The world in the 12th century

In the 12th century (1101 to 1200 CE), the timeline shows 171 states, empires and colonies and 127 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Republic of Venice, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Empire, Swahili city-states and Ghana Empire (Wagadu).

Events

1113 Construction of Angkor Wat begins, Southeast Asia. Under Suryavarman II, who takes the throne this year, builders begin Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, dedicated to Vishnu.
1141 Battle of Qatwan, Central and North Asia. The Kara-Khitai defeat Sultan Sanjar near Samarkand, a defeat of a Muslim power that helped feed the European legend of Prester John.
1180 Building of Nan Madol, Oceania. Megalithic construction at Nan Madol off Pohnpei expands under the Saudeleur, using basalt columns hauled from across the island.
1185 Battle of Dan-no-ura, East Asia. The Minamoto destroy the Taira fleet in the Shimonoseki strait, and the child emperor Antoku drowns. Warrior rule in Japan begins.
1187 Battle of Hattin, Middle East. Saladin destroys the Crusader field army near Tiberias and retakes Jerusalem three months later.
1192 Second Battle of Tarain, South Asia. Muhammad of Ghor defeats Prithviraj Chauhan north of Delhi, opening the Ganges plain to the rule of Turkic and Afghan sultans.
1193 Nalanda sacked, South Asia. Troops of Bakhtiyar Khalji destroy the Buddhist monastic university of Nalanda in Bihar around this time, and Buddhism fades from its Indian homeland.

Central and Southern Africa

Western Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
Eastern Bantu-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to 1300 CE
Swahili city-states c. 800 to 1700 CE
Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Khoekhoe herders c. 100 BCE to 1904 CE
Bantu farmers of the Congo basin c. 500 BCE to 1500 CE
Iron Age farmers of South Africa c. 300 to 1300 CE
Kilwa Sultanate c. 957 to 1513 CE
Kingdom of Mapungubwe c. 1075 to 1220 CE
East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kisalian culture c. 700 to 1300 CE
Malagasy chiefdoms and trading towns c. 1000 to 1600 CE
Ntusi and Bigo culture c. 1000 to 1500 CE

North and West Africa

Ghana Empire (Wagadu) c. 300 to 1200 CE
Fatimid Caliphate 909 to 1171 CE
Almoravid dynasty 1040 to 1147 CE
Makuria c. 450 to 1312 CE
Kingdom of Benin c. 1180 to 1897 CE
Kanem Empire c. 700 to 1387 CE
Ife c. 1000 to 1420 CE
Almohad Caliphate 1121 to 1269 CE
Zagwe dynasty c. 1137 to 1270 CE
Ayyubid Sultanate 1171 to 1250 CE
Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 3200 BCE to the present
Cushitic-speaking pastoralists c. 3200 BCE to the present
Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
Chadic-speaking farmers c. 1000 BCE to the present
Sao culture c. 500 BCE to 1600 CE
Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
Jenne-Jeno (Middle Niger towns) c. 250 BCE to 1400 CE
Kingdom of Nri c. 900 to 1911 CE
Alodia c. 500 to 1504 CE
Hausa city-states c. 1000 to 1808 CE
Kingdom of Gao c. 800 to 1430 CE
Takrur c. 800 to 1285 CE
Sultanate of Shewa c. 896 to 1285 CE
Zirids 972 to 1148 CE
Hammadids 1014 to 1152 CE
Sosso Kingdom c. 1180 to 1235 CE

