The 12th century

Africa

1. 🇧🇯BEN

   Benin · Peoples & Migration · c. 12th–15th centuries

   Aja migrations from Tado

   Aja-speaking peoples spread, by oral tradition, eastward from Tado on the Mono River across the coastal plain of southern Benin, founding a cluster of kin-based kingdoms including Allada.

   The Aja migrations and the kingdoms of Allada and Porto-Novo

   Sources: Benin — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Porto-Novo (Wikipedia) · History of the Kingdom of Dahomey (Wikipedia)

2. 🇨🇲CMR

   Cameroon · Culture & Ideas · c. 11th–15th centuries

   Height of the Sao city-states

   The Sao settlements of the Lake Chad basin reached their apex between roughly the ninth and fifteenth centuries before being absorbed by neighbouring states and peoples such as the Kotoko.

   The Sao, the Bantu cradle and Cameroon's early peoples

   Sources: Sao civilisation (Wikipedia) · History of Cameroon (Wikipedia)

3. 🇰🇲COM

   Comoros · Religion · c. 11th–12th century

   Islam takes root

   Islam, carried by Indian Ocean merchants and migrants, becomes established across the islands, tying the Comoros to the religious culture of the Swahili coast.

   Settlement and the Coming of Islam

   Sources: History of the Comoros (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)

4. 🇬🇦GAB

   Gabon · Peoples & Migration · c. 11th–13th centuries

   Myènè peoples settle the coast

   Myènè-speaking peoples including the Mpongwe at the estuary, the Orungu at Cape Lopez and the Nkomi at Fernan Vaz settled the Gabon coast, organised in clans well placed to trade with the interior and the sea.

   The Myènè coast, the Fang, and the Atlantic trade

   Sources: History of Gabon (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of Gabon (Wikipedia) · Gabon — People (GlobalSecurity.org)

5. 🇬🇭GHA

   Ghana · Formation · c. 12th century

   Rise of Bono and the early Akan states

   The Bono, regarded by tradition as the first Akan state-builders, established centres such as Bono Manso, with the nearby town of Begho growing into a major forest trading hub for gold, kola, and ivory.

   The Akan forest states and the gold trade

   Sources: Bono people / Bono State (Wikipedia) · Ghana (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Economy & Trade · 11th–14th centuries

   The savannas join the trans-Saharan trade

   As the Ghana and Mali empires expanded southward, the northern peoples of the region — Senufo and Mandé — were drawn into trans-Saharan commerce, exchanging forest kola nuts for salt, cloth, and gold.

   The northern savannas, the Dyula, and the Empire of Kong

   Sources: History of Côte d'Ivoire (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of Ivory Coast (Wikipedia) · Background Notes: Cote d'Ivoire (U.S. Department of State)

7. 🇲🇷MRT

   Mauritania · Culture & Ideas · 11th–12th century

   Foundation of the caravan ksour

   The fortified towns of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata are founded to serve the trans-Saharan caravans, becoming trading and religious centres of Islamic culture.

   Arab Migration, the Char Bouba War and the Caravan Ksour

   Sources: Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (Wikipedia)

8. 🇲🇿MOZ

   Mozambique · Economy & Trade · c. 11th–15th century

   Coastal trading towns flourish

   Settlements at Sofala, Angoche, the Island of Mozambique, the Querimba Islands and the Zambezi mouth grow into nodes of the Swahili Indian Ocean trade.

   The Swahili Coast and the Gold of Sofala

   Sources: Mozambique (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A history of the medieval coastal towns of Mozambique (c. 500–1890 CE) (African History Extra)

9. 🇹🇿TZA

   Tanzania · Formation · c. 11th–12th century

   Shirazi dynasty founds Kilwa

   According to the Kilwa Chronicle, the Shirazi line founds the ruling house of Kilwa Kisiwani; the city begins its rise as a Swahili trading power.

   Bantu Settlers and the Swahili Coast

   Sources: Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Kilwa Kisiwani (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. 🇦🇿AZE

   Azerbaijan · Politics & Power · 12th century

   The Shirvanshahs make Baku their capital

   The Shirvanshahs, who had held Baku since the 11th century, made it their capital, walling the inner city and raising the Maiden Tower.

