Middle Ages
Battle on the Marchfeld (1278): The Rise of the Habsburgs
Victory for Rudolf I and his Hungarian allies; Ottokar II was killed and the Habsburgs gained the Austrian duchies.
Era · c. 500 – 1500
Middle Ages
Kingdoms, crusades and plagues: the medieval world from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople.
Middle Ages
Battle of Yamen (1279): The Last Stand of the Song Dynasty
Decisive Yuan victory; the last Song emperor died and the Song dynasty came to an end.
Middle Ages
Maori Settlement of New Zealand: The Last Great Migration
East Polynesian settlers made New Zealand their home, founding the Maori people and transforming the islands' environment within a few generations.
Middle Ages
Sicilian Vespers (1282): The Revolt Against Charles of Anjou
Angevin rule in Sicily collapsed; Peter III of Aragon became King of Sicily and the War of the Sicilian Vespers lasted until 1302.
Middle Ages
Edward I's Conquest of Wales (1282-1283): Fall of Llywelyn
English conquest of the Principality of Wales; Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was killed, Dafydd executed and Wales placed under English rule by the Statute of Rhuddlan (1284).
Middle Ages
Wen Tianxiang: The Song Loyalist Executed by Kublai (1283)
Wen Tianxiang was executed after refusing office under the Yuan and became China's best-known symbol of loyalty.
Middle Ages
Castles of Edward I in Wales: Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech
A chain of castles and fortified towns that secured English rule in north Wales; four of them form a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986.
Middle Ages
Invention of Eyeglasses: Medieval Italy's Gift to Reading
Convex reading lenses mounted in frames appeared in Italy and spread across Europe within decades, greatly extending the working lives of readers and craftsmen.
Middle Ages
Rabban Bar Sauma: A Mongol Envoy in Europe (1287–1288)
Bar Sauma was warmly received by European rulers, but no Mongol–European military alliance against the Mamluks resulted.
Middle Ages
Heilongjiang Hand Cannon (1288): One of the Oldest Firearms
A small bronze hand gun of the Yuan period that shows true metal-barrelled firearms were in use in China by the late 13th century.
Middle Ages
Edict of Expulsion (1290): Edward I Expels England's Jews
The Jewish communities of England, an estimated 2,000–3,000 people, were expelled; Jews were not openly readmitted until the 1650s.
Middle Ages
Fall of Acre (1291): The End of the Crusader Kingdom
Mamluk victory; Acre was taken and destroyed, and the last crusader cities on the mainland fell within months.