1122
Concordat of Worms
Henry V and Pope Callixtus II, both exhausted, signed a treaty in the Rhineland cathedral town that ended fifty years of Investiture Controversy. Bishops would be elected by canons in the emperor's presence; the emperor gave up the ring and staff. Christendom's central quarrel was paused, though the deeper struggle between secular and ecclesiastical authority over the appointment of churchmen would flare up again before the century was out.
David IV retakes Tbilisi
Five centuries after an Arab governor first installed himself there, the Georgian king marched into Tbilisi, ended four hundred years of Muslim rule, and moved his capital from Kutaisi. He issued coins in Georgian and Arabic and proclaimed religious tolerance in a bilingual charter. David's Tbilisi became a cosmopolitan city where Georgian Christians, Armenian merchants, and Muslim traders worshipped side by side under the protection of the crown.
Qara Khitai establish Western Liao
Yelu Dashi, a Khitan prince fleeing the collapse of the Liao dynasty in Manchuria, reached Central Asia with a few thousand horsemen and began building a new state that incorporated Turks, Chinese, and Mongols. Its Buddhist rulers would dominate the Silk Road for almost a century, governing a realm that stretched from the Aral Sea to the borders of the Song with a tolerance that made them anomalous among the steppe empires.
Battle of Beroia
Emperor John II Komnenos trapped a Pecheneg horde in a wagon fort in Thrace and annihilated it in a day of close fighting. The nomadic people who had shaped Balkan warfare for two centuries were effectively destroyed as a political force. John celebrated the anniversary for the rest of his life.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1122?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1122. The most significant is Concordat of Worms: Henry V and Pope Callixtus II, both exhausted, signed a treaty in the Rhineland cathedral town that ended fifty years of Investiture Controversy.
What era was 1122 part of?
1122 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1122?
The curated events from 1122 span Europe and Central Asia.