   Islam, the Seljuks and the Shirvanshahs' Baku

   Sources: Baku: location, history and economy (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Icheri-Shekher (Inner City), Baku (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

2. 🇨🇾CYP

   Cyprus · Culture & Ideas · 11th–12th c. CE

   The painted churches of the Troödos

   The mountain region of Troödos accumulated one of the largest groups of Byzantine churches and monasteries, richly decorated with murals later inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

   Roman and Byzantine Cyprus: An Early Christian Island

   Sources: Painted Churches in the Troödos Region (World Heritage List, inscribed 1985) (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

North America

1. 🇺🇸USA

   United States · Culture & Ideas · c. 1100 CE

   Cahokia at its height

   The Mississippian city of Cahokia, near present-day St. Louis, reached its peak as one of the largest urban centres north of Mexico, anchored by monumental earthen mounds.

   Indigenous America before contact

   Sources: Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation; U.S. History Collections (Library of Congress)

Europe

1. 🇭🇷HRV

   Croatia · Politics & Power

   Personal union with Hungary

   King Coloman of Hungary was crowned king of Croatia and Dalmatia, joining the crowns in a personal union; Croatian tradition records the terms in the Pacta conventa, under which Croatia kept its Sabor and its ban.

   The Medieval Kingdom and the Union with Hungary

   Sources: Croatia in Europe through the Ages: Development of the State (Croatia.eu (Miroslav Krleza Institute of Lexicography)) · Croatia: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Religion · early 12th century

   Suryavarman II and Angkor Wat

   Suryavarman II reunites the empire and begins Angkor Wat, dedicated to Vishnu and the largest religious structure in the world, completed after his death.

   The Khmer Empire and Angkor

   Sources: Suryavarman II (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Angkor Wat (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇹🇲TKM

   Turkmenistan · Politics & Power · 1118–1157

   Merv as Seljuk capital under Sultan Sanjar

   The Great Seljuk sultan Sanjar made Merv a capital; the city's population swelled and it became one of the largest and most cultured cities in the world, a hub of Silk Road science and faith.

   Merv: Silk Road City and Seljuk Capital

   Sources: Seljuq dynasty (Encyclopædia Britannica) · State Historical and Cultural Park 'Ancient Merv' (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Asia

1. 🇬🇪GEO

   Georgia · War & Rupture

   Battle of Didgori

   David IV the Builder defeated a much larger Seljuk Turkish coalition at Didgori west of Tbilisi, a decisive victory that broke Seljuk power in the Caucasus.

   The Golden Age of David the Builder and Queen Tamar

   Sources: David IV (king of Georgia) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇬🇪GEO

   Georgia · Politics & Power

   Tbilisi recovered and made capital

   David IV recaptured Tbilisi from Muslim rule, ending centuries of the emirate and establishing the city as the royal capital of a reunited Georgia.

   The Golden Age of David the Builder and Queen Tamar

   Sources: History of Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · David IV (king of Georgia) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇮🇹ITA

   Italy · Formation · Christmas Day, 1130

   Roger II crowned King of Sicily

   Norman conquests in the south were united when Roger II was crowned King of Sicily, creating a wealthy multicultural kingdom of Latins, Greeks and Arabs.

   Medieval Italy: Papacy, Communes and Normans

   Sources: Kingdom of Sicily (Norman conquest; coronation of Roger II, 1130) (Wikipedia) · Italian Peninsula, 1000–1400 A.D. (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Europe

1. 🇦🇩AND

   Andorra · Politics & Power · early 12th c.

   Lordship of the Bishop of Urgell

   The Bishop of Urgell consolidated lordship over the Andorran valleys, entrusting their defence to secular protectors, among them the powerful counts of Foix.

   Charlemagne, the Marca Hispanica and the Bishops of Urgell

   Sources: Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Andorra: Countries (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

Africa

1. 🇪🇹ETH

   Ethiopia · Politics & Power · c. 1137

   Zagwe dynasty established

   The Zagwe dynasty takes control of the Christian highlands, ruling from Roha (later Lalibela) and sustaining the Christian kingdom after Aksum's fall.

