1309

Events

January – March

• January 6 - The coronation of Henry of Luxemburg as "King of the Romans", the person first-in-line to succeed the Holy Roman Emperor, takes place at Aachen. He will become the Emperor in 1312.
• February 2 - At Avignon, Pope Clement V begins the investigation and posthumous trial of the late Pope Boniface VIII, who was accused of heresy and sodomy after his death in 1303, in papers circulated by Guillaume de Nogaret.
• February 15 - King Denis of Portugal grants the Magna Charta Privilegioum, charter for Portugal's first university, now the University of Coimbra. Joseph M. M. Hermans and Marc Nelissen, Charters of Foundation and Early Documents of the Universities of the Coimbra Group p. 38.
• February 24 - In Spain, King Ferdinand IV of Castile agrees to assist the neighboring Crown of Aragon Sultan Muhammad III is deposed during a palace coup after a 7-year reign, and is replaced by his half-brother Abu al-Juyush Nasr, as ruler of the Emirate of Granada. Muhammad III is spared and allowed to live in Almuñécar, but his vizier, Abu Abdallah ibn al-Hakim, is killed.

  April – June

• April 24 - Spanish kings James II of Aragon and Ferdinand IV of Castile persuade Pope Clement V to grant the papal bull Indesinentis cure, authorizing them approval and church financial support for a crusade to rid the Iberian peninsula of Islam, as well as to conquer Corsica and Sardinia. The two monarchs fail to mention their collaboration with the Muslim Marinid Empire, and use the papal bull to plan a blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar with their combined fleet of 40 warships on their mission to expel the Saracen forces from Spain.
• April 29 - Pope Clement V issues the papal bull Prioribus decanis granting King Ferdinand IV of clergy taxes collected in Castile, in order to finance the war against Granada.
• April - After his ascent to the throne, the Emir Nasr ad-Din Muhammad of Granada sends envoys to the Marinid court at Fez, in Morocco.
• May 5 - Robert the Wise becomes the new King of Naples upon the death of his father, Charles the Lame.
• May 12 - Marinid Sultan Abu al-Rabi Sulayman launches an attack on Ceuta. He concludes an alliance with King James II of Castile, and concedes commercial benefits to Castilian merchants. Abu al-Rabi also sends 1,000 measures of wheat to Aragon. A few months later, Marinid forces, without Castilian support, occupy Ceuta and expel Saracen forces from Morocco.
• June 15 - The second coronation of Charles I as King of Hungary takes place at Székesfehérvár after a first attempt in 1301 was not recognized.

  July – September

• July 3 - Portugal joins forces with the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon in their attack on Gibraltar.
• July 18 - King James II of Aragon and his navy depart from Valencia on their expedition to begin the Siege of Almería.
• July 21 - The north African territory of Ceuta, controlled by the Emirate of Granada, is conquered by a fleet of ships, led by Eimeric de Bellveí, from the Kingdom of Aragon.
• July 30 - begin the siege of Algeciras, capital of the Emirate of Granada. King Denis I of Portugal sends a contingent of 700 knights to support the siege. He provides Ferdinand, in accordance with his friendship, a loan of 16,600 silver marks.
• August 11 - Siege of Almería: Aragonese forces under King James II of Aragon land on the coast of Almería and begin blockading the city with his fleet. His forces include siege engines such as mangonels and trebuchets. James orders multiple unsuccessful assaults on the city and is forced to make a truce in December.
• August 15 - Conquest of Rhodes: The Byzantine garrison of the city of Rhodes surrenders to the Crusader forces of the Knights Hospitaller under Grand Master Foulques de Villaret – completing their conquest of Rhodes. The knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves as the Knights of Rhodes.
• August 23 - A relief force from the Emirate of Granada attempts to drive out the Kingdom of Aragon forces at Almeria, but loses thousands of men.
• September 12 - Siege of Gibraltar: Castilian forces under Juan Núñez II de Lara and Alonso Pérez de Guzmán besiege and conquer the Saracen fortress at Gibraltar, which had been held by them for nearly 600 years. During the siege, the port is blockaded. Ferdinand IV of Castile orders repairs of the damaged city walls.

  October – December

• October 1 - In Italy, the Archbishop of Milan, Cassone della Torre, is imprisoned by troops sent by his cousin Guido della Torre to attack the archbishop's palace.
• October 18
• *At Avignon, Pope Clement V signs a mandate consenting "for any persons who wanted to proceed against the memory of Boniface VIII to proceed" and sends it to the Bishop of Paris for the posthumous trial of Boniface for heresy.
• *King Edward II summons a council to meet at York, but several nobles refuse to attend due to Piers Gaveston's attendance. Since he returned from exile, Gaveston tries to alienate the nobles from the king.
• October 20 - In what is now central Myanmar, the coronation of Thihathu as the monarch of the Myinsaing Kingdom takes place.
• October 22 - The trial of the Knights Templar arrested in England begins and will continue for the next five months, ending on March 18, 1310.
• October 29 - Archbishop Cassone della Torre of Milan is exiled to Bologna by his cousin Guido, who is later excommunicated.
• October 31 - In India, Alauddin Khalji, Sultan of Delhi, orders General Malik Kafur to invade the Kakatiya kingdom, ruled by Prataparudra, and to besiege its capital, Warangal.
• October - About 500 knights led by John of Castile, Lord of Valencia de Campos, uncle of King James II of Castile, desert the Castilian encampment during the Siege of Algeciras because they are not getting paid and because one-sixth of Granada will be ceded to the Kingdom of Aragon. King Ferdinand of Aragon continues the siege.
• November 4 - Pope Clement V declares that Knights Hospitaller will not be sent to the Holy Land and Jerusalem, and that they will be limited to defending the Mediterranean Sea including Cyprus and Rhodes.
• November 13 - After a layover in Masudspur, the Delhi Sultanate Army of General Kafur resumes its march toward Warangal, stopping at Sultanpur on November 19, at Khandar on December 5 and at Nikanth on December 27.
• November 19 - Pope Clement V reverses the excommunication of Flemish hero Willem van Saeftinghe and grants him absolution, but requires him to join the Knights Hospitaller in their crusade at the island of Rhodes.
• December 18 - In Spain, three months after the September 19 death of Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Fernando Ponce de León is made the new ruler of Marchena, as well as Bornos, Espera, Rota and Chipiona by King Ferdinand IV of Castile.

  By place

England

• Alnwick Castle in Northumberland is bought by the House of Percy, later Earls of Northumberland.

  Cities and Towns

• The village of Lukáčovce in Slovakia first appears in the historical records.

  Births

• March 25 - Robert de Ferrers, English nobleman and knight
• June 9 - Rupert I, German nobleman and count palatine
• December 6 - Humphrey de Bohun, English nobleman
• probable - Aldona of Lithuania, queen consort of Poland
• Conrad of Megenberg, German scholar and scientist

  Deaths

• January 4 - Angela of Foligno, Italian nun, mystic and writer
• February 9 - Nanpo Shōmyō, Japanese monk and priest
• March 7 - Lovato Lovati, Italian scholar, judge and writer
• April 10 - Elisabeth von Rapperswil, Swiss noblewoman
• May 5 - King Charles II "the Lame" of Naples), son of Charles I of Anjou
• May 19 - Agostino Novello, Italian priest and prior general
• July 13 - John I, Dutch nobleman and bishop
• July 16 - James Stewart, Scottish nobleman and knight
• August 10 - Giovanni Boccamazza, Italian cardinal and archbishop
• September 19 - Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Spanish nobleman
• October 6 - Frederick VII, German nobleman
• October 18 - Tettsū Gikai, Japanese monk and Zen Master