1170
Year 1170 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Levant
- Winter - Egyptian forces, led by Saladin, invade the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and besiege Darum on the Mediterranean coast. Its defenses are weak, and though Saladin has no siege engines with him, the fall seems imminent. King Amalric I withdraws his Templar garrison from Gaza, to assist him in defending Darum. Saladin raises the siege and marches on Gaza, where he captures the lower town, and massacres the inhabitants. However, the citadel is too strong for Saladin, and he is forced to retreat to Egypt.
- Saladin sends an Egyptian squadron up the Gulf of Aqaba, which captures the Crusader outpost of Aila, at the head of the Gulf.
England
- June 14 - King Henry II has his 15-year-old son, Henry the Young King, crowned by Roger, Archbishop of York, as junior king and heir to the English throne. The coronation drives Pope Alexander III to allow the exiled Thomas Becket to lay an interdict on England as punishment, and this threat forces Henry to negotiate with Becket. Sir William Marshal is appointed tutor-in-arms to Henry the Young King.
- July 22 - Henry II and Thomas Becket meet near Fréteval, France, where they come to an agreement to end their differences. This results in Becket's partial restoration.
- November - Becket controversy: Thomas Becket excommunicates three bishops.
- December 1 - Becket controversy: Henry II sends word that his conflict with Thomas Becket is at an end, and his lands will be restored. Becket returns to England, landing at Sandwich.
- December 29 - Thomas Becket is assassinated by four knights in Canterbury Cathedral, after his refusal to be arrested for breaking his agreement with Henry II.
- This is the earliest date for the making of cheddar cheese in Somerset.
Ireland
- September 21 - Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland: Following a siege, combined Anglo-Norman and Irish forces seize the city of Dublin, forcing Ascall mac Ragnaill, last King of Dublin, into exile.
Africa
- Fes in the Almohad Caliphate becomes the largest city of the world, taking the lead from Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
Asia
- June 29 - 1170 Syria earthquake: One of the largest earthquakes to hit Syria. It forms part of a sequence of large earthquakes that propagate southwards along the Dead Sea Transform, starting with the 1138 Aleppo earthquake and continuing with the 1157 Hama, 1170 and 1202 Syria events.
- The palace guards massacre the civil officials at the Korean court of Goryeo and place Myeongjong as new ruler on the throne of the Goryeo dynasty.
By topic
Folklore
- The Welsh prince Madoc sails to North America, in his ship the Gwennan Gorn, and founds a colony.
Religion
- Peter Waldo, a French merchant of Lyon, starts the popular religious movement of the "Poor Men of Lyon", or Waldenses.