Timeline 1200-1210 (Interference)

1201-1206
1201

Northern Europe: As the Germans try to support the revolt of eastern Pomerania (vassal to Denmark), Valdemar, duke of Slesvig/Schleswig and brother of king Canute VI of Denmark, conquers Holstein, Hamburg and Lübeck, acquiring control over all of Nordalbingia (the lands north of the Elbe river) and weakening the Hohenstaufen dukes of Saxony; this marks the rise of the so-called Second Danish Empire. Byzantine Empire: The brilliant Vlacho-Bulgarian general Kalojan (John the Beatiful) conquers Philippopolis/Plovdiv from the Byzantines, enforcing a humiliating peace with tributes.

Middle East: A heavy earthquake strikes the Levant, razing most cities and proving especially destructive in Jerusalem, where Viceroy William II is killed along with thousands of inhabitants. William's nephew, Eustace, is sworn in as the new Christian viceroy after the catastrophe.

Arabia: Abu-‘Aziz Qatada saves his brother-in-law, the Saifid sultan of Arabia, Musa al-Jawhar Ghazi, from a plot and secures the governorship of Hijaz for himself and his descendants, the Banu Qatada branch of the Hashemite clan. The sultan again moves his capital in Medina and has his maternal nephew, Salih an-Nasr al-Aziz, elected as Wali (*Sunni “pope”) in Mecca. India: The Mallas replace the Thakuris on the throne of Nepal.

Far East: The Tartars, the Merkites, the Oirat/Kalmucks, the Naimans and eight Mongol clans hail as Gur-Khan (universal ruler) Jamuqa. They form a coalition against the Keraite khan, Toghrul, and his adoptive son and best general, Temüjin, a scion of former khans of the Mongol confederacy, once friend and blood brother of Jamuqa.

1202 Northern Europe: the young Hohenstaufen duke Frederick III of Swabia dies with no heirs: king Lothar II assigns the duchy to Frederick's aunt Agnes. But Agnes is the king's sister-in-law:confused:, having married Lothar's brother Henry. Quoting this abuse as a break of the pact, the duke of Saxony Henry the Crusader (~*OTL Henry VI, HRE emperor), head of the Hohenstaufen house and presumptive heir to the German throne, claims the duchy for one of his own brothers, Frederick Lackland (*in OTL he died at Acre, not *here), and when Lothar denies, takes up arms. The war is quickly decided when the Saxon ruler is killed in a minor skirmish on the Weser river and Frederick is betrayed by the archbishop of Cologne and captured. In the ensuing settlement of peace, Hohenstaufen power is severely curtailed: the Augusta compromise is rejected, leaving the Electors free to appoint the new king at will instead of regularly alternating a Hohenstaufen and a Welf. The Duchy of Saxony is broken by adding bits to Thuringia (despite its being allied with the losers), to the march of Meissen/Misnia and to Brandenburg. The remaining parts, centered in Brunswick/Braunschweig and Lüneburg, are granted to Frederick Lackland as a remnant of the Hohenstaufen power block, but their electoral seat in the Diet of the princes shifts to Brandenburg. Further, various Saxon cities and feudal domains, get “free” or “immediate” status (directly under royal authority, with or without local chartres of liberties).

Western Europe: Death of Amaury I the Great, emperor of Greater Normandy and the most powerful ruler of Europe. He is succeded by his firstborn, William V nicknamed “Le Beau Roger”. King Diogo II of Portugal dies in the defeat of Matxados de Areistana (*near OTL Moura) against the Andalusians of Sevilla.

Southern Europe: Berengario II the Strong, king of Lombardy, dies, and is replaced by his only surviving son, Guglielmo (William) I the Simple, a crippled and weak-minded ruler under the complete influence of the Church. In the feudal anarchy following the fall of the Canossa kingdom, the Malaspina family, a distant offshoot of the former Obertenghi margraves, secures the right to most of Lunigiana, a strategic area on the pilgrim's route to Rome. Pola secures independence from Venice by allying with Ancona and the Andechs margraves of Histria and defeating the Venetians by sea at Veglia island. The Treaty of San Quirino officially severes the county of Gurizberg (*OTL Gorizia) from the Patriarchate of Aquileia.

