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Contents: political eventsreligion |
Portugal's Sancho I dies March 26 at age 56 after a 26-year reign and is succeeded by his overweight 26-year-old son, who will reign until 1223 as Afonso II (Afonso o Gordo).
The Seljuk Turkish sultan of Rum invades the Nicaean Empire in the spring (see 1208): Kay-Khusraw has given sanctuary to the Byzantine emperor Alexius V Angelus and has tried to persuade Theodore to abdicate; Theodore defeats the Turks, kills Kay-Khusraw in battle, and captures Alexius, whom he imprisons (see 1214).
Genghis Khan invades China, but he will withdraw his Mongol forces in a few years to seek better opportunities for plunder in the West.
Aragon's Pedro II recognizes Simon de Montfort as his vassal in January and acknowledges the Church's right to depose his vassals without his permission (see 1210); his intent is to have his brother-in-law Raymond VI, comte de Toulouse, restored to his former position in Languedoc, but the monk Arnold Amaury makes Pedro and Raymond wait in the cold outside a church at Montpellier February 4, whereupon Raymond hears that he must forsake the use of mercenaries, stop employing Jews, pay the clergy what they are owed, levy no illegal tolls, demolish all of Languedoc's castles and fortresses, deliver all "heretics" within his territories to the crusaders within 1 year, turn over to the crusaders all of his earthly possessions and require his noblemen to do the same, go to the Holy Land, and remain there until permitted by the Church to return. Raymond leaves without giving a reply, and supporters of the Cathar "heretics" attack Saxon infantrymen who are marching toward Toulouse to support the Albigensian Crusade. The crusaders retaliate May 3, storming the town of Lavaur and hanging its 80 knightly defenders, including their leader Aimery of Montréal, who last year swore allegiance to Montfort. His widowed sister Geralda has been the lady of Lavaur's castle, and their mother, Blanche of Laurac, has been a Cathar leader. Montfort has Geralda thrown down a well and stoned to death; Lavaur's 400 Cathars are marched to the riverbank and burned to death (see 1212).
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