Politics & PowerThe 13th century

Politics & Power in the 13th century

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged politics and power — dynasties, constitutions, revolutions and changes of regime, narrowed to the 13th century — 33 of them, drawn from 29 nations, running from 1200 to 1297. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
33
Nations
29
Earliest
1200
Latest
1297
Europe
15
Asia
10
Africa
6
North America
1
South America
1

Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

  1. South America

    Bolivia

    The Aymara lordships

    After Tiwanaku's decline, Aymara-speaking kingdoms dominate the highlands around Lake Titicaca until the rise of the Inca.

    Era: Tiwanaku, the Aymara, and the Inca

    Sources: Bolivia: Early period · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  2. Asia

    Nepal

    Malla dynasty rules the valley

    The Mallas govern the Kathmandu Valley, codifying Hindu-influenced law and patronising the Newar temple architecture for which the valley becomes famous.

    Era: The Malla City-States and the Valley of Art

    Sources: Malla era · Encyclopædia Britannica, Nepal — History (Himalayas, Monarchy, Unification) · Encyclopædia Britannica

  3. Asia

    India

    Founding of the Delhi Sultanate

    Qutb al-Din Aibak establishes independent rule at Delhi, beginning a 320-year succession of Islamic dynasties that reshape the politics and culture of northern India.

    Era: The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire

    Sources: Qutb ud-Din Aibak · Wikipedia, Delhi Sultanate · Wikipedia

  4. Asia

    Pakistan

    Rise of the Delhi Sultanate

    Muslim dynasties ruling from Delhi extend their dominion over the Indus plains, deepening the region's Islamic culture over three centuries.

    Era: Islam, the Sultans and the Mughals

    Sources: Pakistan: A Country Study · Library of Congress, Federal Research Division

  5. Africa

    Chad

    Zenith under Dunama Dibalemi

    Mai Dunama Dibalemi brought Kanem to its peak, projecting power from the Fezzan to the southern savanna and deepening trade and diplomatic ties with North Africa and Egypt.

    Era: Kanem and Kanem-Bornu

    Sources: Kanem-Bornu Empire · Wikipedia, Mai Dunama Dibbalemi · EBSCO Research Starters

  6. Europe

    Czechia

    Golden Bull of Sicily and the Kingdom of Bohemia

    The Golden Bull of Sicily, issued by Emperor Frederick II, confirmed the royal title of the Premyslid rulers as hereditary, formally raising Bohemia from a duchy to a kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire.

    Era: Great Moravia, Saint Wenceslas and the Premyslid Dukes

    Sources: Otakar II (Kingdom of Bohemia) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  7. Europe

    United Kingdom

    Magna Carta sealed at Runnymede

    Rebel barons compelled King John to seal Magna Carta, asserting that the monarch was bound by law; though soon annulled, it became a lasting symbol of limits on royal power.

    Era: The Norman Conquest and medieval England

    Sources: The British Library: history and collections · The British Library, Magna Carta · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  8. Europe

    Serbia

    Stefan the First-Crowned becomes king

    Stefan Nemanjić obtained recognition as king, raising the grand principality of Raška to the rank of a kingdom and earning the name Prvovenčani, the 'First-Crowned'.

    Era: The Medieval Serbian State under the Nemanjić Dynasty

    Sources: Stephen II Nemanja (Stefan the First-Crowned) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Nemanjić Dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  9. Europe

    Bulgaria

    Ivan Asen II and the Second Empire's apogee

    Under Tsar Ivan Asen II Bulgaria reached its greatest extent and prosperity, dominating the Balkans and patronising an Orthodox cultural flowering centred on Tarnovo.

    Era: The Second Bulgarian Empire and the Ottoman Conquest

    Sources: History of Bulgaria · Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria

  10. Europe

    Kosovo

    Nemanjic rule and the Serbian Church

    The Nemanjic dynasty consolidated its hold over the region, which became a centre of the medieval Serbian state and of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church seated at the Patriarchate of Pec.

    Era: The Medieval Serbian Heartland and the Battle of Kosovo

    Sources: History of Kosovo (ancient Dardania to the medieval period) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Kosovo: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  11. Asia

    Mongolia

    Death of Chinggis Khan

    Chinggis Khan dies in August 1227 during a campaign against the Tangut Xixia kingdom, leaving an empire reaching from northern China to the Caspian Sea and a realm divided among his four sons.