North Africa: The king of the Maurians, Paul I Iron Cross, reconquers Murnathya (*OTL Marrakech) from the Portuguese Templars. He ends their aggression of Mauretania (*Morocco) recognizing their coastal possessions on the Atlantic coast and granting them extensive feudal and commercial rights in their domains. The Genoese conquer the port of Tabarka from the Ifrigians (*Tunisians), ostensibly in the name of empress Alexandra of Sicily, actually for themselves:D.

Central Asia, Caucasus: The Khorezmians vassalize Azerbaijan.

Far East: Temüjin crushes and subdues the Tartars. Khan Toghrul of the Keraites adopts the victorious general as heir, but soon breaks with him, fearing his growing power.

Black Africa: Some Coghound pirates from the Canaries explore the coasts of western Africa up to OTL Liberia, coming back with gold, slaves and other interesting goods; soon the news arrives to the equally greedy ears of the Pisan tradesmen.

1202-1204

British isles: Ireland rises in rebellion against Norman overlordship. As the Irish kings are too deeply divided to accept one of them as High King, the Irish crown is offered to Reginald, the exiled younger brother of king Duncan III of Scotland and Alba. Norman power is preserved only in the south-east (the so-called Siennories, dominated by Norman and Welsh landlords) and in Dublin, ruled by the Norman-allied Owen Maddox.

1202-1205 Southern Europe: The Comune of Como conquers Valtellina from the bishopric of Coira to seize control of the central Alpine passes and their commercial routes. Pope Paul II launches an interdict against the Lombard town, officially to extirpate heresy, in fact to punish it for the enroachment on ecclesiastical lands:rolleyes:. An anti-Cathar “crusade” is called in Lombardy against Como, which is destroyed a second time, fostering the full recovery of Milan (itself a count-bishopric:rolleyes: :rolleyes: ) as a commercial powerhouse. Civil war in Serbia between Vukan and Stefan II Nemanjič, upheld respectively by Hungary and Megavlakia (the Vlacho-Bulgarian empire). At first Vukan dethrones his brother, later reinstalled with Vlacho-Bulgarian help as Vukan is again confined to his holdings in Zeta (Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro).

1203

Southern Europe: Cattaro/Kotor/Akrovion, rival of Ragusa/Dubrovnik, accepts the protection of prince Vukan of Zeta (Melanoria, *OTL Montenegro).

Black Africa: The Soninke Sosso kingdom destroys Kumbi, terminating the Ghana Empire.

Caucasus: The Iberians/Georgians thwart joint Ortoqid and Danishmendid aggression by successfully resisting the siege of Theodosiopolis (*OTL Erzurum).

Middle East, Central Asia: Arabian forces invade Persia/Iran from the Zagros mountains and Fars, subduing the local Kurdish chieftainships.

Far East: Minamoto no Sanetomo becomes shogun (generalissimo) of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, but acts as a puppet for his mother's family, the Hōjōs. SE Asia: The Khmer Empire directly annexes Champa, reaching its apogee.

1203-1205 Far East: Temüjin defeats and eliminates Toghrul Khan of the Nestorian Keraites, becoming the most powerful ruler among the Mongols at large – the name of the Mongols will identify all these tribes, except among Europeans, which will call them Tartars. The Keraites and the Jadirats are gradually subdued and absorbed into Temüjin's horde, as he fights off the Naimans and his former friend Jamuqa.

1203-1211

Western Europe: Pisan and Sevillan settlers colonize the uninhabited island of Santa Cruz (*OTL Madeira); the colony is subsequenlty wiped out by the Canarian Coghounds, who resettle the island.

1204 Western Europe: Following the death of king Anselm of Burgundy, his nephew Constant liquidates the elder cousin Peyre I Berenger, seizing the throne; he also shifts the capital from Arles to Valence.

