Victor IV is elected as Antipope by the Holy Roman Empire.
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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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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 opens in Rome under Pope Alexander III.
Emperor Takakura of Japan abdicates the throne in favor of his son, Emperor Antoku c. March 18, 1180.
Murasaki Shikibu, author of "The Tale of Genji," dies in Japan.
Emperor Antoku of Japan abdicates the throne and is succeeded by his mother, Taira no Tokuko.
A mob of rioters, driven by religious intolerance against the Jewish community and greed, massacre an estimated one hundred and fifty Jewish people in York, England on March 16, 1190. 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.
King Richard I of England ("The Lionheart") is wounded in his shoulder by a crossbow bolt, on March 25, 1199, while besieging the French castle of Châlus-Chabrol. He died from a resulting gangrene infection on (April 6, 1199.
1208 CE, c. March
Pope Innocent III issues a papal bull calling for the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics in southern France c, March 14, 1208, after a papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau, was assassinated. Pope Innocent III, offered indulgences (forgiveness for sins) to participants and promised the lands of the heretics to any noble who would fight.
The Albigensian Crusade did not officially begin until the following year, when the crusader army assembled in Lyon in southern France in the summer of 1209 and went on to commit the "Massacre at Béziers" on July 22, 1209. Where the Crusaders sacked the city, slaughter thousands of inhabitants, both Cathars and Catholics, and burned the city to the ground. The event is associated with the phrase, "Kill them all; God will know his own," allegedly uttered by papal legate Arnaud Amalric.
The military Albigensian campaign continued for 20 years until1229. But shifted after the Béziers massacre, to more of an Inquisition led "search and punish campaign" to root out remaining Cathar "heretics". It technically ended on April 12, 1229, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris (Treaty of Meaux), which secured French royal control over Languedoc. However resistance continued until 1244 with the fall of Montségur, and the final Cathar stronghold of Quéribus fell in 1255, following years of Inquisition, about 45 years after it started.
Pope Innocent III places England under an interdict as part of the dispute with King John.
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: Christian forces decisively defeat the Almohads in Spain.
Pope Honorius III issues the papal bull Religiosam vitam initiating the Fifth Crusade.
Mongol invasion of Central Asia: The Battle of the Kalka River takes place between the Mongol Empire and Kievan Rus.
The Mongols under Batu Khan capture the city of Vladimir, Russia.
Battle of Liegnitz: Mongols defeat a Polish army under Henry II the Pious during their invasion of Poland.
Siege of Montségur during the Albigensian Crusade: The Cathar stronghold falls to the Crusaders.
Battle of Benevento: Charles of Anjou defeats Manfred, King of Sicily.
King Louis IX of France dies while on the Eighth Crusade, leading to his son, Philip III, becoming king.
1274, March 13 - The Second Council of Lyon opens under Pope Gregory X.