1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200
The Byzantine emperor Isaac II Angelus is dethroned April 8 after a 9-year reign by his brother Alexius while he is off on a hunting trip. Alexius is proclaimed emperor by the troops and begins a disastrous 9-year reign as Alexius III Angelus. He captures Isaac at Stagira in Macedonia, has his eyes put out, and takes him prisoner despite Isaac's having redeemed him from captivity at Antioch and loading him with honors.
The Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich VI arranges the marriage of his brother Philip of Swabia to the Byzantine emperor Isaac's daughter Irene and thus tries to give the Hohenstaufen a new title and a valid claim against the usurper Alexius.
Almohad forces in Muslim Spain gain a crushing victory over Castile's Alfonso VIII July 18 in the Battle of Alarcos (see 1190). Alfonso has invaded the province of Seville, the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Yaqub has left his North African capital of Marrakech with an army, and although the Castilians surprise the Muslim advance guard they have underestimated the strength of the Almohads, who receive cavalry support from Alfonso's personal enemy Pedro Fernández de Castro. Alfonso flees with his army back to Toledo, Yaqub returns in triumph to Seville, he assumes the title al-Mansur Billah ("Made Victorious by God"), and the Almohads will march through the country, taking Monánchez, Trujillo, Santa Cruz, and Talavera as they destroy the vineyards of Toledo (but see 1212).
The former duke of Saxony Heinrich der Löwe (Henry the Lion) dies at Brunswick August 6 at age 66 (approximate) and is buried beside his late wife at the cathedral he has had built.