Central Asia: The Khorezmian army routs the Arabs at the battle of Shur Ab, preventing the fall of central Persia; the Kurds in the Zagros and the Shabankarais of Fars soon reject the Arab yoke. A reciprocate “excommunication” :D with charges of being infidels and/or heretics :rolleyes: follows between the rival Walis (*Sunni “Popes”) in Mecca and Merv (Khorassan), supporting their respective Arab and Khorezmian patrons. Uthman, the Karakhanid sultan of Samarkand, successfully expels the Karakhitais, whose rule was becoming more and more oppressive towards Muslims and Jews, as they favored Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Nestorian/Jacobite Christianity.

Black Africa: Diaba Lompo founds the Mossi kingdom of Bingo/Gurma in eastern Upper Volta.

Northern Hesperia (*OTL America) The Norsemen of Skraelingarland (*OTL Acadia) together with their Christianized allies destroy the most sacred pagan sanctuary of the Mikkmakks, the Menikkø, in Markseyfjordur (*OTL Bras d'Or Lake). The last natives on Marksey (*OTL Cape Breton island) are killed or expelled.

1204-1206

Northern Europe: The premature demise of king Haakon III causes another succession crisis in Norway; his short-lived infant nephew, Guttorm, dies soon after, and the Birkebeiner faction has to bring the baby heir Haakon IV (whose mother, Inga of Varteig, succesfully endured an ordeal by fire :eek: to prove she was true in her claims that she had the bay from the deceased Haakon III) to safety at Trondheim, as the Bagler party pretender Philip I Simonsson, a son-in-law of the late king Sverre, takes over in the south. 1204-1207

Byzantine Empire: The new Czar of the Vlachs and Bulgarians, Dimitar I, resumes war on Byzantium, claiming the imperial throne as a grandson of former emperor Basil I Vatatzes. General Kalojan of Drystra ravages Thrace and captures the fortress of Serrai.

1204-1212

Byzantine Empire: Due to a break of relations, the Iberians/Georgians seize Trabzon from the Byzantines, who some years later manage to reconquer it.

1205

Northern Europe: King Sverker II of Sweden kills at Älgarås three of the four sons of his precedessor Canute I, from the rival House of Jedvard and Erik, despite their Norwegian Birkebeiner allies. Southern Europe: Pope-king Paul II dies, succeeded by the Church's cardinal treasurer, the Roman Cencio Savelli, who styles himself Urban IV (*OTL he was Honorius III). Sicily is shaken by the First Curional (*Baronal) War, a brief, unsuccessful revolt of minor landlords. Despite its being quickly crushed by loyalist forces in the service of empress Alexandra, the casualties are high and many towns and castles burnt to the ground.

Central-Eastern Europe, Byzantine Empire: Konchak, khan of the Cumans, besieges Drystra/Silistra, the Vlacho-Bulgarian capital, but his forces are shattered by Kalojan and he is captured and forced into alliance. The Vlacho-Bulgarian-Cuman army then turns to Constantinople:eek:, blockading it by land and starting a regular siege; but the imperial capital fends off any attack, easily supplied by sea. Kalojan, aided by the Venetians, captures Gallipoli, reopening the Dardanelles to Latin (Western European) shipping. The Venetians are later defeated at Prinkipos island with help from Genoa, which gains from the grateful Byzantines an entire quarter in Constantinople, Perai.

1206-1210
1205-1208

British isles: Three subsequent Greater Norman campaigns fail to subdue again the rebellious Irishmen, as their appointed High King, Reginald Crovan, proves a worthy military commander.

1206

Northern Europe: The German Swordbearers subdue the heathen Livs with help from the latter's enemies, the Semigallians.

Western Europe: The Coghound pirates sack Sevilla, sailing up the Rio Grande (*OTL Guadalquivir).

Southern Europe: At Assisi, a small Comune of central Italy, Francesco, the son of a rich tradesman with excellent connections within Greater Normandy, renounces his riches and begins preaching poverty and humility in the service of God, establishing the Franciscan movement.

Byzantine Empire: Kalojan's forces assault and plunder Thessalonica, sealing the city's decline.

