13th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 through 1300 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages, and after its conquests in Asia the Mongol Empire stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe.

Events

Map of Eurasia circa 1200 C.E.

The Mongols, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran most of Asia, thus creating the second largest empire to ever exist, surpassed only by the British Empire. They achieved this success in large part due to their amazing horse archers.

Europe

• 1204 — Fourth Crusade of 1202-1204 captures Zara for Venice and sacks Byzantine Constantinople, creating the Latin Empire.
• 1204 — Fall of Normandy from Angevin hands to the French King, Philip Augustus, end of Norman domination of France.
• 1205 — The Battle of Adrianople occurred on April 14, 1205 between Bulgarians under Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria, and Crusaders under Baldwin I, (July 1172 – 1205), the first emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.
• 1212 — The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in Iberia sees the beginning of a rapid Christian reconquest of the southern half of the Iberian peninsula, mainly from 1230-1248, with the defeat of Moorish forces.
• 1213 — France defeats the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon at the Battle of Muret.
• 1214 — France defeats English and Imperial German forces at the Battle of Bouvines.
• 1215 — King John of England signs Magna Carta at Runnymede.
• 1217-1221 — Fifth Crusade captures Egyptian Ayyubid port city of Damietta, ultimately Crusaders withdraw.
• 1221 — Venice signs a trade treaty with the Mongol Empire.
• 1222 — Andrew II of Hungary signs the Golden Bull which affirms the privileges of Hungarian nobility.
• 1223 — The Mongol Empire defeats various Russian principalities at the Battle of the Kalka River.
• 1228-1229 — Sixth Crusade under Frederick II Hohenstaufen returns Jerusalem to the Crusader States.
• 1228-1241 — First Holy Roman Empire-Papacy War.
• 1237-1240 — Mongol Empire conquers Russia.
• 1241 — Mongol Empire defeats Hungary at the Battle of Mohi and defeats Poland at the Battle of Legnica. Hungary and Poland ravaged.
• 1242 — Russians defeat the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Lake Peipus.
• 1243-1250—Second Holy Roman Empire-Papacy War.
• 1244 — Ayyubids and Khwarezmians defeat the Crusaders and their Arab allies at the Battle of La Forbie.
• 1249 — End of the Portuguese Reconquista against the Moors, when King Afonso III of Portugal reconquers the Algarve.
• 1248-1254 — Seventh Crusade captures Egyptian Ayyubid port city of Damietta, Crusaders ultimately withdraw. Mamelukes overthrow Ayyubid Dynasty.
• 1261 — Byzantines under Michael VIII retake Constantinople from the Crusaders and Venice.
• 1268 — Fall of the Crusader State of Antioch to the Mamelukes.

Portrait of the Chinese Zen Buddhist Wuzhun Shifan, painted in 1238, Song Dynasty.

Hommage of Edward I (kneeling), to the Philippe le Bel (seated). As Duke of Aquitaine, Edward was a vassal to the French king.

• 1271 — Edward I of England and Charles of Anjou arrive in Acre, starting the Ninth Crusade against Baibars.
• 1282 — Aragon acquires Sicily, after the Sicilian Vespers.
• 1284 — Peterhouse, Cambridge founded by Hugo de Balsham, the Bishop of Ely.
• 1285 — Second Mongol raid against Hungary, led by Nogai Khan.
• 1289 — Crusader State of Tripoli falls to the Mamelukes.
• 1291 — The Swiss Confederation of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden forms.
• 1291 — Mamluk Sultan of Egypt al-Ashraf Khalil captures Acre, thus ending the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (the final Christian landholding remaining from the Crusades).

Significant people

Frescoes from the 13th century Boyana Church.

Queen Tamara.

• Genghis Khan, founder of Mongol Empire
• Batu Khan, Mongol ruler and the founder of the Golden Horde
• Haakon Haakonsson, king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. After the long civil war Norway would again prosper under his rule and come to dominate Scandinavian politics.
• Kaloyan, Emperor of Bulgaria
• Ivan Asen II, Emperor of Bulgaria
• Edward I of England, English King
• Ottokar II of Bohemia, King of Bohemia
• Baibars, Mameluk sultan of Egypt
• Ibn Taymiyyah, famous Hanbali, Salafi Scholar of Islam
• Dante Alighieri, Italian writer
• William Marshal, knight and statesman.
• Saint Thomas Aquinas, theologian
• Andrea of Grosseto, Italian writer
• Giotto di Bondone, Italian painter
• Cimabue, Florentine painter
• Sundiata Keita semi-historical founder of the Mali Empire
• Alexander of Hales, philosopher and theologian
• Albertus Magnus, German philosopher and theologian
• Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order
• Robert Grosseteste, English statesman, theologian, and scientist
• Roger Bacon, Franciscan, philosopher, and scientist
• Birger jarl, Swedish statesman, earl, and founder of Stockholm
• Bonaventure, Franciscan theologian
• Petrus Peregrinus, scientist
• Louis IX of France, St. Louis, French king and crusader
• Marco Polo, Venetian trader and explorer
• Charlamagne, French leader (also known as the Franks)
• Frederick II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
• Ramon Llull, Majorcan philosopher
• Kublai Khan, Khan ruler, founder of Yuan Dynasty in China
• Alexander Nevsky, Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir
• Saadi Persian poet
• Snorri Sturluson, historian and saga-writer
• William Wallace, Scottish national leader
• Béla IV of Hungary rebuilder of Hungary after the devastating Mongol invasion
• Lembitu, Estonian ruler
• Queen Tamara, ruler of Georgia
• Lasha Giorgi, King Giorgi IV of Georgia
• Queen Rusudan, Queen Regnant of Georgia

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• List of 13th century inventions
• The motet form originates out of the Ars antiqua tradition of Western European music.
• Manuscript culture develops out of this time period in cities in Europe, which denotes a shift from monasteries to cities for books.
• Pecia system of copying books develops in Italian university-towns and was taken up by the University of Paris in the middle of the century.
• Wooden movable type printing invented by the Chinese governmental minister Wang Zhen in 1298.
• The earliest known rockets, landmines, and handguns are made by the Chinese for use in warfare.
• The Chinese adopt the windmill from the Islamic world.
• 1280s Eyeglasses invented in Italy.

Decades and years

External links

• The Thirteenth: Greatest of Centuries by James J. Walsh, 1907