World History Timeline

Timeline

31 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

13th century

  1. April 1204★★★★★

    Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople

    Crusaders capture and sack Constantinople, establishing the Latin Empire and permanently weakening Byzantium.

    WarReligion· Turkey
  2. 1206 – 1526★★★★★

    Founding of the Delhi Sultanate

    Qutb ud-Din Aibak establishes the Delhi Sultanate, which dominates much of northern India for over three centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
  4. July 16, 1212★★★★★

    Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

    A coalition of Christian Iberian kingdoms defeats the Almohads, a major turning point of the Reconquista.

    War· Spain
  5. June 15, 1215★★★★★

    Magna Carta

    King John of England seals Magna Carta at Runnymede, subjecting royal power to the law.

    Politics· United Kingdom
  6. 1225★★★★★

    Trần dynasty replaces the Lý

    Empress Lý Chiêu Hoàng cedes the throne to her husband Trần Cảnh (Trần Thái Tông), founding the Trần dynasty under the regency of Trần Thủ Độ.

    Dynasty· Vietnam
  7. 1227★★★★★

    Death of Genghis Khan

    The founder of the Mongol Empire dies during the campaign against Western Xia; his heirs continue its expansion.

    DeathPolitics· Mongolia, China
  8. 1234★★★★★

    Mongols destroy the Jin dynasty

    Mongol and Southern Song forces take Caizhou, ending the Jurchen Jin dynasty in northern China.

    WarDynasty· China
  9. c. 1235★★★★★

    Sundiata Keita founds the Mali Empire

    After defeating the Sosso king Sumanguru at the Battle of Kirina, Sundiata Keita founded the Mali Empire, which became one of the largest empires in West Africa.

    DynastyWar· Mali, Guinea
  10. 1237 – 1240★★★★★

    Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'

    Mongol armies under Batu devastate the Rus' principalities and take Kiev in 1240, beginning over two centuries of Golden Horde domination.

    War· Russia, Ukraine
  11. c. 1238★★★★★

    Founding of the Sukhothai Kingdom

    Tai leaders break from Khmer control and found Sukhothai, often regarded as the first Thai kingdom.

    DynastyPolitics· Thailand
  12. April 9, 1241★★★★★

    Battle of Legnica

    During the Mongol invasion of Europe, Mongol forces defeat a Polish-led army in Silesia; two days later they rout the Hungarians at Mohi.

    War· Poland, Hungary
  13. April 11, 1241★★★★★

    Battle of Mohi

    Mongol forces under Batu and Subutai rout the Hungarian army during the largest Mongol incursion into Europe.

    War· Hungary
  14. April 5, 1242★★★★★

    Battle on the Ice

    Forces of Novgorod led by Alexander Nevsky defeat the German knights of the Livonian Order on frozen Lake Peipus.

    War· Russia, Estonia
  15. 1250 – 1517★★★★★

    Mamluk Sultanate established in Egypt

    Mamluk slave-soldiers overthrow the Ayyubids and seize power in Egypt, ruling Egypt and Syria for over two and a half centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· Egypt, Syria
  16. c. 1250s – c. 1300s★★★★★

    Polynesian settlement of New Zealand

    Eastern Polynesian voyagers reached New Zealand by canoe, probably between about 1250 and 1300; their descendants developed Māori culture.

    ExplorationCulture· New Zealand
  17. 1258★★★★★

    First Mongol invasion of Đại Việt

    Mongol forces under Uriyangqadai occupy Thăng Long but withdraw after the Battle of Đông Bộ Đầu.

    War· Vietnam, China, Mongolia
  18. February 10, 1258★★★★★

    Mongol sack of Baghdad

    Hulagu's Mongol army takes and devastates Baghdad, killing Caliph al-Musta'sim and ending the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad.

    War· Iraq
  19. September 3, 1260★★★★★

    Battle of Ain Jalut

    Egyptian Mamluk forces defeat the Mongols in Palestine, halting the Mongol advance toward Egypt.

    War· Israel
  20. 1271★★★★★

    Kublai Khan proclaims the Yuan dynasty

    Kublai Khan adopts the dynastic name Great Yuan with its capital at Dadu (Beijing), establishing Mongol rule over China.

    DynastyPolitics· China, Mongolia
  21. 1271 – 1295★★★★★

    Travels of Marco Polo

    The Venetian merchant Marco Polo travels to China under Kublai Khan; the account of his journey shapes European knowledge of Asia.

    Exploration· Italy, China
  23. 1274 – 1281★★★★★

    Mongol invasions of Japan

    The Yuan twice sends fleets against Japan, in 1274 and 1281, and both fail; the storms involved become known as kamikaze ('divine winds').

    War· Japan, China, South Korea
  26. 1288★★★★★

    Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288)

    Trần Hưng Đạo destroys the Yuan fleet on the Bạch Đằng River, ending the third Mongol invasion of Đại Việt.

    War· Vietnam, China, Mongolia
  27. May 18, 1291★★★★★

    Fall of Acre ends the Crusader states

    The Mamluks capture Acre, the last major Crusader stronghold in the Levant, ending the Crusader states there.

    War· Israel
  28. 1293★★★★★

    Founding of Majapahit

    Raden Wijaya exploits the Yuan expedition to Java to found Majapahit, the most powerful Hindu-Buddhist empire of the Indonesian archipelago.

    DynastyPolitics· Indonesia
  29. c. 1299★★★★★

    Osman I founds the Ottoman state

    Osman I establishes a principality in northwestern Anatolia, the origin of the Ottoman Empire that lasted over six centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· Turkey
  30. 1300★★★★★

    Death of Trần Hưng Đạo

    Trần Hưng Đạo, commander of Đại Việt's resistance to the Mongol invasions, dies.

    Death· Vietnam
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