Middle Ages
Ken Arok and the Founding of the Singhasari Kingdom in Java
Ken Arok defeated Kediri at Ganter in 1222 and founded the Rajasa dynasty, which ruled Singhasari and later Majapahit.
Region
Asia
Middle Ages
Death of Genghis Khan (1227) and the Mystery of His Tomb
Genghis Khan died during the final campaign against Western Xia, which was destroyed; he was buried in a secret grave in Mongolia and succeeded by his son Ögedei in 1229.
Middle Ages
Mongol Invasions of Korea (1231-1259): How Goryeo Resisted
After nearly three decades of war Goryeo accepted Mongol overlordship in 1259 but kept its dynasty and a large measure of self-rule.
Middle Ages
Mongol Siege of Kaifeng (1232-1233): Thunder Crash Bombs
Kaifeng surrendered to the Mongols in 1233 after its emperor had fled; the Jin dynasty fell the following year at Caizhou.
Middle Ages
Karakorum (1235): The Capital of the Mongol Empire
Karakorum served as the Mongol imperial capital until about 1260, declined after Kublai moved his court to China, and was destroyed by a Ming army in 1388.
Middle Ages
Tripitaka Koreana: 80,000 Woodblocks Carved in Goryeo
The complete set of 81,258 woodblocks survives at Haeinsa and is a UNESCO Memory of the World register item; its storage halls are a World Heritage Site.
Middle Ages
Razia Sultan (1236-1240): Delhi's Only Woman Sultan
Razia ruled for about three and a half years before being deposed by Turkish nobles; she was killed in October 1240 after a failed attempt to regain the throne.
Middle Ages
Sukhothai Kingdom: Founding of the First Thai State
A Tai kingdom independent of the Khmer emerged at Sukhothai; it flourished in the late 13th and 14th centuries before falling under Ayutthaya.
Middle Ages
Mongol Invasion of Europe (1241): Legnica, Mohi and Retreat
The Mongols crushed the Polish and Hungarian armies and devastated Hungary, then withdrew east in 1242 without trying to hold central Europe.
Middle Ages
Golden Horde: Batu Khan's Mongol State on the Volga (1242)
Batu's ulus became an independent khanate that controlled the western steppe and collected tribute from the Rus principalities for more than two centuries.
Middle Ages
Giovanni da Pian del Carpine's Mission to the Mongols (1245)
Carpine returned with Güyük's letter demanding the pope's submission and wrote the first detailed European account of the Mongols.
Middle Ages
Konark Sun Temple: The Stone Chariot of Narasimhadeva I
A colossal temple to Surya was completed in the mid-13th century; its main tower later collapsed, but the surviving hall and carvings became a World Heritage Site in 1984.