King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart, reigned for close to ten years (1189-1999)

As there is so little exact data of births this far back in time, we concentrate here on historical background information, for hobby historians and genealogists. There will be no individual posts of this decade.

The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of the Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. For this reason, the Third Crusade is also known as the Kings' Crusade.

In the year 1190, Frederick I drowns in the Göksu River near Selucia (Jun 10) so Richard the Lionheart and Philip II meet at Vézelay (in France) and agree to divide the spoils of the Crusade equally between themselves (Jul 4), Richard the Lionheart captures Messina (Sicily) (Oct 4), the Teutonic Order is founded at Acre by German knights in order to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land, meanwhile London adopts the Cross of St. George, the red cross on a white background.

1190-xxxx Sorghaghtani Beki* Keraite princess/daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan/mother of Kublai Khan - Mongolia (1252/c.62)
1190-0724 Yelü Chucai* Khitan statesman/adviser and administrator of the early Mongol Empire in the Confucian tradition - Yanjing, Jin Dynasty (1244/53)
1190-1230 Ibn Abi’l-Hadid* scholar/writer - Al-Mada’in, Ctesiphon (now Iraq) (1258/70)

In the year 1191, Richard the Lionheart passage from Messina to Palestine is stopped by a storm (Apr 10), and trouble which ends with him liberating both his sister and Cypriots from the hands of Cyprus leader Komnenos (May 8), Richard and the crusadors arrive in Acre in Israel (Jun 8).

In the year 1192, the first shogunate in the history of Japan is established (Aug 21), Richard the Lionheart defeats Saladin in the Battle of Jaffa, he and Saladin negotiate that Jerusalem will remain under Muslim control, but the city will be open to Christian pilgrims (Oct 9), returning from the Third Crusade, Richard I is taken prisoner by Leopold V, Duke of Austria (Dec 11).

In the year 1193, Richard the Lionheart is handed over to Emperor Henry VI, and moved to Trifels Castle in East Francia (Feb 14), Saladin dies of a fever at Damascus, having succeeded during his reign to briefly unite the Muslim world, and drive the Crusaders out of Jerusalem to a narrow strip of coast (Mar 4).

1193-xxxx Altheides* Cypriot philosopher, pimarily known from sayings attributed to him in the works of others - Cyprus (1262/c.69)
1193-xxxx Frederick of Isenberg* German noble - Isenberg, Holy Roman Empire (1226/c.33)
1193-0728 Kujō Michiie* 九条 道家 regent/ Buddhist monk - Japan (1252/58)

In the year 1194, Richard the Lionheart is ransomed by Emperor Henry VI, release, returns to England (Feb 4), and is crowned for the second time to underline his rightful position as monarch (Apr 17), Henry VI takes Palermo, gains control of all of Sicily, and thus ends Norman rule in Italy after 90 years (Nov 20), the Yellow River in China experiences a major course change, taking over the Huai River drainage system for the next 700 years.

In the year 1195, the troops of Kingdom of Georgia defeat the Ildenizids of Azerbaijan in the Battle of Shamkor (Jun 1), the Priory of St Mary’s is founded in Bushmead in England.

1195-0815 Anthony of Padua* Catholic priest/friar of the Franciscan Order/canonized saint - Lisbon, Portugal (1231/35)

In the year 1196, Béla III, the King of Hungary and Croatia, dies after a 23-year reign in which he has supported Byzantine emperor Isaac II against the invading Bulgarians (Apr 23), William FitzOsbert leads an uprising of the poor against the rich in London, but the riots are suppressed and William is hanged, drawn and quartered (spring), and England is strucked by pestilence and famine.

1196-0103 Emperor Tsuchimikado* 土御門天皇 the 83rd emperor of Japan - Japan (1231/35)

In the year 1197, Henry VI dies of malaria at Messina (also possibly poisoned) while preparing an expedition against the Byzantine usurper Alexios III (Sep 28), Richard the Lionheart has Château Gaillard built on the Seine River as he fights to restore Angevin power in northern France. 

In the year 1198, Philip of Swabia is elected “King of Germany” by his supporters in Thuringia (Mar 8), Amalric I and Isabella I are crowned as King and Queen of Jerusalem (spring), Amalric signs a truce with the sultan of Egypt and Syria, securing the Crusader possessions from Acre as far as to Antioch (Jul 1), archbishop Adolf of Cologne elects Otto of Brunswick as a rival for Philip of Swabia, and he is crowned as King of the Romans (Jul 12), Philip of Swabia is crowned as king in Mainz (Sep 8)

In the year 1199, Richard the Lionheart, while besieging the unarmed castle of Châlus-Chabrol near Paris, is shot by a French boy in the left shoulder with a crossbow (Mar 26), and dies then from gangrene (Apr 6), King William the Lion of Scotland supports John’s (Richard’s brother) claim to the English throne, in exchange for ownership of some northern territories (summer), Europeans first use the compass.

Updated 12.12.2022

Search for another year here