12th century
The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar.
In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the Cistercians". The Golden Age of Islam experienced significant development, particularly in Islamic Spain.
In Song dynasty China, an invasion by Jurchens caused a political schism of north and south. The Khmer Empire of Cambodia flourished during this century, while the Fatimids of Egypt were overtaken by the Ayyubid dynasty. Following the expansions of the Ghaznavids and Ghurid Empire, the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent took place at the end of the century.
Events
1101–1109
- 1101: In July, the Treaty of Alton is signed between Henry I of England and his older brother Robert, Duke of Normandy in which Robert agrees to recognize Henry as king of England in exchange for a yearly stipend and other concessions. The agreement temporarily ends a crisis in the succession of the Anglo-Norman kings.
- 1101–1103: David the Builder takes over Kakheti and Hereti.
- 1102: King Coloman unites Hungary and Croatia under the Hungarian Crown.
- 1102: Muslims conquer Señorío de Valencia.
- 1103–1104: A church council is convened by King David the Builder in Urbnisi to reorganize the Georgian Orthodox Church.
- 1104: In the Battle of Ertsukhi, King David the Builder defeats an army of Seljuks.
- 1104: King Jayawarsa of Kadiri ascends to the throne.
- 1106: Battle of Tinchebray.
- 1107–1111: Sigurd I of Norway becomes the first Norwegian king to embark on a crusade to the Holy Land. He fights in Lisbon and on various Mediterranean isles and helps the King of Jerusalem to take Sidon from the Muslims.File:Along the River During the Qingming Festival.jpg|thumb|Zhang Zeduan's painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival captures the daily life of people from the Song dynasty at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng.
- 1108: By the Treaty of Devol, signed in September, Bohemond I of Antioch has to submit to the Byzantine Empire, becoming the vassal of Alexius I.
- 1109: On June 10, Bertrand of Toulouse captures the County of Tripoli.
- 1109: In the Battle of Nakło, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats the Pomeranians and re-establishes Polish access to the sea.
- 1109: On August 24, in the Battle of Hundsfeld, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats Emperor Henry V of Germany and stops German expansion eastward.
1110s
- 1111: On April 14, during Henry V's first expedition to Rome, he is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1113: Paramavishnulok is crowned as King Suryavarman II in Cambodia. He expands the Khmer Empire and builds Angkor Wat during the first half of the century. He establishes diplomatic relations with China.
- 1115: The Georgian army occupies Rustavi in the war with the Muslims.
- 1115: In Java, King Kamesvara of Kadiri ascends to the throne. Janggala ceases to exist and comes under Kadiri domination, highly possible under royal marriage. During his reign, Mpu Dharmaja writes Kakawin Smaradahana, a eulogy for the king which become the inspiration for the Panji cycle tales, which spread across Southeast Asia.
- 1116: The Byzantine army defeats the Turks at Philomelion.
- 1116: Death of doña Jimena Díaz, governor of Valencia from 1099 to 1102.
- c. 1119: The Knights Templar are founded to protect Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem.
1120s
- 1120: On January 16, the Council of Nablus, a council of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, establishes the first written laws for the kingdom.
- 1120: On November 25, William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England, drowns in the White Ship Disaster, leading to a succession crisis which will bring down the Norman monarchy of England.
- 1121: On August 12, in the Battle of Didgori, the greatest military victory in Georgian history, King David the Builder with 45,000 Georgians, 15,000 Kipchak auxiliaries, 500 Alan mercenaries and 100 French Crusaders defeats a much larger Seljuk-led Muslim coalition army.
- 1121: On December 25, St. Norbert and 29 companions make their solemn vows in Premontre, France, establishing the Premonstratensian Order.
- 1122: The Battle of Beroia results in the disappearance of the Pechenegs Turkish tribe as an independent force.
- 1122: On September 23, the Concordat of Worms is drawn up between Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II bringing an end to the first phase of the power struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1122: King David the Builder captures Tbilisi and declares it the capital city of Georgia, ending 400 years of Arab rule.
- 1123: The Jurchen dynasty of China forces Koryo to recognize their suzerainty.
- 1124: In April or May, David I is crowned King of the Scots.
- 1125: On June 11, in the Battle of Azaz, the Crusader states, led by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, defeat the Seljuk Turks.
- 1125: In November, the Jurchens of the Jin dynasty declare war on the Song dynasty, beginning the Jin–Song wars.
- 1125: Lothair of Supplinburg, duke of Saxony, is elected Holy Roman Emperor instead of the nearest heir, Frederick of Swabia, beginning the great struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines.
- 1127: The Northern Song dynasty loses power over northern China to the Jin dynasty.