    Era: Chinggis Khan and the Birth of the Mongol Nation

    Sources: Genghis Khan · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  12. Asia

    Mongolia

    Karakorum becomes the imperial capital

    Great Khan Ögödei walls the city of Karakorum in the Orkhon valley and builds a palace there, establishing a fixed capital for the Mongol Empire on the Mongolian steppe.

    Era: The Great Empire: Karakorum, Kublai, and the Yuan

    Sources: Karakorum · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape (World Heritage List) · UNESCO World Heritage Centre

  13. Asia

    Kazakhstan

    The Golden Horde rules the western steppe

    The lands of present-day Kazakhstan pass to the line of Jochi, forming the western wing of the Mongol empire known as the Golden Horde, where Turks outnumber Mongols and Islam becomes the prevailing faith.

    Era: The Mongol Conquest and the Golden Horde

    Sources: Golden Horde · Encyclopædia Britannica, History of Kazakhstan · Encyclopædia Britannica

  14. Europe

    San Marino

    First Captains Regent

    The republic adopted its signature institution, two Captains Regent serving jointly for six-month terms; since the late-thirteenth-century statute their office has alternated every six months without interruption.

    Era: The Commune, the Statutes and the Captains Regent

    Sources: The Institutions of the Republic of San Marino · Consulate of San Marino to the UK, History of San Marino · Visit San Marino (official tourism site)

  15. Europe

    Austria

    End of the Babenberg line

    Duke Frederick II 'the Quarrelsome' was killed fighting the Hungarians, leaving no male heir; the extinction of the Babenbergs left the duchy of Austria contested among neighbouring powers.

    Era: Ostarrîchi: The Babenberg March and Duchy

    Sources: Ostarrîchi: Austria under the Babenbergs · Die Welt der Habsburger (The World of the Habsburgs)

  16. Africa

    Egypt

    Mamluks seize power

    The slave-soldier Mamluks overthrow the last Ayyubid ruler and establish a sultanate that will govern Egypt and Syria for over two and a half centuries.

    Era: Islamic Egypt: Caliphs, Fatimids and Mamluks

    Sources: Egypt: The Ayyubid dynasty (1171–1250) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  17. Asia

    Syria

    Mamluk rule over Syria

    The Mamluks supplant the Ayyubids and govern Syria from Egypt for over two centuries, halting the Mongols and presiding over a flourishing of trade and architecture in Damascus and Aleppo.

    Era: Saladin, the Mamluks and Ottoman Rule

    Sources: Mamluk dynasty — rulers of Egypt and Syria (1250–1517) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  18. Europe

    San Marino

    The earliest Statutes

    San Marino set down its first written statutes, with a fuller body of state law following by 1295, formalising the self-government of the mountain commune.

    Era: The Commune, the Statutes and the Captains Regent

    Sources: History of San Marino · Visit San Marino (official tourism site)

  19. North America

    Greenland

    Submission to the Norwegian crown

    The Greenlanders accepted the sovereignty of the king of Norway, tying the colony to the Scandinavian crowns and, through later unions, ultimately to Denmark.

    Era: Erik the Red and the Norse Colony

    Sources: Greenland: History · Encyclopædia Britannica

  20. Europe

    Iceland

    The Old Covenant (Gamli sáttmáli)

    Worn down by civil strife and pressed by King Haakon IV, the Icelandic chieftains swore allegiance to the Norwegian crown, ending the independent Commonwealth and beginning centuries of foreign rule.

    Era: Christianity, the Sagas and the Old Covenant

    Sources: The Age of the Sturlungs · Medievalists.net, Iceland: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  21. Europe

    Lithuania

    Assassination of Mindaugas and pagan reversion

    Mindaugas was murdered amid noble rivalry; Lithuania abandoned the royal title and Christianity, returning to paganism and to rule by grand dukes for more than a century.

