13th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages.

Events

• 1199 - Pope Innocent III writes to Kaloyan, inviting him to unite the Bulgarian Church with the Roman Catholic Church.
• 1204 - Fourth Crusade sacks Byzantine Constantinople and creates the Latin Empire.
• 1205 - Battle of Adrianople (1205): Tsar Kaloyan with his army crushed the (otherwise unbeaten) Fourth Crusade's knights and the soldiers of Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople who was attacking Bulgarian lands with the goal to conquer them.
• 1206 - Mongols united under Temujin, who is proclaimed "Genghis Khan".
• 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, with the defeat of Moorish forces.
• 1215 - King John of England forced to sign Magna Carta at Runnymede
• 1238 - The Thai Kingdom of Sukhothai is established, with Theravada Buddhism as the state religion. Later in the century it vassalises significant parts of modern Thailand, Laos, Burma, and Malaysia.
• 1249 - End of the Portuguese Reconquista against the Moors, when King Afonso III of Portugal reconquers the Algarve.
• 1270 - Restoration of Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia, deposing the Zagwe dynasty.
• 1282 - Aragon acquires Sicily, after the Sicilian Vespers.
• 1284 - Peterhouse, Cambridge founded by Hugo de Balsham, the Bishop of Ely.
• 1291 - The Swiss Confederation is formed by Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden.
• Andrew II of Hungary signs the Golden Bull which afferms the privileges of Hungarian nobility.
• Bantu-speaking peoples arrive in modern Angola, partially displacing the original Khoisan inhabitants.
• Battle of Bouvines
• Persian historian Rashid al-Din records eleven Buddhist texts circulating in Arabic translation.
• James I of Aragon takes control of Balearic Islands and Valencia.
• Marco Polo and his family reach China
• Norway cedes the Isle of Man to Scotland, following the signing of the Treaty of Perth.
• Ogedei Khan establish Mongolian dynasty in China. Some Mongol leaders convert from Tantric Buddhism to Islam.
• Teutonic Knights begin activity in Eastern Europe.
• Theravada overtakes Mahayana as the dominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia.
• A period of civil unrest, Sturlungaöld, leads to Iceland becoming part of the Kingdom of Norway.
• End of Hohenstaufen dynasty at the Battle of Tagliacozzo. The Kingdom of Sicily goes to French Anjou house.
• Fall of the Ghana Empire.
• Fall of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Sicily and Naples are acquired by the French count Charles I of Naples.
• Fifth through eighth crusades of western European kingdoms against Islam.
• First European universities founded.
• Most of Asia and Eastern Europe is conquered and incorporated into the Mongol Empire.
• The Medieval Warm Period ends.
• The Utiguri Bulgar state on the Volga vanishes from history.

Significant people

• Albertus Magnus, German philosopher and theologian
• Alexander of Hales, philosopher and theologian
• Alexander Nevsky, Grand Prince of Novgorod and Vladimir
• Béla IV of Hungary rebuilder of Hungary after the devastating Mongol invasion
• Birger jarl, Swedish statesman, earl, and founder of Stockholm
• Bonaventure, Franciscan theologian
• Dante Alighieri, Italian writer
• Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order
• Frederick II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
• Genghis Khan, founder of Mongol Empire
• Giotto di Bondone Italian painter
• Ibn Taymiyyah, famous Hanbali, Salafi Scholar of Islam
• Kublai Khan, Khan ruler, founder of Yuan Dynasty in China
• Lembitu, Estonian ruler
• Louis IX of France, St. Louis, French king and crusader
• Petrus Peregrinus, scientist
• Ramon Llull, Majorcan philosopher
• Robert Grosseteste, English statesman, theologian, and scientist
• Roger Bacon, Franciscan, philosopher, and scientist
• Saadi Persian poet
• Snorri Sturluson, historian and saga-writer
• Sundiata Keita semi-historical founder of the Mali Empire
• Thomas Aquinas, theologian
• William Wallace, Scottish national leader
• William Marshal, knight and statesman.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

• List of 13th century inventions
• The motet form originates out of the Ars antiqua tradition of Western European music

Decades and years

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