved his capital to Kaifeng. He returns to Zhongdu and precedes the city with the help of thousands of Chinese engineers. The Mongols starve the city out (the inhabitants are forced to eat the dead). The garrison, with a short supply of ammunition for the cannons holds out for the winter.source

Religion & Belief

  • April 13 – Simon of Apulia is elected bishop of Exeter in England (approximate date).source
  • June 20 – A papal ordinance defines the rights of the scholars at the University of Oxford in England.source
  • July 2 – The Papal Interdict of 1208, laid against the Kingdom of England, is lifted.source

Culture & Society

  • November 20 – A group of English nobles, after finding a copy of the Charter of Liberties, swear an oath at the altar of Bury St Edmunds, to force King John to acknowledge their rights.source

Births

  • April 25 – Louis IX ("the Saint"), king of France (d. 1270)source
  • July 29 – Sturla Þórðarson, Icelandic chieftain (d. 1284)source
  • Ugolino della Gherardesca, Italian nobleman (approximate date) (d. 1289)source
  • Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1241)source
  • Alberto da Bergamo, Italian Dominican tertiary (d. 1279)source
  • Ottaviano degli Ubaldini, Italian cardinal (d. 1273)source
  • Al-Qurtubi, Moorish scholar, jurist and writer (d. 1273)source

Deaths

  • January 25 – Taira no Tokuko, Japanese empress (b. 1155)source
  • February 13 – Theobald I, Count of Bar (or Thibauld), French noblemansource
  • April 16 or 26 – Henry VI, Count Palatine of the Rhine ("the Younger"), German nobleman (b. 1196)source
  • April 21 – John of Ford, English Cistercian prior and abbotsource
  • June 24 – Gilbert Glanvill (or Glanville), bishop of Rochestersource
  • August 18 – Pedro Fernández de Castro, Spanish noblemansource
  • August 30 – Peter of Capua the Elder, Italian cardinal and papal legatesource
  • September 14 – Albert of Vercelli, Latin patriarch of Jerusalemsource
  • September 16 – Diego López II de Haro, Spanish nobleman (b. 1152)source
  • October 5 – Upon the death of their father, King Alfonso VIII of Castile ("the Noble"), and of their mother, Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile on October 31, Berenguela becomes regent of her 10-year-old brother, Henry I.source
  • October 18 – John de Gray (or de Grey), bishop of Norwichsource
  • October 31 – Eleanor of England, queen of Castile (b. 1161)source
  • December 4 – King William the Lion of Scotland dies after a 49-year reign at Stirling. He is succeeded by his son, Alexander II, who is crowned at Scone (until 1249).source
  • December 8 – Sasaki Takatsuna, Japanese samurai (b. 1160)source