1135
Year 1135 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Levant
- Spring - Shams al-Mulk Isma'il, Seljuk ruler of Damascus, sends envoys to Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk ruler of Mosul, to seek his protection in exchange of Damascus. Zengi crosses the Euphrates, receiving the surrender of the city of Hama. He besieges Damascus but, due to a shortage of supplies, is forced to abandon the siege. Zengi extricates himself from Damascus, his Seljuk forces capture the fortresses at Ma'arrat and Atharib.
- Queen Melisende of Jerusalem reconciles with her husband Fulk V, after a period of estrangement occasioned by her growing power, and rumors that she has had an affair with Hugh II, former count of Jaffa.
Europe
- January 7 - King Harald IV returns with Danish reinforcements and the support of King Eric II. He captures his nephew and joint ruler Magnus IV, who is blinded, castrated – and confined in Nidarholm Abbey.
- May 26 - King Alfonso VII is crowned as "Emperor of All Spain" in the Cathedral of León. The coronation is attended by Ramon Berenguer IV, Raymond V and other Spanish nobles who recognize him as their overlord.
- Summer - King Roger II lands with a Sicilian expeditionary force in Salerno. He splits his army, and conquers the cities of Aversa and Alife. Roger besieges Naples – but despite poor health conditions within the city, he is not able to take it, and returns again to Messina.
- August 15 - Emperor Lothair III receives homage from Eric II, and makes him an imperial prince at the Reichstag. His diplomatic missions to Hungary and Poland result in a tribute payment. Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth is given Pomerania and Rügen as German fiefs.
- Lothair III receives a Byzantine embassy at his court, on behalf of Emperor John II Komnenos. It offers large financial subsidies for Lothair to start a campaign against Roger II. The negotiations will last for some months.
- September - King García IV breaks with Alfonso VII, and makes common cause with the County of Portugal against Castile and León.
- October - Conrad III, duke of Franconia, gives up his title as King of Italy in opposition with Lothair III. He receives a pardon and recovers his estates.
- Pisans in the service of the Holy See sack the city of Amalfi.
- A Moorish fleet raids the Catalan port-town of Elna.
England
- December 1 - King Henry I dies at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy after a 35-year reign. He is succeeded by his nephew Stephen of Blois, who asserts his claim to the throne in opposition to claims by Henry's daughter Matilda.
- December 26 - Stephen of Blois is crowned at Westminster Abbey in London by Archbishop William de Corbeil. Matilda and her husband Geoffrey V leave for their own safety to Normandy, where she plans how to overthrow Stephen and claim the English throne for her own.
Middle East
- August 29 - Caliph Al-Mustarshid is assassinated at Baghdad after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Rashid Billah as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate.
North Africa
- Summer - A Sicilian expeditionary force led by Roger II embarks from Messina and takes the island of Djerba.
- The Hammadid Emirate launches an assault against the city of Mahdia.
Asia
- Jin–Song War - Song forces under Yue Fei begin a counteroffensive against the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty in northern China. He defeats Jin forces, by entangling his paddle-wheel ships at the Huai River.
- June 4 - Emperor Hui Zong dies in exile in Heilongjiang, having been held prisoner with his son Qin Zong since their capture in 1127.
By topic
Religion
- January - Byland Abbey is founded in England by the Congregation of Savigny.
- Buildwas Abbey is founded in England by Roger de Clinton, bishop of Coventry.