1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300
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English and Scottish magnates and church leaders assemble in May on opposite sides of the Tweed River to consider the question of succession to the Scottish throne (see 1291). Edward I invites the Scotsmen to join him and 67 armed English magnates for discussions at Norham Abbey. He is recognized June 13 as "superior and direct lord of the kingdom of Scotland," and he proceeds in August at Berwick to choose from among candidates for the throne (see 1292).
Aragon's Alfonso III dies at Barcelona June 18 at age 25 after an unsteady 6-year reign in which he has allowed his noblemen to gain an upper hand; he is succeeded by his brother, who has reigned as king of Sicily since the death of Pedro III 6 years ago and will reign until 1327 as Jaime II of Aragon. The new king appoints his younger brother Federico regent of Sicily, whose crown he will vacate in 1295 (see 1295).
The German Hapsburg king Rudolf I dies at Speyer (Spires) July 15 at age 73 after a reign of nearly 18 years. He has invested his son Albrecht, 41, with Austria but has been unable to obtain Albrecht's election as German king.
Polish lords invite Bohemia's young Premyslid king Wenceslas II to take over the duchy of Kraków (see 1290; 1300).
Switzerland has her beginnings in the League of the Three Forest Cantons formed August 1 by Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The league is for mutual defense, but the cantons do not claim independence from Austria (see 1315; Lucerne, 1332).
Acre falls in the spring to Mameluke forces under the command of the Egytian sultan al-Ashraf Salah ad-din Khalil, who drives the Franks out of Syria by late December, ending Christian rule in the East as enthusiasm for the crusades wanes in Europe (see 1271; Tripoli, 1289). Khalil's ambition will alarm his emirs, who will murder him in 1293.
The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem settle in Cyprus.
Persia's fourth Mongol il-khan Arghun dies at Baghcha March 10 at age 32 after an orderly and prosperous 7-year reign in which an anti-Islamic Jew (Sad ad-Dawlah) has served as vizier. Arghun is succeeded by his brother Gaykhatu, who begins a 4-year reign in which he will try without success to adopt a system of paper currency based on Chinese money.
Venice moves its glass ovens to the island of Murano to remove the danger of fire. The city establishes draconian penalties for any glassmaker caught jeopardizing the Venetian monopoly in clear glass by taking production secrets abroad.
The Persian poet Sadi dies at his native Shiraz December 9 at age 78 (approximate).
Painting: Mosaics by Pietro Cavallini for the apse of Rome's Santa Maria in Trastevere.
1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300