Europe

Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE
Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE
Kievan Rus 882 to 1240 CE
Gaelic Ireland c. 500 BCE to 1607 CE
Papal States 756 to 1870 CE
Kingdom of Scotland 843 to 1707 CE
Republic of Genoa c. 1005 to 1797 CE
Kingdom of Portugal 1139 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Bohemia 1198 to 1918 CE
Kingdom of Hungary 1000 to 1526 CE
Kingdom of Norway c. 872 to 1397 CE
Kingdom of Denmark c. 936 to 1397 CE
Kingdom of Sweden c. 970 to 1397 CE
Kingdom of England (Norman and Plantagenet) 1066 to 1485 CE
Republic of Florence 1115 to 1532 CE
Crown of Aragon 1164 to 1516 CE
Kingdom of Poland (Piast) 1025 to 1370 CE
Novgorod Republic 1136 to 1478 CE
Kingdom of France (Capetian) 987 to 1328 CE
Kingdom of Castile c. 931 to 1230 CE
Second Bulgarian Empire 1185 to 1396 CE
Kingdom of Sicily 1130 to 1282 CE
Angevin Empire 1154 to 1214 CE
Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
Baltic Finnic tribes c. 1500 BCE to 1250 CE
Basques (Vascones) c. 500 BCE to the present
Baltic tribes c. 1000 BCE to 1290 CE
San Marino c. 301 CE to the present
County of Flanders 862 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Gwynedd c. 450 to 1216 CE
Bavaria (Wittelsbach) 1180 to 1918 CE
County and Duchy of Savoy c. 1003 to 1720 CE
Kingdom of Powys c. 450 to 1160 CE
Kingdom of Navarre c. 824 to 1512 CE
Kingdom and Duchy of Brittany 851 to 1532 CE
West Slavic tribes c. 500 to 1160 CE
Earldom of Orkney c. 875 to 1472 CE
Volga Bulgaria c. 700 to 1236 CE
County of Toulouse c. 778 to 1271 CE
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157 to 1618 CE
Republic of Pisa c. 1000 to 1406 CE
Lordship of Ireland 1171 to 1542 CE
Duchy of Austria 1156 to 1526 CE
Icelandic Commonwealth 930 to 1262 CE
Duchy of Bohemia c. 870 to 1198 CE
Kingdom of Leon 910 to 1230 CE
Norse Kingdom of Dublin c. 853 to 1170 CE
Banate and Kingdom of Bosnia c. 1154 to 1463 CE
Duchy of Normandy 911 to 1204 CE
County of Barcelona c. 878 to 1164 CE
County of Portugal c. 868 to 1139 CE
Cumans (Kipchaks) c. 1060 to 1237 CE
Kingdom of Croatia c. 925 to 1102 CE
Vladimir-Suzdal c. 1157 to 1331 CE
Galicia-Volhynia 1199 to 1349 CE
Almohad al-Andalus 1147 to 1238 CE
Almoravid al-Andalus 1086 to 1147 CE
Grand Principality of Serbia 1166 to 1217 CE

Middle East

Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
Abbasid Caliphate 750 to 1258 CE
Great Seljuk Empire 1037 to 1194 CE
Zaydi Imamate of Yemen 897 to 1918 CE
Kingdom of Georgia 1008 to 1490 CE
Sultanate of Rum 1077 to 1308 CE
Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099 to 1291 CE
Khwarazmian Empire 1077 to 1231 CE
Zengids 1127 to 1250 CE
Ayyubid Sultanate 1171 to 1260 CE
Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
Kurdish tribes and emirates c. 640 CE to the present
Sharifate of Mecca 967 to 1925 CE
Bavandids 651 to 1349 CE
Shirvanshahs 861 to 1538 CE
Oghuz Turkmen nomads c. 1040 to 1600 CE
Kingdom of Hormuz c. 1100 to 1622 CE
Nabhani dynasty c. 1154 to 1624 CE
Ibadi Imamate of Oman c. 751 to 1154 CE
Emirate of Tbilisi 736 to 1122 CE
Alania c. 900 to 1239 CE
Artuqids 1102 to 1409 CE
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia 1080 to 1375 CE
Shaddadids 951 to 1199 CE
County of Tripoli 1102 to 1289 CE
Principality of Antioch 1098 to 1268 CE
Nizari Ismaili state 1090 to 1256 CE
Danishmendids c. 1071 to 1178 CE
Sulayhids 1047 to 1138 CE
Burids 1104 to 1154 CE
County of Edessa 1098 to 1144 CE

