Browse Historical Events by Month:
Conquests, crusades, and victories. Explore pivotal historical events that took place in August. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Alfonso VII, Emperor of Spain, dies on August 21, 1157, at age 52 while returning from a military campaign against the Moors in the Sierra Morena mountains. He was buried in the Cathedral of Toledo. The Kingdom of Leon was inherited by his son Fernando II of León and the Kingdom of Castille was inherited by his oldest son Sancho III of Castille.
Construction of the Campanile (Leaning Tower of Pisa) began on August 9, 1173, when the foundations of the tower were laid in the Field of Miracles. The white marble bell tower, likely, designed by Bonanno Pisano, began to lean in 1178, after construction reached the third floor. It was completed in 200 years later in 1372.
The lean was caused by a shallow 3-meter foundation built on weak, unstable clay and sand soil. In the 1990's, the tower dangerous tilt peaked at over 5.5 degrees but was secured to prevent collapse and stabilization efforts were completed in the early 2000s. Currently, the Leaning Tower of Pisa has a stable incline of approximately 3.97 to 3.99 degrees, returning to its 1838 position. The selected method chosen to slightly reduce its tilt to a safer angle, was to remove 38 cubic meters (1,342 cubic feet - Approximately 70 metric tons of soil from underneath the raised end). The tower's tilt was reduced by 45 centimeters (17+1⁄2 inches) or about, 3,97 degrees.
The tower was declared stable and reopened to the public on December 15, 2001. The structure remains the Campanile for the nearby Pisa Cathedral.
Pope Innocent III calls for a new crusade to reclaim Jerusalem. The Fourth Crusade plan was to invade the Holy Land through Egypt, as it was the center of Ayyubid power.
King John of England marries Isabella of Angoulême, she was age 12 or 14. The marriage took place in Angoulêmein, France a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel, Countess of Gloucester.
Isabella was related to the French royal family through her mother, Alice de Courtenay, a granddaughter of King Louis VI of France. She was crowned queen of England in an elaborate ceremony on 8 October 8, 1200 at Westminster Abbey in London.
The Massacre at Béziers takes place during the Albigensian Crusade, where the Catholic Crusaders sack the city of Béziers in southern France.
The Battle of Bouvines, the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214 took place on near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. The French army commanded by King Philip Augustus routed a larger allied army led by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV in one of the rare pitched battles of the High Middle Ages and one of the most decisive medieval engagements.
Louis VIII of France is crowned King of France at the traditional site for French royal coronations, the Reims Cathedral. He had succeeded his father, Philip II, who died on July 14, 1223 but his coronation did not take place until August 6.
Genghis Khan, (actually named Borjigin Temujin), the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, dies in Mongolia some time in late August. 1227. At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire was 2.5 times larger by territory than the Roman Empire.
A study published in 2003 in The American Journal of Human Genetics suggested that Genghis Khan DNA can be found in one in 200 men today. The cause of his death is shrouded in mystery and it is now believed that it was caused by the bubonic plague.
The foundation stone for the current Cologne Cathedral in Germany was laid on August 15, 1248, by Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden marking the beginning of its construction. The ambitious Gothic cathedral project, built to house the relics of the Three Wise Men, would take over 600 years to complete with construction finally concluding in 1880. The High Cathedral Church, belonging to the Catholic Church. It is Germany's most visited landmark.
The towers for its two huge spires give the cathedral the largest façade of any church in the world. The edifice was completed per its original medieval plan in 1880.
The Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, reaches Egypt and begins the siege of Damietta.
The Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, departs from France on August 25, 1248. with the objective to reconquer the Holy Land. The expedition was a failure for the crusaders ending in defeat in 1250 at the Battle of Mansourah, where King Louis IX was captured and later ransomed.
The Byzantine Empire recaptures the city of Constantinople from the Latin Empire, marking the end of the Fourth Crusade.
King Louis IX of France dies on August 25, 1270, near Tunis while on the Eighth Crusade, leading to his son, Philip III, becoming king.
King Louis IX of France dies from a plague in Tunis while leading the Eight Crusade which had as a goal the conquest of Tunis, then proceed to Egypt and march to the Holy Land. However, upon arrival in Tunisia it became clear that it was not going to be possible to conquer the Bey of Tunis.
The city was well prepared to withstand an invasion, with a newly repaired city wall and warriors from Morocco and the Crusaders were suffering for a lack of fresh water. More
The Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty of China successfully repels a second invasion attempt by the Japanese forces in the Battle of Kōan.
Swiss National Day - Alliance against the Holy Roman Empire in 1291.
The Siege of Acre ends, resulting in the fall of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the complete expulsion of European Christian forces from the Holy Land.
The Peace of Caltabellotta, was signed on August 31, 1302, ending the 20-year War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). It formally divided the Kingdom of Sicilywith the island of Sicily (as the independent Kingdom of Trinacria) under the rule of Frederick III of the House of Barcelona, while the mainland territories remained under Angevin control as the Kingdom of Naples.
William Wallace, Scottish leader of the resistance against English rule, is captured by English forces near Glasgow. Wallace was betrayed by John Menteith, a Scottish knight loyal to Edward I, who handed him over to the English who took Wallace to London.
In London, Wallace was condemned as a traitor and executed on August 23, 1305. Menteith received large land grants in Knapdale and Kintyre for his service.
The Battle of Bannockburn takes place, where Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce defeat the English army, securing Scottish independence.