- 1128: On June 24, the Kingdom of Portugal gains independence from the Kingdom of León at the Battle of São Mamede;.
1130s
- 1130–1180: 50-year drought in what is now the American Southwest.
- 1130–1138: Papal schism, Pope Innocent II vs. Antipope Anacletus II.
- 1130: On March 26, Sigurd I of Norway dies. A golden era of 95 years comes to an end for Norway as civil wars between the members of Harald Fairhair's family line rage for the remainder of the century.
- 1130: On Christmas Day, Roger II is crowned King of Sicily, the royal title being bestowed on him by Antipope Anacletus II.
- 1132: The Southern Song dynasty establishes China's first permanent standing navy, although China had a long naval history prior. The main admiral's office is at the port of Dinghai.
- 1132–1183: the Chinese navy increases from a mere 3,000 to 52,000 marine soldiers stationed in 20 different squadrons. During this time, hundreds of treadmill-operated paddle wheel craft are assembled for the navy to fight the Jin dynasty in the north.
- 1135: King Jayabaya of Kadiri ascends to the throne.
- 1135–1154: The Anarchy takes place, during a period of civil war in England.
- 1136: Suger begins rebuilding the abbey church at St Denis north of Paris, which is regarded as the first major Gothic building.
- 1137: On July 22, the future King Louis VII of France marries Eleanor, the Duchess of Aquitaine.
- 1138: On October 11, the 1138 Aleppo earthquake devastates much of northern Syria.
- 1139: in April, the Second Lateran Council ends the papal schism.
- 1139: On July 5, in the Treaty of Mignano, Pope Innocent II confirms Roger II as King of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, and Prince of Capua and invests him with his titles.
- 1139: On July 25, the Portuguese defeat the Almoravids led by Ali ibn Yusuf in the Battle of Ourique; Prince Afonso Henriques is acclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers.
1140s
- 1140–1150: Collapse of the Ancestral Puebloan culture at Chaco Canyon.
- 1141: The Treaty of Shaoxing ends the conflict between the Jin dynasty and Southern Song dynasty, legally establishing the boundaries of the two countries and forcing the Song dynasty to renounce all claims to its former territories north of the Huai River. The treaty reduces the Southern Song into a quasi-tributary state of the Jurchen Jin dynasty.
- 1143: Manuel I Komnenos is crowned as Byzantine emperor after the death of John II Komnenos.
- 1143: Afonso Henriques is proclaimed King of Portugal by the cortes.
- 1143: The Treaty of Zamora recognizes Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León. Portugal also recognizes the suzerainty of the pope.
- 1144: On December 24, Edessa falls to the Atabeg Zengi.
- 1145–1148: The Second Crusade is launched in response to the fall of the County of Edessa.
- 1147: On October 25, the four-month-long Siege of Lisbon successfully brings the city under definitive Portuguese control, expelling the Moorish overlords.
- 1147: A new Berber dynasty, the Almohads, led by Emir Abd al-Mu'min, takes North Africa from the Almoravides and soon invades the Iberian Peninsula. The Almohads began as a religious movement to rid Islam of impurities.
- 1147: The Wendish Crusade against the Polabian Slavs in what is now northern and eastern Germany.
1150s
- 1150: Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona marries Petronilla, the Queen of Aragon.
- 1151: The Treaty of Tudilén is signed by Alfonso VII of León and Raymond Berengar IV, Count of Barcelona, recognizing the Aragonese conquests south of the Júcar and the right to expand in and annex the Kingdom of Murcia.
- 1153: The Treaty of Wallingford, ends the civil war between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England fought over the English crown. Stephen acknowledges Matilda's son Henry of Anjou as heir.
- 1153: The First Treaty of Constance is signed between Emperor Frederick I and Pope Eugene III, by the terms of which, the emperor is to prevent any action by Manuel I Comnenus to reestablish the Byzantine Empire on Italian soil and to assist the pope against his enemies in revolt in Rome.
- 1154: the Moroccan-born Muslim geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi publishes his Geography.
- 1154: On December 27, Henry II is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
- 1155: Pope Adrian IV grants overlordship of Ireland to Henry II of England in the bull Laudabiliter.
- 1156: On June 18, the Treaty of Benevento is entered into by Pope Adrian IV and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. After years of turbulent relations, the popes finally settles down to peace with the Hauteville kings. The kingship of William I is recognized over all Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, Campania, and Capua. The tribute to the pope of 600 schifati agreed upon by Roger II in 1139 at Mignano is affirmed and another 400 shift is added for the new lands.
- 1158: The Treaty of Sahagún ends the war between Castile and León.