- North America
Rise of Pipil Cuzcatlan
Nahua-speaking Pipil migrants establish the realm of Cuzcatlan, the Land of the Jewel, dominating the region west of the Lempa River with a society resembling that of the Aztecs.
Era: The Pipil, the Maya, and the Land of the Jewel
Sources: Cuscatlan, historical region · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pipil people · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Europe
Foundation of Riga by Bishop Albert
Bishop Albert of Buxhoevden founded Riga at the mouth of the Daugava as the base for the German mission and conquest, the city that became the centre of crusader Livonia and a great Hanseatic port.
Era: Baltic Tribes, the Northern Crusades and Terra Mariana
Sources: Latvia: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Historic Centre of Riga · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, History of the Port of Riga · Freeport of Riga Authority (rop.lv)
- Asia
Temüjin proclaimed Chinggis Khan
An assembly of steppe leaders by the River Onon proclaims Temüjin as Chinggis Khan, 'Universal Ruler,' uniting the Mongol tribes into one nation governed by the Yassa law code, the founding act of the Mongol state.
Era: Chinggis Khan and the Birth of the Mongol Nation
Sources: Genghis Khan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mongol empire · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Yasa (Mongol law) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Europe
Genoa fortifies the Rock
Genoese Ghibellines under Fulco del Cassello began building a fortress of four towers on the Rock of Monaco, offering land and tax exemptions to draw settlers to the new stronghold.
Era: The Genoese Fortress and the Coming of the Grimaldi
Sources: Monaco - Prince's Palace · Government of Monaco (gouv.mc), Monaco: 1215 to 1662 · GlobalSecurity.org, Monaco · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
The kingdom of Mapungubwe
Near the Limpopo, Mapungubwe rose as southern Africa's first state-level society, trading gold and ivory to the Indian Ocean coast and producing famed gold artefacts before its decline around 1300.
Era: Early peoples: San, Khoekhoe and the Bantu-speaking kingdoms
Sources: Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, South Africa (country, history and government) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Mali's reach extends to the Gambia
The Mali Empire expanded into the Gambia River valley in the thirteenth century, bringing the region within the Mande world and spreading Islam, trade and administration as Mandinka traders moved west.
Era: The Mali Empire and the Mandinka kingdoms
Sources: The Gambia (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of the Gambia · Wikipedia, Mali (historical empire of Africa) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Foundation of the Mali Empire on the upper Niger
Sundiata Keita unites the Malinké chiefdoms of the Manding heartland and founds the Mali Empire, with its capital at Niani on the upper Niger.
Era: The Mande Heartland and the Sahelian Empires
Sources: Guinea — History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mali Empire · EBSCO Research Starters, Songhai Empire · World History Encyclopedia
- Africa
Mali's reach and the rise of Kaabu
The Mali Empire expanded west into the region, traditionally under Sundiata Keita's general Tiramakhan Traoré; the conquered lands became Kaabu (Gabu), a Mandinka province that would outlast Mali itself.
Era: Kaabu and the peoples of the Rivers of Guinea
Sources: Kaabu · Wikipedia, History of Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia, Guinea-Bissau (country overview and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
Battle of Kirina and the founding of Mali
Sundiata Keita defeats Sumanguru Kanté of the Soso, unifying the Malinke and establishing the Mali Empire with its capital at Niani.
Era: The Mali Empire
Sources: Sundiata Keita — Biography, Facts, & Empire · Encyclopædia Britannica, The Mali Empire · National Geographic Education, History of the Mali Empire · Wikipedia
- Asia
Founding of the Sukhothai kingdom
Tai chiefs cast off Khmer rule and establish Sukhothai in the upper Chao Phraya valley, traditionally counted as the first independent Thai kingdom.
Era: Tai Origins and the Sukhothai Kingdom
Sources: Sukhothai kingdom · Encyclopædia Britannica, Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Europe
Coronation of Mindaugas
Having accepted baptism around 1251, Mindaugas was crowned King of Lithuania by authority of Pope Innocent IV, the only ruler ever crowned king of the country and the founder of the Lithuanian state.
Era: The Pagan Kingdom and the Rise of the Grand Duchy
Sources: Mindaugas · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Coronation of Lithuania's King Mindaugas: fact, fiction and politics · LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and Television)
- Africa
Solomonic dynasty restored
Yekuno Amlak overthrows the last Zagwe ruler and founds the Solomonic dynasty, which would rule Ethiopia almost continuously until 1974, claiming descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
Era: The Zagwe Kings, Lalibela and the Solomonic Restoration
Sources: Solomonic Descent in Ethiopian History · World History Encyclopedia, Ethiopia's Enduring Cultural Heritage · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Asia
Kublai Khan founds the Yuan dynasty
Chinggis Khan's grandson Kublai proclaims the Yuan dynasty in 1271 and completes the conquest of China by 1279, ruling all of China from Khanbaliq (Beijing) as its first non-Chinese sovereign.
Era: The Great Empire: Karakorum, Kublai, and the Yuan
Sources: Kublai Khan · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mongol empire · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Europe
The first paréage
A feudal charter signed at Lleida ended the dispute between the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix by placing Andorra under their joint suzerainty, creating the co-principality.
Era: The Paréage of 1278 and the Making of the Co-Principality
Sources: Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Andorra: geography, history, and system of government (summary) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Andorra: Countries · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- Europe
The second paréage
A second charter settled questions of justice and defence left open in 1278; together the two paréages formed Andorra's first basic law and constitutional foundation until 1993.
Era: The Paréage of 1278 and the Making of the Co-Principality
Sources: Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Andorra: Countries · U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
- Europe
The Federal Charter of the forest cantons
Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden sealed a charter of mutual aid against outside lords, refusing foreign judges and pledging to keep the peace; later regarded as the founding act of the Swiss Confederation and its oldest constitutional document.
Era: The Oath of the Forest Cantons and the Old Swiss Confederacy
Sources: The History of Switzerland · Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch), Switzerland: The Swiss Confederation during the Late Middle Ages · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Asia
Founding of the Majapahit empire
Raden Wijaya establishes Majapahit in eastern Java, which grows into the most powerful Hindu-Buddhist empire of the archipelago.
Era: Early Peoples and the Hindu-Buddhist Kingdoms: Srivijaya and Majapahit
Sources: Majapahit empire · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Majapahit · Wikipedia
- Europe
Grimaldi seizes the Rock
François Grimaldi, called Malizia, took the fortress disguised as a Franciscan monk, beginning the Grimaldi presence in Monaco, an event commemorated by the armed monks of the princely coat of arms.
Era: The Genoese Fortress and the Coming of the Grimaldi
Sources: Occupation of the Rocher by François Grimaldi · Government of Monaco (gouv.mc), Monaco - Prince's Palace · Government of Monaco (gouv.mc), Grimaldi family · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Monaco summary · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Asia
Foundation of the Ottoman emirate
Osman I, leader of a frontier emirate in north-western Anatolia, is traditionally regarded as founder of the Ottoman dynasty around 1299, giving his name to the empire.
Era: The Rise of the Seljuks and Ottomans
Sources: Osman I · World History Encyclopedia, Ottoman Empire · Encyclopædia Britannica
Formation in the 13th century
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged formation — origins, unifications and the founding of states as each nation's archive records them, narrowed to the 13th century — 19 of them, drawn from 16 nations, running from 1200 to 1299. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 19
- Nations
- 16
- Earliest
- 1200
- Latest
- 1299
- Europe
- 7
- Africa
- 6
- Asia
- 5
- North America
- 1
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.