1125
Jin destroys the Liao dynasty
After barely a decade of rebellion, the Jurchen captured the last Liao emperor as he fled west across the steppe. Two centuries of Khitan rule collapsed. A surviving prince fled to Central Asia and founded the Qara Khitai, a Buddhist empire straddling the Silk Road. The speed of the Liao collapse stunned the Chinese world and served as a grim warning of what the Jurchen could accomplish.
Death of Henry V ends the Salian dynasty
The last of the Salian emperors died childless at Utrecht, leaving the German princes to choose their next ruler. They picked the Saxon duke Lothair III rather than the dead emperor's Hohenstaufen nephew, sowing the rivalry that would set Welfs against Waiblingen for generations. The Salian dynasty had governed the empire for over a century, leaving behind the half-finished cathedrals and institutional quarrels that defined the German medieval state.
Almohad movement declares open war on Almoravids
Ibn Tumart's followers attacked an Almoravid force near Sus and lost, but the mere fact of the clash announced that the reformers intended to replace, not merely correct, the ruling dynasty. Two decades of intermittent mountain war followed. The Almohads preached a stripped-down theology that rejected the Maliki legal schools the Almoravids patronized, casting the struggle as a purification of Islam itself rather than a mere political revolt.
David Soslan born in the Georgian highlands
The future husband of Queen Tamar of Georgia, a mountain prince of the Bagrationi line, was born in the Ossetian highlands. He would become one of the most effective Georgian generals of the century's end, campaigning into Persia and Armenia at the queen's side. Their partnership, both martial and political, would produce the greatest territorial expansion the Georgian kingdom had ever seen.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1125?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1125. The most significant is Jin destroys the Liao dynasty: After barely a decade of rebellion, the Jurchen captured the last Liao emperor as he fled west across the steppe. Two centuries of Khitan rule collapsed.
What era was 1125 part of?
1125 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1125?
The curated events from 1125 span East Asia, Europe, Africa and Central Asia.