South Asia

Chola Empire 848 to 1279 CE
Pala Empire c. 750 to 1161 CE
Hoysala Empire c. 1026 to 1343 CE
Western Chalukyas 973 to 1189 CE
Ghaznavid Empire 977 to 1186 CE
Kakatiya dynasty 1163 to 1323 CE
Seuna Yadava dynasty 1187 to 1317 CE
Ghurid dynasty 1148 to 1215 CE
Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Mewar c. 728 to 1949 CE
Pashtun tribes c. 1000 CE to the present
Kingdom of Manipur c. 1110 to 1949 CE
Kamarupa c. 350 to 1140 CE
Zamorins of Calicut c. 1124 to 1766 CE
Chahamanas of Shakambhari c. 650 to 1194 CE
Paramara dynasty c. 800 to 1305 CE
Chandela dynasty c. 831 to 1315 CE
Thakuri dynasty c. 750 to 1200 CE
Eastern Ganga dynasty c. 1078 to 1434 CE
Soomra dynasty c. 1026 to 1351 CE
Chera Perumals of Makotai c. 800 to 1124 CE
Lohara dynasty c. 1003 to 1320 CE
Chaulukya dynasty c. 940 to 1244 CE
Kingdom of Polonnaruwa 1070 to 1232 CE
Sena dynasty c. 1070 to 1230 CE
Gahadavala dynasty c. 1089 to 1194 CE

Central and North Asia

Uyghur Kingdom of Qocho c. 843 to 1335 CE
Kara-Khanid Khanate c. 840 to 1212 CE
Liao dynasty 916 to 1125 CE
Cuman-Kipchak confederation c. 1050 to 1241 CE
Khwarazmian Empire 1077 to 1231 CE
Seljuk Empire (Khorasan) 1037 to 1157 CE
Kara-Khitai 1124 to 1218 CE
Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Buryats c. 1200 CE to the present
Turkmen tribes c. 1100 to 1881 CE
Okhotsk culture c. 500 to 1200 CE
Yenisei Kyrgyz c. 550 to 1207 CE
Punuk culture c. 800 to 1300 CE
Kereit, Naiman, Tatar and Merkit tribes c. 1000 to 1206 CE
Khamag Mongol c. 1130 to 1206 CE

East Asia

Northern Song 960 to 1127 CE
Goryeo 918 to 1392 CE
Heian period 794 to 1185 CE
Liao dynasty 916 to 1125 CE
Western Xia 1038 to 1227 CE
Southern Song 1127 to 1279 CE
Kamakura shogunate 1185 to 1333 CE
Jin dynasty (Jurchen) 1115 to 1234 CE
Formosan Austronesian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
Qiang peoples c. 1300 BCE to the present
Ainu c. 1200 CE to the present
Jurchen tribes c. 926 to 1616 CE
Guge kingdom c. 967 to 1630 CE
Satsumon culture c. 700 to 1200 CE
Tibetan era of fragmentation 842 to 1264 CE
Dali Kingdom 937 to 1253 CE

Southeast Asia

Srivijaya c. 650 to 1377 CE
Khmer Empire 802 to 1431 CE
Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
Pagan Kingdom 849 to 1297 CE
Ly dynasty 1009 to 1225 CE
Kediri Kingdom 1042 to 1222 CE
Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 2000 BCE to the present
Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
Langkasuka c. 100 to 1400 CE
Kutai Martadipura c. 350 to 1605 CE
Sunda Kingdom c. 669 to 1579 CE
Tondo c. 900 to 1589 CE
Barangay chiefdoms c. 900 to 1565 CE
Haripunjaya c. 660 to 1292 CE
Tai muang chiefdoms c. 900 to 1300 CE
Dharmasraya (Melayu) c. 1183 to 1347 CE

