Death of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, and troubadour poet.
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What Happened in February?
Emperor ascensions, legendary battles, and assassinations. Discover what happened this month in history. Explore pivotal events from February that helped shape the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Pope Innocent II is elected on February 13, 1130 after Pope Honorius II died. It was a contested election, where a faction of cardinals quickly elected Gregorio Papareschi as Innocent II, but a larger group of cardinals elected Anacletus II, creating a major schism.
Innocent II was consecrated on February 23, 1130, at the Church of S. Maria Nuova. However, Anacletus had more support in Rome, and Innocent II was forced to flee to France where he gained the crucial support of influential figures and widespread recognition from European kings and church leaders. The schism was finally resolved after the death of Anacletus II in 1138. Innocent II then presided over the Second Lateran Council in 1139, which officially ended the schism.
Battle of the Standard: Scottish forces under King David I are defeated by the English near Northallerton in Yorkshire.
The siege of Edessa: Zengi, Atabeg of Mosul, captures Edessa, sparking the Second Crusade.
The Treaty of Winchester: Stephen of Blois recognizes Henry Plantagenet as his heir in exchange for peace.
Henry II becomes King of England after the death of King Stephen.
Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa grants Lübeck city rights, leading to the establishment of the Hanseatic League.
The Council of Clarendon: King Henry II of England attempts to assert control over the church and clergy.
Revolt of 1173–1174: Henry the Young King rebels against his father, Henry II of England, with the support of King Louis VII of France and other allies.
Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is formally canonized as a saint by Pope Alexander III on February 21, 1173. Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, and Thomas of London, served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder on December 29, 1170.
He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was Canonized by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. More
The Uprising of Asen and Peter: Asen and Peter declare independence from the Byzantine Empire, establishing the Second Bulgarian Empire.
Richard the Lionheart is crowned Duke of Normandy.
Doukas was proclaimed Emperor of the Byzantine Empire as Alexios V on February 5, 1204, following the overthrow and killing of Alexios IV and his co-emperor father Isaac II, who, had failed to produce the funds promised to the Fourth Crusade, Crusaders and their Venetian partners, who had placed a siege of the city.
As further negotiations proved unfruitful, on April 12, 1204, the Crusaders and Venetian partners went ahead with a full three -day assault and brutal sacking of the city; desecrating holy sites and destroying countless treasures. Alexios V fled the city that night and a Latin Empire was established with Baldwin of Flanders as the new emperor. The Fourth Crusade permanently weakened Byzantium, and the restored empire in 1261 was all but a shadow of its former self and ultimately fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Byzantine co-emperor Alexios IV is strangled during the Fourth Crusade on February, 8, 1204 by the usurper Alexios V Doukas (Mourtzouphlus) after being deposed by a popular uprising.
Alexios V, then took a hardline stance against the crusaders. This led directly to the Crusaders' sack of Constantinople a few months later on April 12, 1204.
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, crowns himself King of Jerusalem in Jerusalem.
The Mongols begin their siege of the city of Ryazan in Russia.
The Mongols under Hulagu Khan capture and sack Baghdad, on February 10, 1258, after a 13-day siege effectively ending the 500-year Abbasid Caliphate.
The city was sacked, Caliph al-Musta'sim was excecuted. and the population decimated with estimates of 200,000 to over a million killed; ending the Islamic Golden Age based in Baghdad and causing long-lasting economic and agricultural damage in Mesopotamia.
The Mongols under Hulagu Khan capture and sack Baghdad on February 10, 1258 after a two week siege; bringing an end to the 500-year-old Abbasid Caliphate and the Islamic Golden Age.
Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptures Constantinople, ending the Latin Empire.
Charles of Anjou defeats the Hohenstaufen forces led by King Manfred of Sicily (son of Frederick II) on February 26, 1266 at the Battle of Benevento. Manfred was killed and the Hohenstaufen rule in Italy came to an end with the French gaining control over southern Italy.