Notable Events-1200’s
[Event 1]
1. Mongol chieftain conquers huge territory
Formidable Mongol ruler Genghis Khan and his armies conquered central Asian lands from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan in the early 1200’s, founding an empire built on terror and destruction. His fierce armies ruthlessly eliminated any resistance and mercilessly slaughtered entire cities.
Who’s who in the most powerful clan of the 1200’s? Click here to get acquainted.
[Design--please link to the Khan Report feature, Track #2SF1]
[Event 2]
2. Kublai Khan establishes new dynasty in China
Kublai Khan, grandson of the great conqueror Genghis Khan, extended the rule of the Mongol Empire into China after he defeated Song forces in several bloody battles. In 1279, the mighty Khan established a new dynasty in China called the Yuan. Art and science have flourished under Yuan leadership, and business and cultural exchange have grown.
Who’s who in the most powerful clan of the 1200’s? Click here to get acquainted.
[Design--please link to the Khan Report feature, Track #2SF1]
[Event 3]
3. English monarchy’s power is curtailed under Magna Carta
In 1215, English nobles forced King John to approve a settlement of their complaints about his rule. The agreement placed the king under English law and checked his power. King John soon broke his word and war ensued. But later in the century, both John’s son, Henry III, and grandson, Edward I, promised to abide by the charter.
Score one for the common man! Click here for a look back at the document that established some of the rights and freedoms you enjoy today. [Design--please link to the England’s Great Charter feature, Track #2SF4]
[Event 4]
4. Japan survives Mongol threats
The Mongol ambition to overthrow Japan was stymied in 1274 and again in 1281 after typhoons destroyed invading fleets sent by Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan. The Japanese have come to believe that divine intervention helped them and their samurai warriors to repel the Mongol invaders.
Get the training you need for the warrior career you want. Click here for the lowdown on the Samurai Academy. [Design--please link to the Samurai Academy feature, Track #2SF5]
[Event 5]
5. Much of northern India comes under Muslim control
Seizure of much of northern India by the Muslim king Muhammad of Ghor in the late 1100’s led to the establishment in 1206 of a sultanate, or Muslim kingdom, in the city of Delhi. Since that time, Muslim influence has increased across northern India. Many Hindu and Buddhist kings in India have lost territory to the sultanate, and they fear the spread of Islam and the loss of more territory.
[Event 6]
6. Battling armies take toll on Constantinople
The great city of Constantinople was taken over by Western European crusaders in 1204, temporarily ending hundreds of years of Byzantine control. However, Byzantine forces recaptured the city in 1261. The attacks on Constantinople during this century have caused much damage and increased bitterness between Christians in the Eastern and Western churches.
[Event 7]
7. Marco Polo reveals wondrous Cathay
Famed Venetian traveler Marco Polo returned to Venice from a 24-year journey to Cathay in 1295 with trunks of fabulous treasures. His glowing accounts of the beauty and the riches of the distant East Asian land have begun to arouse European interest in trade with that part of the world.
[Event 8]
8. Mali Empire becomes the strongest in southern Africa
Between 1235 and 1240, Sundiata Keita laid the foundation for what has become one of the most powerful empires in West Africa. He established his capital, Niani, between salt mines and gold mines on the prosperous trade routes that attract people from north of the Sahara.
For a griot’s story about Sundiata, Mali’s boy king, click here. [Design--please link to the Sundiata feature, Track #????]
[Event 9]
9. Assisi cathedral attracts finest artists in Italy
Revered artists and craftsmen gathered at Assisi in the late 1200’s to contribute to the building of a majestic new cathedral. The cathedral was built to honor Saint Francis, the holy man from Assisi who died in 1226. Famed painter Giotto portrayed scenes from the life of Saint Francis on the cathedral walls.
Click here to take an online tour of some splendid cathedrals. [Design--please link to the Pointed Arch feature, Track #2SF2]
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The empire established after Muhammad of Ghor’s conquest, called the Delhi Sultanate, lasted for about 300 years. During the 1300’s, the sultanate temporarily extended its power far into southern India. In 1398, the conqueror Tamerlane looted and destroyed Delhi and massacred most of its people. Although the sultans regained Delhi after Tamerlane left that same year, their former territory was split into regional kingdoms. Babar, a descendant of Tamerlane, defeated the last sultan in 1526 and established the Mogul Empire.