North America

Mississippian culture c. 800 to 1600 CE
Thule culture c. 1000 to 1600 CE
Ancestral Puebloans c. 750 to 1300 CE
Dorset culture c. 500 BCE to 1300 CE
Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mogollon culture c. 200 to 1450 CE
Hohokam c. 300 to 1450 CE
Norse Greenland c. 985 to 1450 CE
Cahokia c. 1050 to 1350 CE
Chaco Canyon (Chacoan system) c. 850 to 1150 CE
Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 500 BCE to the present
Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
Fremont culture c. 1 to 1300 CE
Caddo confederacies c. 800 to 1859 CE
Cree peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute) c. 1000 CE to the present
Beothuk c. 1000 to 1829 CE
Fort Ancient culture c. 1000 to 1750 CE
Oneota culture c. 1000 to 1650 CE
Plains Village tradition c. 900 to 1500 CE
Natchez c. 1200 to 1731 CE
Moundville c. 1120 to 1450 CE
Mimbres c. 1000 to 1130 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

Taíno chiefdoms c. 1200 to 1550 CE
Chibchan chiefdoms (Costa Rica and Panama) c. 500 BCE to 1570 CE
Mixtec kingdoms c. 900 to 1522 CE
Chichen Itza c. 750 to 1200 CE
Casas Grandes (Paquimé) c. 1200 to 1450 CE
Toltec state (Tula) c. 900 to 1150 CE
Guayabo de Turrialba c. 1000 BCE to 1400 CE
Greater Nicoya cultures c. 500 BCE to 1522 CE
Cholula c. 300 BCE to 1519 CE
Gran Coclé chiefdoms c. 1 to 1520 CE
Diquís culture c. 500 to 1530 CE
Yaqui, Mayo and Raramuri peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Island Caribs (Kalinago) c. 1200 CE to the present
Lucayan Taíno c. 800 to 1520 CE
Chichimeca peoples c. 900 to 1600 CE
Zapotec city-states (Zaachila, Mitla) c. 850 to 1521 CE
Trincheras tradition c. 800 to 1450 CE
Huastec (Teenek) peoples c. 900 to 1525 CE
El Tajín (Classic Veracruz) c. 600 to 1200 CE
Ostionoid culture c. 600 to 1200 CE
Nicarao chiefdom c. 1200 to 1524 CE
Totonac (Cempoala) c. 1200 to 1519 CE

South America

Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mapuche c. 1000 CE to the present
Marajoara culture c. 400 to 1400 CE
Muisca Confederation c. 800 to 1540 CE
Chimú kingdom (Chimor) c. 900 to 1470 CE
Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) c. 3200 BCE to the present
Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
Quimbaya culture c. 1 to 1550 CE
Tairona c. 200 to 1600 CE
Cañari c. 500 to 1532 CE
Arawakan peoples of the Amazon c. 1000 CE to the present
Carib peoples of the Guianas c. 1000 CE to the present
Guaraní c. 1000 CE to the present
Charrúa c. 1000 to 1831 CE
Diaguita c. 900 to 1667 CE
Manteño-Huancavilca culture c. 800 to 1532 CE
Santarém culture (Tapajó) c. 1000 to 1650 CE
Sicán (Lambayeque) c. 750 to 1375 CE
Chincha kingdom c. 1000 to 1476 CE
Chancay culture c. 1000 to 1470 CE
Aymara kingdoms (Colla, Lupaca) c. 1100 to 1450 CE
Chanka confederation c. 1100 to 1438 CE
Kingdom of Cusco c. 1200 to 1438 CE

Oceania

Aboriginal Australian peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
Papuan farmers and foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Tu'i Tonga Empire c. 950 to 1865 CE
Saudeleur dynasty c. 1100 to 1628 CE
Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples c. 3200 BCE to the present
Uninhabited c. 3200 BCE to 1280 CE
Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE
Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 100 BCE to the present
Samoan chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1900 CE
Hawaiian chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1795 CE
Society Islands chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1788 CE
Latte period Chamorro c. 900 to 1668 CE
Rapa Nui society c. 1200 to 1888 CE