Region

Asia

Kamakura Shogunate: Minamoto no Yoritomo and Samurai Rule

Japan gained a warrior government at Kamakura that ruled alongside the imperial court until 1333, beginning nearly seven centuries of shogunal rule.

1185-1192 · 8 min read

Ta Prohm became one of the largest temple-monasteries of Angkor and, left largely to the forest, its most famous romantic ruin.

Founded 1186 · 6 min read

The minaret survives as one of the finest monuments of Ghurid architecture and became Afghanistan's first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002.

c. 1190s · 4 min read

Decisive Ghurid victory; Prithviraj was captured and executed, opening northern India to Ghurid rule and leading to the Delhi Sultanate.

1192 · 8 min read

Nalanda was sacked and largely abandoned, a severe blow to Indian Buddhist scholarship, though a small community survived for some decades.

c. 1193 · 6 min read

The tower became the tallest minaret of medieval India and the symbol of the Delhi Sultanate; it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

Begun c. 1199 · 8 min read

The steppe tribes were united as a single Mongol nation under Genghis Khan, whose armies went on to conquer much of Eurasia.

1206 · 8 min read

Aibak became the first independent Muslim ruler based in northern India; under Iltutmish the state was consolidated with Delhi as its capital.

1206 · 8 min read

Decisive Mongol victory; the Jin field army was destroyed and northern China lay open to Mongol raids and conquest.

Autumn 1211 · 5 min read

Zhongdu surrendered and was sacked; the Jin lost northern China north of the Yellow River and survived only from Kaifeng until 1234.

1215 · 6 min read

The Khwarazmian Empire collapsed; its great cities were sacked and Central Asia and eastern Iran came under Mongol rule.

1219 to 1221 · 6 min read

The Kamakura shogunate defeated the court, exiled three retired emperors and confirmed the supremacy of the Hojo regents over Kyoto.

1221 · 6 min read