Far East: Temüjin crushes the Merkites of southern central Siberia, then captures his rival Jamuqa, offering him his pardon. But Jamuqa choses to be executed, and Temüjin is eventually hailed Genghis Khan (Oceanic Lord) by the Mongol assembly (Quriltai) in Karakorum, where a capital for the empire is built.

Northern Hesperia (*OTL America): The Mikkmakk king Kathtugevessem I inflicts a severe defeat to the Norsemen of Skraelingarland (*OTL Acadia) and their local allies in the Battle of the Skull Field. This is one of the first firmly recorded historical feats of the Vesteyjar – the Western Isles, as the Screlingian Norsemen still call the parts of Hesperia they know, though they are slowly understanding the huge vastness of the landmass.

1206-1209

Middle East: Arab forces repeatedly devastate Palestine but cannot take Jerusalem or other key fortresses, firmly held by the Crusaders. The viceroyalty of Jerusalem is however badly mauled, with tens of thousands captured as slaves and sold away.

1206-1213

Western Europe: Marquis Reiñardo Viañez rebels against the crown of Gallastria in Leòn, defending the town against three long sieges. Upon his early death Leòn is occupied and firmly held by marquis Mateo I of Castile, who previously helped Reiñardo fend off the Gallastrians.

1207 Central Europe: The Pólacak Empire of Lithuania and Ruthenia invades Poland during a civil war between the Piast dynasts and quickly subjugates all of the country, incorporating the local duchies as vassals: the Polish crown is given to the victorious Czar Iwan I Skirmunt.

Byzantine Empire: The Vlacho-Bulgarian-Cuman army vainly besieging Constantinople revolts and heads back in Bulgaria, hailing its commander Kalojan as Czar. Czar Dimitar I of Megavlakia has the rebel general murdered by his henchman Manastre, a Cuman, in exchange for the recogniton of his own accomplice as the new (if short-lived) khan of the Cumans; the rebel army quickly dissolves in rogue bands of robbers.

North Africa: The Maurian king, Paul I Iron Cross, dies; his nephew Ruddar I (Roderic) establishes the Rawelat dynasty of Mauretania (*OTL Morocco).

Middle East: Martyrdom of Jacob of Tiberias at the hands of the Knights of St.John, who burn him on the stake for heresy; the Myriamite movement's leadership is decapitated, but soon its followers turn to rebellion.

Central Asia: Ala ud-Din Muhammad II Shah of Khorezm conquers Bukhara.

India: Mahadharma I of Patna defeats the eastern Gangas at the battle of Dabra and secures his paramount influence over the central and eastern valley of the Ganges and Bengal.

1208 Northern Europe: Erik Eriksson comes back from Norway with his army and defeats king Sverker II of Sweden and his Danish allies at the battle of Lena, seizing the Swedish throne as Erik X.

Western Europe: Pope Urban IV (*OTL Honorius III) calls for a Crusade against the heretic Albigensians, the Cathars living in Languedoc/Septimania, especially strong among the peasantry and the local minor feudatories.

Central-Eastern Europe: Germans and Hungarians invade Poland “on behalf” :rolleyes: of the defeated Piast dukes but are separately defeated at Gniezno and in the first battle of the Sanok by the Lithuano-Ruthenians of Czar Iwan I Skirmunt.

Byzantine Empire: The Byzantine army routs the Vlacho-Bulgarians at Demetriada (*OTL Svilengrad). After Frederick the Asian's early death without male heirs, Byzantium recognizes the Akrite Order's possession of Caesarea/Mazhak under their elected commanders, the Roman Catholic Crusader John of Sicily and the Orthodox pronoiar (feudatory) Demetrios Dimaras, provided the knights take an oath of alliance to the imperial throne.

Central Asia, India: Ala ud-Din Muhammad II Shah of Khorezm conquers most of Afghanistan: his domains now extend from the Amu Darja to the Zagros and from the Caspian Sea to the Indus.

Far East: Temüjin/Genghis Khan subdues the Naimans, the last large Mongol tribe outside his domain, and conquers Turfan (eastern Turkestan). 1208-1211

Western Europe: A war of succession is waged in Portugal as young king Afonso V Vimara dies, and different distant kinsmen struggle to marry his sister Fernanda Maria and gain the legitimacy to rule. In the end open Papal intervention and Church support tilts the balance towards count João Sagrado, who'll reign as John I founding the Coimbra dynasty.

