Construction begins at Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in London. It is one of the United Kingdom’s most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for monarchs.
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The Mali Empire comes into power in West Africa
The empire began as a small Mandinka kingdom at the upper reaches of the Niger River, centred around the town of Niani (the empire’s namesake in Manding).
The Nation of Ma-i flourishes in modern-day Philippines
The nation of Ma-i, a Buddhist pre-Hispanic Philippine island-state centered in Mindoro, flourished as an entrepôt, attracting traders and shipping from the Kingdom of Ryukyu to the Empire of Japan.
An unknown author completes Færeyinga Saga
The Færeyinga Saga, the saga of the Faroe Islands, is the story of how the Faroe Islanders were converted to Christianity and became a part of Norway. It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200.
The University of Cambridge is founded
Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s fourth-oldest surviving university.
Ismail al-Jazari publishes The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices
The Book describes 100 innovative mechanical devices, including the camshaft, some 80 of which are trick vessels of various kinds, along with instructions on how to construct them.
Genghis Khan establishes the Mongol code of ethics, the Yassa
The Yassa aimed at three things: obedience to Genghis Khan, a binding together of the nomad clans, and the merciless punishment of wrongdoing.
Genghis Khan unites the Mongols, creating the Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of several nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland under the leadership of Genghis Khan, whom a council proclaimed ruler of all the Mongols in 1206.
The Kingdom of Benin flourishes in modern-day Benin
The Benin Kingdom was “one of the oldest and most highly developed states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa, dating perhaps to the eleventh century CE”,[2] until it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897.
The Arawak people arrive on and settle the island of Hispaniola
The Arawak tribe originated in the Orinoco Delta, spreading from Venezuela. They traveled to Hispaniola around 1200 C.E.