c. 1014, March
Murasaki Shikibu, Japanese author of "The Tale of Genji," considered to be the worlds first novel, dies in Japan, c. 1014, during the Heian period (794 - 1185) which is considered the golden age of Japanese classical culture.
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What Happened in March?
The first Olympic games, the founding of dynasties, and legendary battles. Explore historic milestones from March that influenced today's world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II (Konrad) as Holy Roman Emperor on March 26, 1027 in the Old St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome. The event marked the beginning of the Salian dynasty's rule (1027–1125), with Conrad uniting the kingdoms of Germany, Italy, and Burgundy under his authority. Conradi's wife Gisela was also crowned as Empress in the same ceremony.
Géza I becomes King of Hungary after being victorious at the decisive battle of Mogyoród on March 14, 1074 against his cousin King Solomon maintained power in the western regions of Moson and Pressburg (Bratislava), leading to continued, though reduced, conflict with Géza who died in 1077.
After Geza I died in 1077, he was succeeded by his brother Ladislaus I (also known as Saint Ladislas or László I), reigning until 1095.
Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV for a second time on March 7, 1080, during the Investiture Controversy, after Henry defied papal authority by appointing his own bishops and even an antipope, leading to renewed conflict after an earlier reconciliation in 1077.
Henry had been previously excommunicated in February 1076 for defying Gregory's authority by appointing bishops which led to the famous Henry IV penance at Canossa and reconciliation in 1077.
Bertha of Savoy, wife of Emperor Henry IV, is crowned Holy Roman Empress.on March 31, 1084, in Rome by Antipope Clement III, following Emperor Henry IV's occupation of the city. She was a supporter of Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy and accompanied him during his famous 1077 "Walk to Canossa".
c. 1088,
The University of Bologna, the oldest university in the world, is believed to have been founded in 1088, ss determined in the 19th century, by a committee of historians led by Giosuè Carducci. There is also a later record of the university being granted a charter by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158,
c. 1102, March
Crusaders led by Raymond IV of Toulouse (Raymond de Saint-Gilles), started a long term siege to the city of Tripoli in modern-day Lebanon in 1102, which was launched in the aftermath of the failed First Crusade, to reinforce the newly established Kingdom of Jerusalem and to rescue the famous Bohemond of Taranto from Muslim captivity.
The Tripolitan qadi Fakhr al-Mulk launched an attack during the siege, in September 1104, in which Raymond suffered severed injuries. He died five months later on 28 February 1105.The siege continued for several years after his death. Tripoli finally fell on July 12, 1109 to a force led by Bertrand of Toulouse, Raymond's son, with the help of a Genoese fleet, establishing the County of Tripoli.
The first known mention of Lithuania in historical chronicles appeared s on March 9, 1109 in the German medieval Latin chronicle, the "Annals of Quedlinburg". The mention records that Saint Bruno, also known as Boniface, was slain by pagans on the border of "Rus" and "Litua" (the Latinized form of Lithuania).
Pope Gelasius II excommunicates Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor. Emperor after the Emperor rejected Gelasius's election and set up an antipope, Gregory VIII, escalating the Investiture Controversy, regarding the right to appoint church officials.
Pope Gelasius was forced into exile and died at Cluny in January 1119. He was succeeded by Calixtus II who settled the investiture issue at the Concordat of Worms in 1122, which settled the investiture issue.
Alfonso VII becomes the King of Galicia, Leon, and Castile on March 10, 1126. Following the death of his mother, Queen Urraca, He began to consolidate power over the territories which had been under the influence of his stepfather, Alfonso I of Aragon.
Alfonso VII had been crowned and anointed King of Galicia when he was a six year old child in 1111 at the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela .The ceremony was orchestrated by Diego Gelmírez, the Bishop of Compostela, and the Count of Traba to secure his position against his mother, Queen Urraca, who ruled the united throne of León-Castile-Galicia.
He was crowned Emperor of Spain at the Cathedral of Leon on May 26, 1135. When he died in 1157, the Kingdom of Leon was inheritetd by his son Fernando II of León and the Kingdom of Castille was inherited by his oldest son Sancho III de Castilla..
Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, is brutally assassinated on March 2, 1127 in the Church of St. Donatian in Bruges by a group of knights from the Erembald family. Charles had no heir and the region ignited into a 17-month civil war.
King Sigurd I of Norway died on March 26, 1130 and his son Magnus IV became king at the age of 11, together with his uncle Harald Gille, marking the start of a power struggle and the Norwegian 110-year civil war civil war era, ending with Magnus's capture and eventual death in 1139.
Conrad III was crowned King of the Romans (Germany) on March 13, 1138, in Aachen, following the death of Emperor Lothair III, marking the start of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He designated his nephew, Frederick Barbarossa, as his successor instead of his young son.
Conrad III ruled as king for 14 years but was never crowned Emperor by the Pope. He continued to use the title "King of the Romans" until his death in 1152.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux preaches on March 31, 1146, in favor of the Second Crusade, commissioned by Pope Eugene III, at a large assembly in Vézelay, France, encouraging King Louis VII and many nobles to "take the cross".
Bernard’s passionate sermon triggered massive, emotional enlistment to defend the Holy Land as a "righteous war" He was successful in getting support although the second Crusade was a military failure.
Frederick I, known as Barbarossa becomes King of Germany on March 4, 1152. He was later crowned, Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV on June 18, 1155,
The Battle of al-Babein, is fought on March 18, 1167, during the third Crusader invasion of Egypt, where King Amalric I, the Christian and Latin King of Jerusalem, allied with the Fatimid Caliphate defeated the Zengid army led by Shirkuh and Saladin. The bloody engagement failed to secure long-term control of Egypt for the Crusaders.
The Third Lateran Council under Pope Alexander III, concludes in Rome on March 19, 1179 after starting on March 5. The Catholic Church regards it as the eleventh Ecumenical Council.
Emperor Takakura of Japan abdicates the throne c. March 18, 1180, in favor of his son, Emperor Antoku
A mob of rioters, driven by religious intolerance against the Jewish community and greed, massacre on March 16, 1190. an estimated one hundred and fifty Jewish people in York, England More
Philip of Swabia is elected King of Germany on March 8, 1198. by a group of pro-Hohenstaufen princes following the death of his brother, Henry VI. A rival faction elected Otto IV on June 9, 1198, leading to a contested and prolonged civil war over the throne. Philip was ultimately crowned in Aachen in 1205 after gaining more support, and his reign continued until his assassination in 1208.