Events and Trends
The '1250s' is the decade starting
January 1,
1250 and ending
December 31,
1259.
The decade was perhaps most dominated by the
Mongols, who under the leadership of
Möngke Khan continued their rapid expansion throughout
Asia both to the east and west of their home territories. The Mongols destroyed the
Kingdom of Dali in
Laos, and captured the
Goryeo kingdom in
Korea, eastern
Galicia in
Europe,
Anatolia in
Turkey, and the
Islamic center of
Baghdad, where tens or hundreds of thousands were killed as the city was burned to the ground. In
Thailand the
Lannathai kingdom was founded. In
Japan, a new sect of Buddhism was formed, while in
Korea the carving of Buddhist scriptures on 81,000 wooden blocks was completed.
Europe noted several important cultural milestones, including the completion of several important
cathedrals and the beginning of construction of others, as well as the founding of the ''Collège de Sorbonne'' at the
University of Paris. Significant political developments in Europe included the lack of a
Holy Roman Emperor for most of the decade, further erosion of the power of the
monarchy in
England and
Portugal, the end of the failed
Seventh Crusade in
Egypt, and the expulsion of the
Jews from
France and the
Moors from
Portugal. In religion, a
papal bull authorized the use of
torture in the
Medieval Inquisition, and the
Roman Catholic church clarified the concept of
purgatory. Several important modern cities, including
Stockholm and
Lviv, were founded in the 1250s.
One of the largest volcanic eruptions of the
Holocene epoch is thought to have occurred
ca. January,
1258, with ice cores pointing to a tropical location such as
El Chichón,
Mexico or possibly
Quilotoa,
Ecuador. The aftermath may have led to climatic anomalies in rainfall, effects on agriculture, as well as famine and epidemic disease across Europe.
[1]
War and politics
Mongol Empire
★ 1251 —
Möngke Khan is elected as the fourth
khan of the
Mongol Empire.
★ 1253 —
Galicia becomes a
vassal state to the expanding
Mongol Empire.
★ 1253 — The
Mongol Empire launches attacks on the
Muslim cities of
Baghdad and
Cairo.
★ 1253 — The Mongol Empire destroys the
Kingdom of Dali (''Yunnan'') in
Laos and incorporates the region into their empire.
★ 1253 —
Kublai Khan introduces the ''
baisha xiyue'' song and dance suite to the
music of Yunnan.
★ 1255 —
Hulagu Khan is dispatched by his brother
Möngke Khan to destroy the remaining
Muslim states in southwestern
Asia.
★ 1256 — October —
Mongol commander
Baiju (operating under
Hulagu Khan's command) leads his forces in a victory over
Kay Ka'us II of the
Sultanate of Rüm, thereby capturing
Anatolia.
★ 1256 —
December 15 —
Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the
Hashshashin stronghold at
Alamut in present-day
Iran.
★ 1256 — Hulagu Khan establishes the
Ilkhanate dynasty of
Persia, which will become one of four main divisions of the
Mongol Empire.
★ 1258 —
February 13 — The
Hulagu Khan's
Mongol forces overrun
Baghdad, then the leading center of
Islamic culture and learning, burning it to the ground and killing as many as 800,000 citizens.
★ 1259 — The
Goryeo kingdom in
Korea surrenders to invading
Mongol forces.
★ 1259 — Second mongol
Golden Horde raid against
Poland, led by
Nogai Khan.
Europe
★ 1250 —
December 13 —
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, dies, beginning a 23-year-long
interregnum known as the ''great interregnum''. Frederick II is the last Holy Roman Emperor of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty; after the interregnum, the empire passes to the
Habsburgs. The
Lombard League dissolves upon the death of Frederick II, its member states' nemesis.
★ 1250 — King
Afonso III of Portugal captures the
Algarve from the
Moors, thus completing the expulsion of the Moors from
Portugal.
★ 1251 —
Andrew of Longumeau, dispatched two years earlier by King
Louis IX of France as an ambassador to the
Mongols, returns to his king with reports from the Mongols and
Tartary; his mission is considered a failure.
★ 1253 — King
Henry III of England meets with
English nobles and church leaders to reaffirm the validity of the
Magna Carta.
★ 1254 — King
Louis IX of France, having exhausted his funds and being needed at home, abandons the
Seventh Crusade (which he had conducted first in
Egypt and then
Syria) and returns to
France.
★ 1254 — King Louis IX of France expels all
Jews from France.
★ 1254 — King
Afonso III of Portugal holds the first session of the ''Cortes'' (
Portugal's general assembly composed of nobles, members of the middle class, and representatives from all municipalities) in
Leiria.
★ 1254 — In
England, an important step in the evolution of the
Parliament and
Peerage occurs, as lesser barons are replaced on the
King's Council by elected representatives from shires and cities.
★ 1255 — May —
William of Rubruck from
Constantinople returns to
Cyprus from his missionary journey to convert the
Tatars of central and eastern Asia, his efforts having been unsuccessful.