    Era: The Pagan Kingdom and the Rise of the Grand Duchy

    Sources: Mindaugas · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Grand Duchy of Lithuania · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  22. Africa

    Morocco

    Fall of the Almohads

    The Marinids capture Marrakesh, ending Almohad rule and inaugurating a new Berber dynasty centred on Fez.

    Era: The Berber Empires: Almoravids and Almohads

    Sources: Marinid dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  23. Africa

    Morocco

    Marinids master Morocco from Fez

    Having taken Fez in 1248 and Marrakesh in 1269, the Marinids rule Morocco from Fez, endowing the city with famous madrasas.

    Era: Marinids, Saadians and the Three Kings

    Sources: Marinid dynasty · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  24. Europe

    Norway

    The national law of Magnus the Lawmender

    King Magnus VI codified a national law for the whole kingdom, one of the most advanced legal codes in medieval Europe and a mark of the consolidated Christian monarchy.

    Era: The Christian Kingdom, St Olaf and Hanseatic Bergen

    Sources: Norway: The Treaty of Kiel · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  25. Asia

    Thailand

    Reign of Ramkhamhaeng the Great

    Sukhothai reaches its zenith under Ramkhamhaeng, who expands its reach, opens relations with China, and champions Theravada Buddhism.

    Era: Tai Origins and the Sukhothai Kingdom

    Sources: Ramkhamhaeng · Encyclopædia Britannica, Sukhothai kingdom · Encyclopædia Britannica

  26. Europe

    Malta

    Rule under Sicily and Aragon

    As part of the Kingdom of Sicily, Malta passed through Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese hands, governed by feudal lords and a local council, until 1530.

    Era: Arabs, Normans and Medieval Malta

    Sources: History of Malta · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  27. Africa

    Djibouti

    Sultanate of Ifat dominant on the routes

    The Walashma-ruled Sultanate of Ifat, with Zeila as its principal port, commands the trade routes between the Ethiopian highlands and the Red Sea, spreading Muslim political power into the region.

    Era: The Afar, the Issa and the Muslim Sultanates

    Sources: History of Djibouti · Wikipedia, Djibouti (country and history) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  28. Africa

    Senegal

    Takrur drawn into Mali's orbit

    Political fragmentation and the rise of the Mali Empire bring Takrur under outside dynasties, ending its independent prominence.

    Era: Takrur and the Coming of Islam

    Sources: Takrur · Wikipedia

  29. Europe

    Andorra

    The questia tribute and neutrality

    Andorra rendered a symbolic annual tribute, the questia, to each co-prince as an act of homage; the settlement was understood to recognise the valleys' neutrality.

    Era: The Paréage of 1278 and the Making of the Co-Principality

    Sources: Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Andorra: Member state · Council of Europe

  30. Asia

    Palestine

    Mamluk rule established

    The Mamluk sultanate of Egypt expelled the last Crusaders from the Levant and governed Palestine until the Ottoman conquest.

    Era: Islamic Palestine: Conquest, Caliphates, Crusades, and Mamluks

    Sources: Palestine - region, history · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  31. Asia

    Brunei

    Tributary ties to Majapahit

    Brunei comes under the cultural and political influence of the Hindu Javanese empire of Majapahit, to which it pays tribute, while maintaining its long-standing relationship with China.

    Era: Early Borneo: Trade, Tribute, and the Rise of Po-ni

    Sources: History of Brunei · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Majapahit empire · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  32. Europe

    San Marino

    Self-government affirmed within papal Romagna

    As the Papal States consolidated their hold over the surrounding Romagna, San Marino preserved its autonomy by diplomacy and the recognition of its rights, the strategy of survival that kept the commune free among far greater powers.

    Era: The Commune, the Statutes and the Captains Regent

    Sources: History of San Marino · Visit San Marino (official tourism site), San Marino (Napoleon, Congress of Vienna, 1862 treaty) · New World Encyclopedia

  33. Europe

    Portugal

    Treaty of Alcanices

    King Dinis and Ferdinand IV of Castile confirmed Portuguese possession of the Algarve and fixed the frontier, creating one of the oldest stable borders in Europe.

    Era: From County to Kingdom: Afonso Henriques and the Reconquista

    Sources: Treaty of Alcanices (1297) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dinis, king of Portugal · Encyclopaedia Britannica