Excerpt adapted from the “Delhi Sultanate” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
[View from 2000 for Event 5-first article “The Delhi Sultanate”]
The Delhi Sultanate controlled much of what is now Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan from 1206 to 1526. The sultanate’s boundaries shifted, depending on its military strength, but it centered in the Ganges Valley and Punjab. Delhi was the capital. The sultans brought much of India under Muslim rule for the first time. Trade routes opened and commerce flourished.
During the sultanate, many Muslims migrated to India to serve as soldiers, government officials, priests, or merchants. Muslim holy men converted many Indians to Islam, the religion of the Muslims. Other Indians switched religions to improve their economic position. Most of the converts lived in the northwest and northeast, now Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Excerpt adapted from the “Delhi Sultanate” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
[View from 2000 for Event 6-Overview]
From A.D. 330 to 1453, Constantinople served as the capital of the Roman and then of the Byzantine empires. Ottoman Turks conquered the empire in 1453 and renamed the city Istanbul. It was the capital of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. In 1923, with the birth of the Turkish republic, Ankara became the capital. But Istanbul remained the largest city in Turkey. Today, it is Turkey’s leading center of industry, trade, and culture. Tourists visit the city to see its bazaars, museums, palaces, Byzantine churches, and world-famous mosques.
Excerpt adapted from the “Istanbul” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
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In the late 1000’s, the Turks invaded the Byzantine Empire as well as the Holy Land. The Byzantine emperor, Alexius Comnenus, asked the Christians of Western Europe to help defend the empire. The military expeditions of the Christians against the invaders of the Holy Land became known as the Crusades. During the First Crusade, from 1096 to 1099, crusaders regained the coastal regions of the Holy Land.
Later crusades resulted in increased tension between the Byzantines and the West European Christians. In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, religious hatred played a key role in the capture of Constantinople by Western forces. This conquest occurred partly because merchants from the Italian city of Venice wanted to gain control over trade in the Middle East. The Venetians and the crusaders established a new empire and kept the government in Constantinople.
Excerpt adapted from the “Byzantine Empire” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
[View from 2000 for Event 6-second article “The end of the empire”]
After the capture of Constantinople by Western forces in 1204, members of the court of the defeated Byzantines established bases in Asia Minor. The Byzantines recaptured Constantinople in 1261. But Ottoman Turks soon invaded Asia Minor, and the Serbs advanced in the Balkans. Civil wars also weakened the empire.
By the late 1300’s, Constantinople and part of Greece were all that remained of the empire. The empire ended in 1453, when Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, died while defending the city.
Excerpt adapted from the “Byzantine Empire” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
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Marco Polo’s reports of beautiful Chinese cities and the riches of the country he called Cathay did much to arouse the interest of Europeans in exploring the possibilities of trade with south and east Asia. His book, Description of the World, stimulated European interest in Asia and helped bring to Europe such Chinese inventions as the compass, papermaking, and printing. Many Europeans, including Christopher Columbus, then sought to reach east Asia by a sea route.
[View from 2000 for Event 7-first article “Marco Polo’s journey”]
In 1271, when Marco Polo was 17, he accompanied his father, Nicolo, and his uncle Maffeo to China. Nicolo and Maffeo Polo were merchants. They had visited China in the 1260’s and had been well received by Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. During young Polo’s visit, he made such a favorable impression on Kublai Khan that the Mongol ruler sent him on official missions throughout the kingdom. After returning to Venice in 1295, Polo was taken prisoner during a conflict between Venice and Genoa. While in captivity, he dictated an account of his travels. This widely read book, called Description of the World, was the first to provide Europeans with detailed and accurate information about China’s impressive civilization. Genoa and Venice made peace in 1299. Polo was freed and returned to trading in Venice.
Excerpt adapted from the “Exploration” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
[View from 2000 for Event 7-second article “Marco Polo’s days in China”]
Kublai Khan valued Marco Polo’s experience and knowledge. Polo knew four languages, and the Khan sent him on many official tours of the kingdom. These tours took Polo to China’s southern and eastern provinces and as far south as Burma. Polo served as a government official in the Chinese city of Yangzhou (also spelled Yang-chou) for three years.
Through his travels, Polo learned about Kublai Khan’s prosperous, advanced empire. He described the Khan’s postal system, which consisted of a vast network of courier stations. Riders on horseback relayed messages from one station to another.
Polo witnessed many Chinese customs, such as the mining of coal and its use as fuel. Coal had not yet been used in Europe. Polo called coal “black stones.” He also marveled at the Chinese use of paper money, which bore the seal of the emperor. He described all these things in his book.
Excerpt adapted from the “Marco Polo” article, The World Book Encyclopedia, © 1999
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