Middle East: The Myriamite insurgents wrest most of Galilee from the Crusaders of Jerusalem, starting a major blood feud with the Muwahiddin (*OTL Druzes) and establishing their capital in Nazareth. The movement takes more and more a social stance, stirring rebellion among the oppressed Levantine peasantry, and establishing a theocratic military state under the leadership of the renegade Muslim Amal Yaqub Abd al-Birgen. Repeated punitive action by the Crusaders prove unsuccessful, and the Knights Hospitalier of St. John suffer severe defeats.

1209 Northern Europe: After some years of infighting, an accord is reached between the Norwegian Baglers, supported by Valdemar II of Denmark, and the Birkebeiners. Philip I Simonsson, the Bagler candidate, is confirmed as king for life, provided that he, being childless, adopts as his son the infant king Haakon IV, who'll remain safely in Trondheim under his followers' protection.

Western Europe: The Third Cathar Crusade begins. Pope Urban IV (*OTL Honorius III) excommunicates king Raymond III of Septimania for his lack of cooperation in uprooting the Cathars. Béziers, one of their presumed strongholds, is taken by the Crusaders led by the imperial Greater Norman marshall Simon de Montfort the Elder, who slay 10,000 inhabitants:eek: ; also Carcassonne falls, and its ruler count Raymond-Roger de Trencavel dies in jail. Finally the Crusaders, mostly Frenchmen but also Burgundians and Lombards, assault Toulouse and drag out in chains :mad: the aging excommunicated king, who dies a few weeks later in custody. The king's sons, who managed to flee the besieged capital, took refuge in various stronghold still free from the invaders; an ecclesiastical regency under the Papal legate, the infamous Arnaud Amaury:mad:, is set up in Tolouse in a shocking display of Church power which soon alienates most rulers.

Southern Europe: The Patriarchate of Aquileia ousts the Andechs family from Histria in a short war.

North Africa, Black Africa: The kingdom of Kanem enforces suzerainty over Fezzan (southern Libya) and its Arab and Berber tribes, still following the old Kharijite Muslim creed.

Central Asia, Far East: After repeated raids and invasions, Temüjin/Genghis Khan enforces vassalage upon the Tangut XiXia Empire and the Uygur principalities of eastern Turkestan.

1209-1210

Western Europe: Followers of the late theologian Amalric of Bena are burnt at the stake for heresy in France; their creed will evolve into the Brethrenship of the Free Spirit.

1209-1211

Byzantine Empire: Czar Dimitar I of Megavlakia props up a revolt by general Alexius Angelos, son-in-law of basileus Theodosius IV Branas, by now insane and under the effective regency of his Russo-Bulgarian empress, Zoe, in turn Dimitar's cousin:confused:. Despite receving help and support in various provinces, the rebel is gradually pushed out into Bulgaria, where Dimitar welcomes him as a useful pawn.

1210

Northern Europe: The battle of Gestilren marks the defeat and death of Sverker II at the hands of Erik X, who secures his reign in Sweden. Danish “crusade” against the heathen Prussians, with little success. Duke Mestwin I of eastern Pomerania renews vassalage to Valdemar II of Denmark. Prince Berthold of Livonia, son of Caupo of Turaida, the main native ally of the Swordbearers, dies in the defeat of Ymera (Ümera) against the pagan Estonians.

Western Europe: The “crusaders” take other fortresses in Septimania/Languedoc; by now most local noblemen, even of Catholic affiliation, have made common cause with the surviving Cathars, and foreign rulers, alienated by Church arrogance, have quietly cut ther support to the “crusade”.

Central Asia: Ala ud-Din Muhammad II Shah of Khorezm manages to exact tribute from Tabaristan after years of campaigns.

India: The Cholas are made vassals of the Kakatiyas of Warangal, their might finally broken.

Far East: Temüjin/Genghis Khan vainly besieges Xingzhou, the Tangut/XiXia capital.