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Sweden's regent Birger Jarl leads an expedition to Finland, builds a fortress at Tavastehus to confirm his country's hold on southwest Finland, and establishes the foundation of an overseas empire.
Scotland's Alexander II dies at Kerrera July 8 at age 51 while en route to subdue the Western Isles, whose inhabitants are dependent on Norway. He is succeeded by his 8-year-old son, who will reign until 1285 as Alexander III.
The Hague becomes the seat of Dutch government as Count Willem II of the Netherlands builds a castle in the town.
Bolognese forces defeat and capture Sardinia's titular king, Enzio, 24, an illegitimate son of the former Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II. They will hold him in a dungeon until his death in 1272.
The Seventh Crusade leaves Cyprus in May with 120 large vessels and many smaller ones (see 1248). Led by France's Louis IX, the crusaders take Damietta in June without a blow; joined by the king's third brother Alphonse de Poitiers, they march on Cairo but are halted before Mansura. Egypt's Ayyubid sultan Malik as-Salih Najm al-din dies and is succeeded by his son, who will reign only briefly (see 1250).
Raymond VII, comte de Toulouse, dies at Milan September 27 at age 52. His son-in-law Alphonse de Poitiers inherits the countship, which will be annexed to the French crown following Alphonse's death in 1271.
Scientist Roger Bacon, 35, makes the first known European reference to gunpowder in a letter written at Oxford. The English Franciscan writes 12 years after the Mongol invasions and knows how to make the powder.
Roger Bacon fights to make science part of the curriculum at Oxford colleges, holding that it is complementary to religion, not opposed to it.
Oxford's University College is founded (see 1167; Balliol, 1261).
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