★ 1258 — King
Henry III of England is forced by seven powerful barons to accept the
Provisions of Oxford, effectively ending the
absolute monarchy in
England by requiring the calling of a
parliament.
★ 1259 — September — The
Empire of Nicaea defeats the
Principality of Achaea at the
Battle of Pelagonia, ensuring the eventual reconquest of
Constantinople in
1261.
★ 1259 —
December 4 — Kings
Louis IX of France and
Henry III of England agree to the
Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to
French-controlled territory on continental
Europe (including
Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
★ 1259 - The
German cities of
Lübeck,
Wismar, and
Rostock enter into a pact to defend against pirates of the
Baltic Sea, laying the groundwork for the
Hanseatic League.
Asia and Africa
★ 1250 — The
Bahri dynasty of Mamluks seize power in
Egypt.
★ 1259 —
Lannathai, a kingdom in the north of
Thailand, is founded by King
Mengrai.
Culture
Science and literature
★ 1250 —
Albertus Magnus isolates the element
arsenic. He also first uses the word
oriole to describe a type of bird (most likely the
golden oriole of
Great Britain).
★ 1254 — The
classic Japanese text ''
Kokin Chomonjo'' is completed.
★ 1257 —
Matthew Paris,
English historian, personally interviews King
Henry III of England for a week straight while compiling his major work of English history, ''Chronica Majora''.
Art and architecture
★ 1250 — The
Rialto Bridge in
Venice, Italy is converted from a pontoon bridge to a permanent, raised wooden structure.
★ 1253 — The
Basilica of San Francesco, the earliest important structure in the
Italian Gothic style of
architecture, is completed in
Assisi, Italy.
★ 1254 — The
Horses of Saint Mark, once supposed to have adorned the
Arch of Trajan in ancient
Rome, are installed at
Saint Mark's Basilica in
Venice.
★ 1254 — Construction is begun on the
Cathedral of Saint Martin in
Utrecht.
★ 1255 — The
Gothic cathedral at
Bourges,
France, is completed. It is now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
★ 1259 — The famous
frescoes of the
Boyana Church in
Bulgaria are completed (the church and its murals are now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Cities and institutions
★ 1250 —
University of Valladolid is founded in
Spain.
★ 1251 — The
German city of
Berlin, founded some fifty years earlier, receives its city charter.
★ 1252 — The first European
gold coins are minted in the
Italian city of
Florence, and are known as
florins.
★ 1252 — The
Swedish city of
Stockholm is founded by
Birger Jarl.
★ 1254 — The
Danish city of
Copenhagen receives its city charter.
★ 1254 — The
Swedish city of
Malmö is founded.
★ 1255 — The
Portuguese capital is moved to
Lisbon.
★ 1255 —
Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) is founded in
Prussia.
★ 1256 — The city of
Lviv, in present-day
Ukraine, is founded by
Danylo King of Rus.
★ 1257 —
Robert de Sorbon founds the ''Collège de Sorbonne'' at
Paris, giving a formal college (and still-common name) to the already existing
University of Paris in
France.
Religion
★ 1251 — Carving of the
Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of
Buddhist scriptures recorded on some 81,000 wooden blocks, is completed.
★ 1252 —
May 15 —
Pope Innocent IV issues the
papal bull ''
Ad exstirpanda'', which authorizes the
torture of
heretics in the
Medieval Inquisition. Torture quickly gains widespread usage across
Catholic Europe.
★ 1253 —
April 28 —
Nichiren, a
Japanese
Buddhist monk, declares his intention to preach the
Lotus Sutra and ''
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo'' as the true Buddhism, essentially founding the branch of Buddhism now known as
Nichiren Buddhism.
★ 1254 — The
Catholic dogma of
purgatory is clarified and so named by the Catholic church.
★ 1256 —
April 13 —
Pope Alexander IV issues a
papal bull constituting the
Augustinian monastic order.
Births
★ 1254 —
September 15 —
Marco Polo,
Venetian merchant and
explorer (d.
1324)
★ 1255 — July —
Albert I of Germany,
Holy Roman Emperor (d.
1308)
★ 1258 —
Osman I, founder of the
Ottoman Empire (d.
1326)
Deaths
★ 1250 —
December 13 —
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1194
★ 1250 —
Leonardo of Pisa, better known as Fibonacci
★ 1253 —
September 22 —
Dogen Zenji, founder of the
Soto school of
Zen Buddhism in
Japan and author of the
Shobogenzo and other important works (b.
1200)
★ 1254 —
December 7 —
Pope Innocent IV
★ 1255 —
Batu Khan,
Mongol ruler and founder of the
Blue Horde (b. c.
1205)
★ 1256 —
Felim mac Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair, King of
Connacht
Notes
1. Emile-Geay, J., Seager, R., Cane, M., Cook, E., Haug, G.H., [The volcanic eruption of 1258 A.D. and the subsequent ENSO event, ''Geophysical Research Letters'', 321, XXXX, doi:10.1029/2006JAXYZW, Mar 2006. (available online, pdf file)
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