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.
Region
Europe
Middle Ages
Battle of Legnica (1241): Mongols Defeat Henry II of Silesia
Mongol victory; Henry II was killed and his army destroyed, after which the Mongol force moved south to join the main army in Hungary.
Middle Ages
Battle of Mohi (1241): The Mongols Devastate Hungary
Decisive Mongol victory; the Hungarian royal army was destroyed and Hungary was occupied and ravaged until the Mongols withdrew in spring 1242.
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
Battle on the Ice (1242): Alexander Nevsky at Lake Peipus
Victory for Novgorod and its allies; the Livonian Order gave up its recent conquests in the Pskov and Novgorod lands and made peace.
Middle Ages
Sainte-Chapelle: Louis IX's Jewel Box Chapel in Paris
A royal palace chapel that turned Paris into a great relic shrine and became a masterpiece of Rayonnant Gothic stained glass.
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
Westminster Abbey: Henry III's Gothic Rebuilding of 1245
The east end, transepts and part of the nave were rebuilt in Gothic style, and the Confessor's relics were moved to a new shrine in 1269.
Middle Ages
Seventh Crusade (1248-1254): Louis IX's Campaign in Egypt
Crusader defeat; Louis IX was captured and ransomed, and the crisis helped bring the Mamluks to power in Egypt.
Middle Ages
Cologne Cathedral: A Gothic Church 632 Years in the Making
The medieval choir was finished in 1322, but the nave and towers were completed only between 1842 and 1880, following the original thirteenth-century design.
Middle Ages
William of Rubruck's Journey to the Mongol Court (1253-1255)
Rubruck reached Möngke's court and returned with a detailed eyewitness report, but no alliance or mission resulted.
Middle Ages
Mindaugas (1253): Lithuania's First and Only Crowned King
Mindaugas became the first and only crowned King of Lithuania, but his kingdom did not survive his murder in 1263 and the country returned to paganism.