   The Zagwe Kings, Lalibela and the Solomonic Restoration

   Sources: Zagwe dynasty (Wikipedia) · Ethiopia's Enduring Cultural Heritage (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Europe

1. 🇵🇱POL

   Poland · Politics & Power

   Testament of Boleslaw III and fragmentation

   The dying Boleslaw III Wrymouth divided Poland among his sons, beginning nearly two centuries of fragmentation into rival duchies that weakened the state against its neighbours.

   The Birth of the Piast State and the Christianization of Poland

   Sources: Poland: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇵🇹PRT

   Portugal · Formation · 25 Jul 1139

   Battle of Ourique

   By tradition, Afonso Henriques took the title of king of Portugal after defeating a Muslim army at Ourique, asserting the county's break from the kingdom of Leon.

   From County to Kingdom: Afonso Henriques and the Reconquista

   Sources: Afonso I, king of Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Portugal: The kingdom and the Reconquista (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇵🇹PRT

   Portugal · Independence

   Recognition of autonomy at Zamora

   Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile accepted the autonomy of Afonso Henriques, an early step toward the recognised independence of Portugal.

   From County to Kingdom: Afonso Henriques and the Reconquista

   Sources: Afonso I, king of Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. 🇲🇷MRT

   Mauritania · Politics & Power

   Fall of the Almoravid empire

   The Almoravid empire, which had stretched from the Senegal River to Spain, is overthrown by the Almohads, but Islam remains firmly rooted in the western Sahara.

   The Almoravid Jihad

   Sources: Almoravids (Berber confederation) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇲🇦MAR

   Morocco · Politics & Power

   Almohads capture Marrakesh

   The Almohads under Abd al-Mu'min take Marrakesh, supplanting the Almoravids and building an empire across the whole Maghreb and al-Andalus.

   The Berber Empires: Almoravids and Almohads

   Sources: North Africa: The Maghrib under the Almoravids and the Almohads (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Art of the Almoravid and Almohad Periods (ca. 1062–1269) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Europe

1. 🇵🇹PRT

   Portugal · War & Rupture

   Capture of Lisbon

   Afonso Henriques took Santarem and then Lisbon from the Muslims, the latter with the help of crusaders sailing to the Holy Land, advancing the Reconquista to the Tagus.

   From County to Kingdom: Afonso Henriques and the Reconquista

   Sources: Afonso I, king of Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇦🇫AFG

   Afghanistan · War & Rupture · c. 1150 CE

   The Ghurids sack Ghazni

   The Ghurids of central Afghanistan overthrow Ghaznavid power, sacking Ghazni and extending Muslim rule into northern India; their Minaret of Jam survives as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

   Islam, the Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Timurids

   Sources: Ghaznavid dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Ghazni — Afghanistan, History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇱🇺LUX

   Luxembourg · Formation · c. 1150

   The town is walled

   The settlement gathered beneath Siegfried's castle was enclosed with stone ramparts around the middle of the twelfth century, beginning its long evolution into a fortified city.

   Siegfried's Rock and the County of Luxembourg

   Sources: History of the city of Luxembourg (Luxembourg City Tourist Office) · History of the City of Luxembourg (Ville de Luxembourg (City of Luxembourg))

Asia

1. 🇱🇰LKA

   Sri Lanka · Culture & Ideas · 1153–1186

   Golden age under Parakramabahu I

   Parakramabahu I rebuilds the city and its irrigation, creating the immense Parakrama Samudra reservoir and a garden-capital that marks the high point of the Polonnaruwa period.

   Polonnaruwa and the Move South

   Sources: Ancient City of Polonnaruwa (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Europe

1. 🇦🇹AUT

   Austria · Politics & Power

   The Privilegium Minus raises Austria to a duchy

   Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa's Privilegium Minus elevated Austria from a march to a duchy and detached it from Bavaria, granting the Babenbergs wide hereditary rights; Vienna became their seat.

   Ostarrîchi: The Babenberg March and Duchy

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

Asia

1. 🇹🇲TKM

   Turkmenistan · Culture & Ideas · c. 1157

   Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar

   Built at the death of Sultan Sanjar, the great domed mausoleum at the centre of Sultan Kala stands as the finest surviving monument of Seljuk Merv.

