World History Timeline

Timeline

1026 events

13th century

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. September 3, 1260★★★★★

    Battle of Ain Jalut

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

    War· Israel
  9. 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
  10. 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
  12. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 1300★★★★★

    Death of Trần Hưng Đạo

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

    Death· Vietnam

14th century

  1. 1306★★★★★

    Princess Huyền Trân marries the king of Champa

    Princess Huyền Trân marries King Jaya Simhavarman III of Champa, who cedes the districts of Ô and Lý (around modern Quảng Trị and Huế) to Đại Việt.

    PoliticsTreaty· Vietnam
  2. 1308★★★★★

    Death of Trần Nhân Tông

    Retired emperor Trần Nhân Tông, founder of the Trúc Lâm school of Zen Buddhism, dies on Mount Yên Tử.

    DeathReligion· Vietnam
  3. June 23, 1314 – June 24, 1314★★★★★

    Battle of Bannockburn

    Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats the army of Edward II of England, a key victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence.

    War· United Kingdom
  4. 1315 – 1317★★★★★

    Great Famine in Europe

    Successive crop failures caused by bad weather bring mass famine to northern Europe, killing a significant share of the population.

    DisasterEconomy· United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland
  5. c. 1320★★★★★

    Dante completes the Divine Comedy

    Dante Alighieri completes the Divine Comedy, a masterpiece of Italian and medieval European literature.

    CultureArt· Italy
  6. September 1321★★★★★

    Death of Dante Alighieri

    The poet Dante, author of the Divine Comedy, dies in exile at Ravenna; his work helped shape literary Italian.

    DeathCulture· Italy
  7. 1324★★★★★

    Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca

    Mansa Musa of Mali made the pilgrimage to Mecca with a vast retinue, spending so much gold in Cairo that its value fell, spreading Mali's fame across the Islamic world and Europe.

    ReligionEconomy· Mali, Egypt, Saudi Arabia
  8. c. 1325★★★★★

    Founding of Tenochtitlan

    According to tradition, the Mexica (Aztecs) found Tenochtitlan on an island in Lake Texcoco, the site of present-day Mexico City.

    Politics· Mexico
  9. 1325 – 1354★★★★★

    Travels of Ibn Battuta

    The Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta travels across the Islamic world and beyond, from West Africa to China, for nearly three decades.

    Exploration· Morocco
  10. 1336★★★★★

    Founding of the Vijayanagara Empire

    The brothers Harihara and Bukka found the Vijayanagara Empire in southern India; its capital Hampi becomes one of the world's largest cities.

    DynastyPolitics· India
  11. 1337 – 1453★★★★★

    Hundred Years' War

    A series of conflicts between England and France over the French throne ends with England losing nearly all its continental lands.

    War· France, United Kingdom
  12. August 26, 1346★★★★★

    Battle of Crécy

    Edward III's English army, relying on longbowmen, defeats a much larger French army in northern France.

    War· France
  13. October 1347 – 1351★★★★★

    Black Death reaches Europe

    Plague arrives at Messina, Sicily, on merchant ships and spreads across Europe, killing roughly a third of its population.

    DiseaseDisaster· Italy
  14. 1351 – 1767★★★★★

    Founding of the Ayutthaya Kingdom

    King Ramathibodi I founds the capital of Ayutthaya, beginning a Siamese kingdom that lasts over four centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· Thailand
  15. 1353★★★★★

    Fa Ngum founds Lan Xang

    Fa Ngum unites the Lao principalities into the kingdom of Lan Xang ("Million Elephants"), the forerunner of modern Laos.

    DynastyPolitics· Laos
  16. 1368★★★★★

    Zhu Yuanzhang founds the Ming dynasty

    Rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang becomes the Hongwu Emperor and drives the Mongols from Dadu, ending the Yuan dynasty.

    DynastyPolitics· China
  17. 1370 – 1405★★★★★

    Timur takes power in Samarkand

    Timur becomes ruler of the Chagatai Ulus, making Samarkand his capital and launching conquests across Western and South Asia.

    DynastyWar· Uzbekistan
  18. 1371★★★★★

    Champa sacks Thăng Long

    Cham forces under King Po Binasuor (Chế Bồng Nga) sack the Đại Việt capital Thăng Long.

    War· Vietnam
  19. 1377★★★★★

    Jikji printed with metal movable type

    The Jikji, an anthology of Zen Buddhist teachings, is the world's oldest extant book printed with movable metal type.

    TechnologyReligion· South Korea
  20. 1378 – 1417★★★★★

    Western Schism

    Rival claimants to the papacy in Rome and Avignon divide the Catholic Church until the Council of Constance ends the schism.

    Religion· Italy, France
  21. 1380★★★★★

    Birth of Nguyễn Trãi

    Nguyễn Trãi, scholar, poet and strategist of the Lam Sơn uprising, is born.

    Birth· Vietnam
  22. June 1381★★★★★

    Peasants' Revolt in England

    Peasants led by Wat Tyler rise against the poll tax and serfdom, marching on London before being suppressed.

    Revolution· United Kingdom
  23. June 15, 1389★★★★★

    Battle of Kosovo

    Ottoman forces fight a Serbian-led coalition; both Sultan Murad I and Prince Lazar are killed, and the battle becomes central to Serbian national memory.

    War· Kosovo, Serbia
  24. 1392★★★★★

    Yi Seong-gye founds Joseon

    General Yi Seong-gye overthrows Goryeo and founds the Joseon dynasty, which lasts more than five centuries.

    DynastyPolitics· South Korea, North Korea
  25. 1397★★★★★

    Citadel of the Hồ dynasty built

    Hồ Quý Ly builds the stone citadel of Tây Đô in Thanh Hóa, later a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2011).

    ArtPolitics· Vietnam
  26. 1398★★★★★

    Timur sacks Delhi

    Timur's army defeats the Delhi Sultanate and devastates the city, gravely weakening the sultanate.

    War· India
  27. c. 1400 – 1511★★★★★

    Founding of the Malacca Sultanate

    Parameswara founds Malacca, which becomes the key port on the Strait of Malacca and a centre for the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia.

    DynastyEconomyReligion· Malaysia
  28. 1400★★★★★

    Hồ Quý Ly founds the Hồ dynasty

    Hồ Quý Ly deposes the Trần, founds the Hồ dynasty, renames the country Đại Ngu and launches sweeping reforms.

    DynastyPolitics· Vietnam

15th century

  1. July 20, 1402★★★★★

    Battle of Ankara

    Timur defeats and captures Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, plunging the Ottoman state into a decade of civil war.

    War· Turkey
  2. 1405 – 1433★★★★★

    Voyages of Zheng He

    Admiral Zheng He leads seven Ming treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, Arabia and East Africa.

    Exploration· China
  3. 1406 – 1407★★★★★

    Ming conquest of Đại Ngu

    Ming forces defeat the Hồ dynasty (1406–1407) and annex the country as the province of Jiaozhi.

    War· Vietnam, China
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