1249 facts for kids

The year 1249 (written as MCCXLIX in Roman numerals) was a common year. It started on a Friday in the Julian calendar. Many important things happened around the world during this year.

Events

By place

Africa

• King Louis IX of France led his army to Egypt. He captured the city of Damietta. This was the first big battle of the Seventh Crusade.

Asia

• Pho Khun Si Indrathit became the first king of the Sukhothai kingdom. This event marked the beginning of the modern Thai nation.
• In Japan, a new court system called the Hikitsuke was created. It helped solve legal problems for the Kamakura shogunate.
• The Japanese Hōji era ended, and the Kenchō era began.

Europe

• February 16 – King Louis IX of France sent Andrew of Longjumeau as an ambassador to meet with the leader of the Mongols.
• June 13 – Alexander III was crowned as the King of Scots.
• August 15 – The First Battle of Athenry took place in Galway, Ireland.
• The city of Stralsund in modern-day Germany was burned down. This was done by forces from the rival city of Lübeck.
• The Swedish statesman Birger Jarl took control of Tavastia in Finland. This helped Sweden gain more power in Finland.
• Alphonse of Toulouse ordered all Jews to leave Poitou, France.
• The Hungarian capital was moved from Esztergom to Buda.

Mediterranean

• May 26 – The Battle of Fossalta was fought between the Holy Roman Empire and the Lombard League. The Lombards won and captured the German commander.
• The Moors lost control of Alicante in Al-Andalus, which was Islamic Spain.
• King Afonso III of Portugal recaptured the cities of Faro and Silves in the Algarve from the Moors. This ended the Portuguese Reconquista, which was a long period of Christian kingdoms taking back land from Muslim rule.
• The city of Mystras, Greece was made stronger. A palace was also built there by William II Villehardouin.

By topic

Education

• University College was founded. It was the first college at Oxford University. It was started with money from the will of William of Durham.

Science

• Roger Bacon published an important science book. In it, he wrote about convex lens spectacles for people who had trouble seeing far away. His book also included the first known formula for gunpowder in the Western world.

Births

• Eric V of Denmark (died 1286)
• Robert III of Flanders
• Frederick I, Margrave of Baden (died 1268)
• Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford (died 1297)
• Pope John XXII (died 1334)
• Menachem Meiri, a famous rabbi

Deaths

• July 6 – King Alexander II of Scotland (born 1198)
• July 19 – Jacopo Tiepolo, a leader of Venice
• September 27 – Count Raymond VII of Toulouse (born 1197)
• As-Salih Ayyub, a ruler of Egypt
• Abu Zakariya, a ruler of the Maghreb (born 1203)
• William of Sherwood, an English logician (born 1190)
• Wuzhun Shifan, a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk (born 1178)
• Song Ci, a Chinese physician and judge (born 1186)

Images for kids

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  King Louis IX meets Patriarch Robert of Nantes at Damietta in Egypt (1847)

See also

In Spanish: 1249 para niños