   Merv: Silk Road City and Seljuk Capital

   Sources: State Historical and Cultural Park 'Ancient Merv' (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Seljuq dynasty (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇷🇸SRB

   Serbia · Formation · c. 1166–1196

   Stefan Nemanja founds the Nemanjić state

   As grand chieftain of Raška, Stefan Nemanja united the Serb principalities and founded the Nemanjić dynasty, which would develop Serbia into a major medieval Balkan power.

   The Medieval Serbian State under the Nemanjić Dynasty

   Sources: Stefan Nemanja (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Nemanjić Dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇮🇪IRL

   Ireland · War & Rupture

   Anglo-Norman landing in Ireland

   At the invitation of the exiled Leinster king Diarmait Mac Murchada, Anglo-Norman, Welsh and Flemish forces landed in Wexford in 1169, beginning centuries of English involvement in Ireland.

   Anglo-Norman Invasion, Plantation and Conquest

   Sources: Normans Invade Ireland (EBSCO Research Starters) · Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland (New World Encyclopedia)

Africa

1. 🇪🇬EGY

   Egypt · Politics & Power · 1171 CE

   Saladin founds the Ayyubid dynasty

   Saladin abolishes the Fatimid caliphate, restores Sunni rule in Egypt and establishes the Ayyubid dynasty, later retaking Jerusalem in 1187.

   Islamic Egypt: Caliphs, Fatimids and Mamluks

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

Europe

1. 🇮🇪IRL

   Ireland · Politics & Power

   Henry II and the Lordship of Ireland

   Henry II landed at Waterford in 1171, the first English king in Ireland, and established the Lordship of Ireland; in 1177 he made his son John 'Lord of Ireland'.

   Anglo-Norman Invasion, Plantation and Conquest

   Sources: Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland (New World Encyclopedia) · Normans Invade Ireland (EBSCO Research Starters)

Europe

1. 🇮🇹ITA

   Italy · War & Rupture

   Lombard League defeats Frederick Barbarossa at Legnano

   The allied northern communes defeated the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa at Legnano, securing recognition of communal liberties in northern Italy.

   Medieval Italy: Papacy, Communes and Normans

   Sources: Italy (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Italian Peninsula, 1000–1400 A.D. (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Europe

1. 🇮🇸ISL

   Iceland · Culture & Ideas · 1179–1241

   Snorri Sturluson and the sagas

   Chieftain and twice lawspeaker, Snorri Sturluson wrote the Prose Edda and the Heimskringla, central works of the saga age that preserved the mythology and history of the Norse world.

   Christianity, the Sagas and the Old Covenant

   Sources: Snorri Sturluson (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇵🇹PRT

   Portugal · Independence · 23 May 1179

   Papal recognition in Manifestis Probatum

   Pope Alexander III confirmed Afonso Henriques as king and recognised Portugal as an independent kingdom under the protection of the Holy See, the founding act of Portuguese sovereignty.

   From County to Kingdom: Afonso Henriques and the Reconquista

   Sources: Afonso I, king of Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Portugal: The kingdom and the Reconquista (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇯🇵JPN

   Japan · War & Rupture · 1180-1185 CE

   Genpei War

   Civil war between the Taira and Minamoto warrior clans ends with Minamoto victory at Dan-no-ura in 1185, shattering court supremacy and ushering in warrior rule.

   Nara and Heian: The Classical Age

   Sources: Minamoto Yoritomo (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kamakura period (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Religion · 1181 - c. 1220

   Jayavarman VII rebuilds Angkor Thom and the Bayon

   After repelling a Cham invasion, Jayavarman VII embraces Mahayana Buddhism, expands the empire to its greatest extent, and builds Angkor Thom and the Bayon.

   The Khmer Empire and Angkor

   Sources: Jayavarman VII (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Bayon (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇬🇪GEO

   Georgia · Politics & Power · 1184–1213

   Reign of Queen Tamar

   Tamar, titled mepe ('king'), brought Georgia to the height of its power and prestige, ruling a pan-Caucasian realm and presiding over a cultural golden age.

   The Golden Age of David the Builder and Queen Tamar

   Sources: Tamara (queen of Georgia) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇧🇬BGR

   Bulgaria · Formation · 1185–1186

   Revolt of Asen and Peter restores the state

   The boyar brothers Asen and Peter rose against Byzantine rule and within a year won recognition of a restored Bulgarian realm, founding the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital at Tarnovo.

