World History Timeline

Timeline

12 events

11th century

  1. c. 11th century – c. 1450s★★★★★

    Great Zimbabwe flourishes

    Great Zimbabwe, a city of mortarless stone enclosures, was the centre of a powerful state that prospered from cattle and the gold trade with the Swahili coast.

    CultureEconomy· Zimbabwe

12th century

  1. c. 1110s – c. 1150s★★★★★

    Construction of Angkor Wat

    King Suryavarman II builds Angkor Wat, originally a temple to Vishnu and today the largest religious monument in the world.

    ReligionArt· Cambodia
  2. 1127★★★★★

    Jingkang incident

    Jurchen Jin forces sack Kaifeng and capture two Song emperors, ending the Northern Song; the court re-forms in the south.

    WarDynasty· China
  3. 1147 – 1149★★★★★

    Second Crusade

    Launched after the fall of Edessa and led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, the crusade ends in failure before Damascus.

    WarReligion· Syria, Turkey, France, Germany
  4. 1181★★★★★

    Accession of Jayavarman VII

    Jayavarman VII becomes Khmer king, bringing the empire to its greatest extent and building Angkor Thom and the Bayon.

    PoliticsReligion· Cambodia
  5. 1185★★★★★

    Battle of Dan-no-ura

    The decisive naval battle of the Genpei War, in which the Minamoto clan destroys the Taira.

    War· Japan
  6. July 4, 1187★★★★★

    Battle of Hattin

    Saladin destroys the army of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem near Tiberias, causing most Crusader strongholds to fall.

    War· Israel
  7. October 2, 1187★★★★★

    Saladin captures Jerusalem

    After a short siege, Saladin takes Jerusalem, ending 88 years of Crusader rule and prompting the Third Crusade.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine
  8. 1189 – 1192★★★★★

    The Third Crusade

    Richard the Lionheart and other European monarchs retake Acre but not Jerusalem; the Treaty of Jaffa with Saladin ends the campaign.

    WarReligion· Israel, Palestine, Lebanon
  9. 1192★★★★★

    Minamoto no Yoritomo becomes shōgun

    Minamoto no Yoritomo is appointed shōgun, consolidating the Kamakura shogunate, Japan's first warrior government.

    PoliticsDynasty· Japan
  10. 1192★★★★★

    Second Battle of Tarain

    Muhammad of Ghor defeats Prithviraj Chauhan, opening northern India to Muslim rule.

    War· India
  11. c. 1200s★★★★★

    Rock-hewn churches of Lalibela

    Under King Gebre Meskel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty, eleven monolithic churches were carved out of the rock in Ethiopia; they are now a World Heritage Site.

    ReligionArt· Ethiopia
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