Directory

1221 CE

The Jewish population of Erfurt (Duchy of Thuringia) is massacred after a ritual murder libel. A crowd storms the synagogue where the Jews have gathered with the threat of baptism or death. The Jewish quarter, including the synagogue, is razed: many Jews are tortured and killed. The 9-year-old Go-Horikawa ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan. He is a grandson of the late Emperor Takakura and a nephew of the exiled Go-Toba. Battle of the Indus: Left with some 20,000 men, Jalal al-Din Mangburni has headed for the Indus River where Genghis catches up with him. In a desperate battle the Khwarezmain forces are destroyed, completing the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, while Jalal al-Din flees across the river and escapes into India.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • May 13 – Emperor Juntoku is forced to abdicate, and is briefly succeeded by his 2-year-old son Chūkyō on the throne of Japan. Ex-Emperor Go-Toba leads the unsuccessful Jōkyū War against the Kamakura shogunate.source

Conflict & Security

  • February – The cities of Merv (perhaps the world's largest up to this date), Herat and Nishapur which have peacefully surrendered rise up in arms. Genghis Khan sends his son Tolui to spend an extra month to subdue the revolts. Contemporary scholars report over a million people are systematically killed in a genocide.source
  • July 4 – Pelagius orders a three-days fast in preparation for the advance. King John I of Jerusalem arrives at Damietta to rejoin the Crusade at the command of Honorius III. The Crusader force moves towards Sheremsah, halfway between Faraskur and Mansoura on the east bank of the Nile, occupying the city on July 12. Sources tell of 630 ships of various sizes, 5,000 knights, 4,000 archers, and 40,000 men. A horde of pilgrims march with the army. They are ordered to keep close to the river, to supply the Crusaders with water. Pelagius plans a new offensive and leaves a large garrison at Damietta.source
  • August 28 – Pelagius sues for peace and sends an envoy to Al-Kamil. The terms of surrender are accepted, which includes the retreat from Damietta – leaving Egypt with the remnants of the Crusader army and an 8-year truce. After prisoners are exchanged, Al-Kamil enters Damietta on September 8. The Fifth Crusade ends with nothing gained for the West, with much lost, men, resources and reputations. The Crusaders blame Frederick II for not being there. Pelagius is accused of ineffectual leadership and a misguided view, which has led to rejecting the sultan's peace offerings.source
  • October – The Mongol army raids Georgia for the second time, and Subutai and Jebe allow their forces to pass through the Caucasus Mountains.source
  • November 24 – Battle of the Indus: Left with some 20,000 men, Jalal al-Din Mangburni has headed for the Indus River where Genghis catches up with him. In a desperate battle the Khwarezmain forces are destroyed, completing the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, while Jalal al-Din flees across the river and escapes into India.source
  • The Maya of the Yucatán revolt against the rulers of Chichen Itza.source
  • Siege of Tallinn: An Estonian Crusader army tries to conquer the Danish stronghold of Tallinn with the help of Revalians, Harrians and Vironians. They besiege the stronghold for 14 days but finally retreat their forces.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • July 24 – Pelagius moves the Crusader forces near Ashmun al-Rumman, on the opposite bank from Mansoura. Queen-Regent Alice of Cyprus and leaders of the military orders warn Pelagius of a large Muslim army being formed in Syria. Meanwhile, the Egyptian army under Al-Kamil crosses the Nile near Lake Manzaleh and establishes themselves between the Crusader camp and Damietta. In the Ushmum canal at Sheremsah, Al-Kamil's ships sail down the Nile and block the Crusaders' line of communications to Damietta. In August, Pelagius orders a retreat, but the route is cut off by Egyptians.source

Crime & Justice

  • June 16 – The Jewish population of Erfurt (Duchy of Thuringia) is massacred after a ritual murder libel. A crowd storms the synagogue where the Jews have gathered with the threat of baptism or death. The Jewish quarter, including the synagogue, is razed: many Jews are tortured and killed.source

Culture & Society

  • June 21 – 10-year-old Joan of England, eldest daughter of the late King John, marries the 21-year-old King Alexander II of Scotland at York Minster.source
  • July 29 – The 9-year-old Go-Horikawa ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Kyoto Imperial Palace in Japan. He is a grandson of the late Emperor Takakura and a nephew of the exiled Go-Toba.source

Births

  • May 13 – Alexander Nevsky, Kievan Grand Prince (d. 1263)source
  • June 4 – Przemysł I, Polish nobleman and knight (d. 1257)source
  • October 9 – Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler (d. 1290)source
  • November 2 – Saif al-Din Qutuz, Egyptian military leader (d. 1260)source
  • November 23 – Alfonso X ("the Wise"), king of Castile (d. 1284)source
  • Hugh XI of Lusignan, French nobleman and knight (d. 1250)source
  • Bonaventure, Italian theologian and philosopher (d. 1274)source
  • Barisone III, Sardinian judge of Logudoro (or Torres) (d. 1236)source
  • Nisshō, Japanese Buddhist priest and teacher (d. 1323)source
  • Theobald II, Count of Bar, French nobleman and knight (d. 1291)source
  • Margaret of Provence, queen consort of France (d. 1295)source
  • William Mauduit, 8th Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and knight (d. 1268)source
  • Walter Devereux, Anglo-Norman nobleman and knight (d. 1292)source

Deaths

  • January 17 – Walter de Clifford, English nobleman (b. 1160)source
  • February 18 – Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen (b. 1162)source
  • March 27 – Berengaria of Portugal, queen consort of Denmark (b. 1198)source
  • April 25 – Baruch ben Samuel of Mainz, German rabbisource
  • July 7 – Peter of Cornwall, English priest and writer (b. 1140)source
  • August 6 – Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order, canonized (b. 1170)source
  • September 15 – Geoffrey of Rohan, French nobleman (b. 1190)source
  • October 4 – William IV of Ponthieu (Talvas), Norman nobleman (b. 1179)source
  • October 21 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (or Alis), Breton noblewoman (b. 1200)source
  • October 31 – Ulrich II, Bishop of Passau, German abbot and prince-bishopsource
  • November – Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea (b. 1175)source
  • December – Roger of San Severino, archbishop of Beneventosource
  • Spring – Mutukan commander of Mongol Empiresource
  • Adam of Perseigne, French Cistercian abbot (b. 1145)source