1230

Events

March 9 - Battle of Klokotnitsa: Byzantine forces under Theodore Komnenos Doukas invade Bulgaria, breaking the peace treaty with Tsar Ivan Asen II. Theodore gathers a large army, including western mercenaries. The two armies meet near the village of Klokotnitsa. Ivan applies clever tactics and manages to surround the Byzantines. They are completely defeated; only a small force under Theodore's brother Manuel Doukas manages to escape the battlefield. Theodore is taken prisoner and is blinded. In the aftermath, Ivan quickly extends its control over most of Theodore's domains in Thrace, Macedonia and Albania. The Latin Duchy of Philippopolis and the independent principality of Alexius Slav are also captured and annexed into Bulgaria.

Reconquista - King Alfonso IX of León defeats Ibn Hud al-Yamani. This success opens the road to Badajoz to the Leonese troops. The Portuguese king Sancho II continues his offensive southward and takes Beja, Juromenha, Serpa and Moura.

August - Treaty of Ceprano: Emperor Frederick II returns from the Sixth Crusade and signs a peace agreement with Pope Gregory IX at Ceprano. He agrees not to violate any territories held by the Papal States in return for Frederick's concessions in Sicily.
Frederick II bestows on the Teutonic Order a special privilege for the conquest of Prussia, including Chełmno Land, with papal sovereignty. He allows the Teutonic Knights to forcibly convert the Prussians to Christianity.
September 24 - Alfonso IX dies after a 42-year reign and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand III, who receives the Kingdom of León in return for compensation in cash and lands for his half-sisters Sancha and Dulce.
Siege of Galway in Ireland: Norman forces under Richard Mór de Burgh invade Connacht and desolate a large portion of the country. He besieges Galway, but is forced to retreat after a week-long inconclusive battle.

April 30 - English invasion of France: King Henry III embarks from Portsmouth with a large expeditionary force. On May 2, he arrives on the island of Guernsey, and the next day the English army lands at Saint-Malo, where Peter I, duke of Brittany, meets Henry to pay him homage. The English forces march through the County of Anjou, taking the castle of Mirebeau in late July.
October 27 - Henry III signs a truce with King Louis IX of France and returns to Portsmouth. He leaves a small force under Peter I and Ranulf de Blondeville, to act against the French in Brittany and Normandy.

Battle of Yassıçemen: A Seljuk-Ayyubid coalition defeats the Khwarazmians under Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni at Erzincan on the Upper Euphrates.

Pluscarden Priory is founded in Scotland; it will be revived to become an abbey in 1974.

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Approximate date