1121
Song navigators adopt the magnetic compass
Chinese mariners began routinely using magnetized iron needles floating in bowls of water to determine direction at open sea…
Battle of Didgori
King David IV of Georgia, outnumbered perhaps five to one, lured a Seljuk army into a narrow pass south of Tbilisi and broke it in a single afternoon.
Ibn Tumart founds the Almohad movement
The Berber theologian Ibn Tumart returned from the Middle East to his Atlas homeland, proclaimed himself Mahdi, and began preaching a puritanical reform…
Abelard condemned at Soissons
Peter Abelard, the sharpest philosophical mind of his generation, was made to throw his own treatise on the Trinity into a fire at the Council of Soissons.
Nizari Assassins strike the Seljuk vizier
Nizari Ismaili fidai'in, trained in the mountain fortress of Alamut, struck down a Seljuk vizier in the open street in broad daylight, continuing…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1121?
Saeculum lists 5 events from 1121. The most significant is Song navigators adopt the magnetic compass: Chinese mariners began routinely using magnetized iron needles floating in bowls of water to determine direction at open sea.
What era was 1121 part of?
1121 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1121?
The events from 1121 span East Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe.