August – Emperor
Frederick II musters a German expeditionary force in
Apulia. The crowded conditions and high heat contribute to discontent and disease among the assembled troops. On
September 24, an epidemic of
malaria enfeebles the army at
Brindisi. Several thousand Crusaders led by
Henry IV, duke of
Limburg, and French and English mercenaries under the bishops
Peter des Roches and
William Briwere, arrive at
Acre.[1]
September – A second contingent joined by Frederick II, departs from Brindisi to the
Levant. On
September 11, during the second day of the voyage, one of Fredericks' companions,
Louis IV of Thuringia, dies of an illness (possibly
cholera) at
Otranto. Frederick also becomes sick and decides to return home, while sending the rest of the Crusader fleet (20 galleys) to Acre. There, they fortify the coastal towns of
Caesarea and
Jaffa.[2]
November 24 – Prince
Leszek I (the White) is assassinated in an ambush on a council of Polish dukes in the city of
Gąsawa, an event which later becomes known as the
Gąsawa Massacre.
Siege of Yinchuan: Mongol forces eliminate the
Western Xia (or Xi Xia) and execute Emperor
Mo (or Li Xian). Genghis Khan dies during the siege under debated circumstances, but this is kept secret from the army until the siege's end. Yinchuan is pillaged and its entire population is slaughtered or sold into
slavery. Genghis orders the imperial family to be executed, effectively ending the
Tangut royal lineage.[8]
August 18 – Genghis Khan dies during the fall of
Yinchuan after a 21-year reign. His exact cause of death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to being killed in action against the Western Xia, illness, falling from his horse, or wounds sustained during
hunting. Genghis is succeeded by his third son, Ögedei Khan, who becomes the "Great Khan" of the
Mongol Empire.[9]
August – Emperor
Frederick II musters a German expeditionary force in
Apulia. The crowded conditions and high heat contribute to discontent and disease among the assembled troops. On
September 24, an epidemic of
malaria enfeebles the army at
Brindisi. Several thousand Crusaders led by
Henry IV, duke of
Limburg, and French and English mercenaries under the bishops
Peter des Roches and
William Briwere, arrive at
Acre.[1]
September – A second contingent joined by Frederick II, departs from Brindisi to the
Levant. On
September 11, during the second day of the voyage, one of Fredericks' companions,
Louis IV of Thuringia, dies of an illness (possibly
cholera) at
Otranto. Frederick also becomes sick and decides to return home, while sending the rest of the Crusader fleet (20 galleys) to Acre. There, they fortify the coastal towns of
Caesarea and
Jaffa.[2]
November 24 – Prince
Leszek I (the White) is assassinated in an ambush on a council of Polish dukes in the city of
Gąsawa, an event which later becomes known as the
Gąsawa Massacre.
Siege of Yinchuan: Mongol forces eliminate the
Western Xia (or Xi Xia) and execute Emperor
Mo (or Li Xian). Genghis Khan dies during the siege under debated circumstances, but this is kept secret from the army until the siege's end. Yinchuan is pillaged and its entire population is slaughtered or sold into
slavery. Genghis orders the imperial family to be executed, effectively ending the
Tangut royal lineage.[8]
August 18 – Genghis Khan dies during the fall of
Yinchuan after a 21-year reign. His exact cause of death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to being killed in action against the Western Xia, illness, falling from his horse, or wounds sustained during
hunting. Genghis is succeeded by his third son, Ögedei Khan, who becomes the "Great Khan" of the
Mongol Empire.[9]