   The Second Bulgarian Empire and the Ottoman Conquest

   Sources: History of Bulgaria (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria) · About Bulgaria: History (Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria (gov.bg))

Asia

1. 🇵🇸PSE

   Palestine · War & Rupture · 1187 CE

   Saladin retakes Jerusalem

   Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, defeated the Crusaders and recaptured Jerusalem, largely ending Crusader rule over the city.

   Islamic Palestine: Conquest, Caliphates, Crusades, and Mamluks

   Sources: Saladin (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Crusades (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇸🇾SYR

   Syria · War & Rupture · 1187 CE

   Saladin recaptures Jerusalem

   Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty that united Egypt and Syria, defeats the Crusaders and retakes Jerusalem, ending nearly nine decades of Frankish rule and becoming a legendary figure of the age.

   Saladin, the Mamluks and Ottoman Rule

   Sources: Saladin — sultan of Egypt and Syria (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Ayyubid dynasty (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · Formation · 29 Aug 1189

   Charter of Ban Kulin

   Ban Kulin granted the merchants of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) freedom to trade across Bosnia; the document is one of the oldest state charters of the South Slavs and a landmark of early Bosnian statehood.

   Medieval Bosnia: Banate, Kingdom and the Bosnian Church

   Sources: The Charter of Ban Kulin (1189) (Sarajevo Times) · Bosnia and Herzegovina: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇷🇸SRB

   Serbia · Religion · 1190s

   Foundation of Studenica Monastery

   Stefan Nemanja founded the marble monastery of Studenica, retiring there around 1196; its churches became a masterpiece of the Raška school and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

   The Medieval Serbian State under the Nemanjić Dynasty

   Sources: Studenica Monastery (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Asia

1. 🇨🇾CYP

   Cyprus · War & Rupture

   Richard the Lionheart seizes Cyprus

   En route to the Third Crusade, King Richard I of England captured Cyprus from its Byzantine governor, ending Byzantine rule and opening the island to Latin Crusader control.

   Crusader Kingdom, Venetian Colony and Ottoman Conquest

   Sources: Cyprus: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇨🇾CYP

   Cyprus · Formation

   The Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus

   Guy de Lusignan, former king of Jerusalem, took possession of Cyprus, founding a French feudal dynasty that ruled the island as a Latin Crusader kingdom for nearly three centuries.

   Crusader Kingdom, Venetian Colony and Ottoman Conquest

   Sources: Cyprus: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇯🇵JPN

   Japan · Politics & Power · 1192 CE

   Minamoto Yoritomo becomes shogun

   Yoritomo is appointed shogun, formalizing the Kamakura shogunate and a system of warrior government that would last, in varying forms, until 1868.

   Kamakura and Muromachi: The Age of the Shogun

   Sources: Minamoto Yoritomo (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kamakura period (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇦🇲ARM

   Armenia · Formation · 6 January 1198

   Kingdom of Cilician Armenia

   Leo II was crowned king Leo I, raising the Armenian principality in Cilicia to a kingdom that, allied with the Crusaders, lasted until its conquest by the Mamluks in 1375.

   Bagratid Ani and Cilician Armenia

   Sources: Little Armenia (Cilician Armenia) (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇧🇪BEL

   Belgium · Politics & Power · from the 12th c.

   The Baarle enclaves take shape

   Medieval land deals between the lords of Breda and the dukes of Brabant scattered sovereignty across Baarle, leaving the Belgian Baarle-Hertog as a cluster of enclaves inside the Netherlands, some containing Dutch counter-enclaves.

   Leopold II, the Congo, and the Curiosities of the Border

   Sources: Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau: the enclave complex (Discovering Belgium)

Europe

1. 🇺🇦UKR

   Ukraine · Formation

   Principality of Galicia-Volhynia formed

   Roman Mstyslavych united Galicia and Volhynia into a single powerful principality in the south-west, one of the major successor states to emerge as Kievan Rus' fragmented.

   Kievan Rus' and the Baptism of 988

   Sources: History of Ukraine (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kyivan Rus (Encyclopaedia Britannica)