Year 1144 ( MCXLIV) was a

leap year starting on Saturday A leap year starting on Saturday is any year with 366 days (i.e. it includes 29 February) that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Sunday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are BA. The most recent year of such kind was 2000 and the ne ...

(link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Levant

* Autumn –

Imad al-Din Zengi Imad al-Din Zengi ( ar, عماد الدین زنكي; – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkmen atabeg, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake of the Zengid ...

, Seljuk governor (''

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

'') of Mosul, attacks the

Artuqid The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; , pl. ; ; ) was a Turkoman dynasty originated from tribe that ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqi ...

forces led by

Kara Arslan Fakhr al-Din Qara Arslan (or Kara Arslan) (r. 1144–1174 CE) was a member of the Artuqid dynasty and son of Rukn al-Dawla Dāʾūd, bey of Hasankeyf. Kara Arslan ruled Hasankeyf following Dāʾūd's death on 19 Muharram 539 (22 July 1144). He was ...

– who has made an alliance with

Joscelin II Joscelin II of Edessa (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor Joscelin I of Edessa and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. ...

, count of Edessa. In support of the alliance Joscelin marches out of Edessa with a Crusader army down to the

Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eu ...

, to cut off Zengi's communications with

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. Zengi is informed by Muslim observers at Harran of Joscelin's movements. He sends a detachment to ambush the Crusaders and reaches Edessa with his main army in late November. *

December 24 Events Pre-1600 * 502 – Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate. * 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death. * 759 – Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, wh ...

– Siege of Edessa: Seljuk forces led by Imad al-Din Zengi conquer the fortress city of Edessa after a four-week siege. Thousands of inhabitants are massacred – only the Muslims are spared. The women and children are sold into slavery. Lacking the forces to take on Zengi, Joscelin II retires to his fortress at

Turbessel Turbessel ( syr, Tel Bshir, ar, Tell Bāshir or , hy, Թլպաշար, translit=Tʿlpašar, tr, Tilbeşar or ) is a fortress and Bronze Age tumulus in south-eastern Turkey, near the village of Gündoğan in the district of Oğuzeli, within Gaziant ...

. There, he request reinforcements from the Byzantines and Queen-Regent Melisende of Jerusalem.

Europe

* Spring – Italo-Norman forces under King Roger II of Sicily invade the Papal States to force Pope

Lucius II Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated w ...

to accept his truce, but the patrician Giordano Pierleoni, brother of the late Antipope

Anacletus II Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his succe ...

, leads the Roman populace to proclaim a constitutional republic free of papal authority with regard to civil rule. Pierleoni takes over the papal capital, and establishes the

Commune of Rome The Commune of Rome ( it, Comune di Roma) was established in 1144 after a rebellion led by Giordano Pierleoni. Pierleoni led a people's revolt due to the increasing powers of the Pope and the entrenched powers of the nobility. The goal of the r ...

in the style of the old Roman Republic. * Summer – Geoffrey V (the Fair) completes his conquest of Normandy, which comes under Angevin control. In exchange for being recognised as Duke of Normandy by King Louis VII of France, Geoffrey surrenders half of the county of

Vexin Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...

– a region vital to Norman security – to Louis. * The city of

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, a ...

in southern France is founded by Count

Alfonso Jordan Alfonso Jordan, also spelled Alfons Jordan or Alphonse Jourdain (1103–1148), was the Count of Tripoli (1105–09), Count of Rouergue (1109–48) and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne (1112–48). Life Alfonso was the ...

of Toulouse. * The city of Ljubljana (modern Slovenia) is first mentioned in historical records.Mallinus, Daniel. ''La Yougoslavie''. Brussels: Éd. Artis-Historia, 1988. D/1988/0832/27, pp. 37–39.

England

* Autumn – Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex, is mortally wounded by a stray arrow received in a skirmish. Because he is an outlaw, his burial is denied at the monastery he has founded,

Walden Abbey Walden Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Saffron Walden, Essex, England founded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex between 1136 and 1143. Originally a priory, it was elevated to the status of an abbey in 1190. Soon after its foundi ...

. Geoffrey's body is eventually accepted by the Knights Templar community for burial within the

Temple Church The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...

in London.

Africa

* Catalan mercenary

Reverter de La Guardia Reverter I de La Guardia (died 1142 or 1144), viscount of Barcelona, was a Catalan adventurer and military leader who defended the Almoravid caliphate in North Africa against the Almohad onslaught. He was the son of Guislabert II, viscount of ...

, the main

Almoravid The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century tha ...

commander in the Maghrid al-Aqsa, dies. His elimination opens the regions to the troops of the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire ...

By topic

Religion

* March 8 – Pope

Celestine II Pope Celestine II ( la, Caelestinus II; died 8 March 1144), born Guido di Castello,Thomas, pg. 91 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 26 September 1143 to his death in 1144. Early life Guido di Castello, possibly ...

dies at Rome after a 5-month

pontificate The pontificate is the form of government used in Vatican City. The word came to English from French and simply means ''papacy'', or "to perform the functions of the Pope or other high official in the Church". Since there is only one bishop of R ...

. He is succeeded by Lucius II as the 166th pope of the Catholic Church. *

March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelred ...

– The first example of an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

is recorded in England, in connection with the murder of William of Norwich. *

June 11 Events Pre-1600 * 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called "miracle ...

