istoryworld
Events relating to athens
St Francis of Assisi joins a crusading army in Egypt and attempts to convert the sultan Melek-el-Kamel and his followers to Christianity
The Franciscans are formally established by Honorius III as Ordo Fratrum Minorum, the Order of the Friars Minor
The Teutonic knights undertake a new form of crusade, attempting to subdue the pagan Prussians who occupy part of the Baltic coast
Frederick II, leader of the sixth crusade, briefly recovers Jerusalem for the Christians by negotiating with the Muslims
Gregory IX sends Dominican friars to root out the remains of the Catharist heresy in France, thus launching the Inquisition
The siege of the Catharist stronghold of Montségur ends when 200 heretics are herded into a wooden stockade and are burnt
A school of translation is set up in Toledo, to translate classical Greek texts from the Arabic versions into Latin
Construction begins of two basilicas, one above the other on a hillside in Assisi, in memory of St Francis
Pope Alexander IV establishes a third order of preaching friars, the Augustinians
The Bohemian prince Otakar II, ruler also of Austria, extends his territories after defeating the Hungarians at Kressenbrunn
A Scottish victory over the Norwegians at Largs results in the recovery of the western isles
Hulagu and his Mongol descendants rule Persia as Il-khans, subordinate to the great khan in the east
The new Mameluke dynasty in Egypt begins a systematic campaign to drive the Crusaders out of the Middle East
Marco Polo, aged seventeen, sets off from Venice on his journey to the east
Marco Polo is presented to Kublai Khan in Xanadu, and according to his own account makes a very good impression
The Jews in England are driven out of the country, soon to be followed by those in France
In the space of a few months the Muslims take the last four crusader castles, Tyre, Sidon, Acre and finally Beirut
Marco Polo is back in Venice after an absence of 25 years in the east
Marco Polo, in prison in Genoa, is persuaded by a fellow prisoner to narrate his adventures
Boniface VIII declares a Jubilee or Holy Year, with plenary indulgences for pilgrims who make their way to Rome
Portolan charts, showing the coastlines of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Atlantic coast, are the start of accurate mapmaking
Tabriz under the Mongol Il-khans is the first centre of Persian miniature painting
The Teutonic knights seize the coastal area round Gdansk, cutting off Poland's access to the sea
Clement V moves the papacy to Avignon, in a move which is expected to be temporary but which lasts for nearly seventy years
Fifty-four Knights Templars are burned at the stake, during the campaign of the French king to destroy the order