– The Basilica of St. Denis near Paris is completed, and consecrated in the presence of Louis VII – as the first

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church. * The

Lesmahagow Priory Lesmahagow Priory was a medieval Tironensian monastic community located in the small town of Lesmahagow in the modern local authority area of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded after John, Bishop of Glasgow and King David I of Scotland ...

in Scotland, is founded after John, bishop of Glasgow, and King David I have granted lands at

Lesmahagow Lesmahagow ( ; sco, Lismahagie or ''Lesmahagae'', gd, Lios MoChuda) is a small town in the historic county of Lanarkshire on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. Lesmahagow was also a civil parish. It lies west o ...

. * The first Knights Templar stronghold is established in the Kingdom of León and Castile.

Births

August 11 Events Pre-1600 * 3114 BC – The Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, used by several pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, notably the Maya, begins. * 2492 BC – Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founde ...

– Sinjong, Korean ruler of

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

(d.

1204 Year 1204 ( MCCIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * January 27-28 – Byzantine emperor Alexios IV Angelos is overthrown in a revolution. * February 5 – Ale ...

) * Li Fengniang, Chinese empress of the Song Dynasty (d.

1200 Events By place Europe * Spring – Boniface I, marquis of Montferrat, sends envoys to Venice, Genoa and other city-states to negotiate a contract for transport to the Levant. Meanwhile, Boniface and various nobles are musterin ...

) * Maria Komnene, queen of Hungary and Croatia (d.

1190 Year 1190 ( MCXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – A German expeditionary force (some 15,000 men) led by Emperor Fred ...

) * Matsudono Motofusa, Japanese nobleman (d.

1230 Year 1230 ( MCCXXX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 9 – Battle of Klokotnitsa: Byzantine forces under Theodore Komn ...

) *

Minamoto no Tomonaga Minamoto no Tomonaga (源朝長) (1144–1160) was a Minamoto clan samurai of the late Heian period. His father was Minamoto no Yoshitomo and his mother was sister of Hatano Yoshimichi. Tomonaga accompanied his father and two brothers, Minamoto ...

, Japanese samurai (d.

1160 Year 1160 ( MCLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) sends an embassy led by John Kontostep ...

) * Taira no Tadanori, Japanese military leader (d.

1184 Year 1184 ( MCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May 20 – Diet of Pentecost: Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) organises a conference ...

)

Deaths

* March 8 –

, pope of the Catholic Church *

– William of Norwich, English child saint (b.

1132 Year 1132 ( MCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Levant * Summer – Imad al-Din Zengi, Seljuk governor (''atabeg'') of Aleppo and Mosul, marches ...

) *

May 23 Events Pre-1600 *1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. *1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII ...

–

Petronilla of Lorraine Petronilla of Lorraine ( 1082 – 23 May 1144) was Countess of Holland by marriage to Floris II, Count of Holland, and regent of the County of Holland during the minority of her son Dirk VI in 1121-1129. She was a daughter of Theodoric II, Duk ...

, countess of Holland (b. 1082) * June 12 –

Al-Zamakhshari Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar al-Zamakhshari (; 1074 –1143) was a medieval Muslim scholar of Iranian descent. He travelled to Makkah and settled there for five years and has been known since then as Jar Allah ‘God's Neighbor’. He was a Mu' ...

, Persian philosopher (b.

1075 Year 1075 ( MLXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Africa * The Kingdom of Mapungubwe is established, in modern-day South Africa. Byzantine Empire * ...

) *

July 17 Events Pre-1600 * 180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world. * 1048 – Damas ...

– Abu Mansur Mauhub al-Jawaliqi, Arab

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

(b.

1074 Year 1074 ( MLXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Norman mercenaries, led by Roussel de Bailleul, proclaim Jo ...

) * July 27 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess of Poland (b.

1099 Year 1099 ( MXCIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place First Crusade * January 16 – The Crusaders, under Raymond IV, count of Toulouse (Raymond of ...

) *

October 10 Events Pre-1600 * 680 – The Battle of Karbala marks the Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. * 732 – Charles Martel's forces defeat an Umayyad army near Tours, France. *1471 – Sten Sture the Elder, the Regent of Sweden, with the ...

–

Alfonso of Capua Alfonso, also called Anfuso or Anfusus (''c''. 1120 – 10 October 1144), was the Prince of Capua from 1135 and Duke of Naples from 1139. He was an Italian-born Norman of the noble Hauteville family. After 1130, when his father Roger became King ...

, Italo-Norman nobleman (b.

1120 Year 1120 ( MCXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Siege of Sozopolis: Byzantine forces under Emperor John II Komnenos conquer Sozopol ...

) *

– Hugh II (or Hugo), archbishop of Edessa * September – Geoffrey de Mandeville, English nobleman * Abu Tahir Marwazi, Persian philosopher and scientist * Berenguer Raymond (or Ramon), French nobleman (b.

1115 Year 1115 ( MCXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Levant * September 14 – Battle of Sarmin: The Crusaders, under Prince Roger of Salerno, surpr ...

) * Matthew of Edessa (or Matteos), Armenian historian *

Rahere Rahere (pronounced ), or Raher or Raherius, was an Anglo-Norman priest and monk. He was a favourite of King Henry I and is most famous for having founded the Priory of the Hospital of St Bartholomew in 1123. Many of the details of Rahere's li ...

(or Raherius), Norman priest (approximate date) *

, viscount of Barcelona (or

1142 Year 1142 ( MCXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John II Komnenos and his sons lead a Byzantine expedit ...

) * Zhu Bian, Chinese diplomat, poet and writer (b.

1085 Year 1085 ( MLXXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May 25 – King Alfonso VI (the Brave) recaptures Toledo from the Moors, and occ ...

)

References

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