1134
Angkor Wat nears completion
After a quarter century of labor by tens of thousands of workers quarrying and carving sandstone, Suryavarman II's temple-mountain approached its final majestic form - five lotus-bud towers rising above a rectangular moat nearly a mile wide. Its galleries bore the longest continuous bas-relief on earth, depicting the Churning of the Sea of Milk in nearly two thousand carved figures of astonishing grace.
Omar Khayyam dies at Nishapur
The Persian polymath whose astronomical tables had corrected the Islamic calendar, whose algebra had solved cubic equations geometrically, and whose quatrains would seven centuries later become an English Victorian bestseller, was buried in his hometown beneath blossoming almond trees. Edward FitzGerald's 1859 translation of his Rubaiyat would make Khayyam the most quoted Persian poet in the English language, though scholars still debate how many of the attributed verses are truly his.
Death of Alfonso I the Battler
The king of Aragon and Navarre died on campaign after a disastrous defeat against the Almoravids at Fraga. He left his kingdom in his will to the three military orders of the Holy Land, a bequest his nobles immediately ignored in favor of his brother Ramiro the Monk. The Battler's reign had pushed the Reconquista further than any Aragonese king before him, but his bizarre testament threatened to undo everything.
Canonization of Henry II of Germany
Innocent II canonized the long-dead Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, the only medieval ruler of Germany to be made a saint. The pope needed German support in his war against Anacletus; the German clergy needed a holy emperor. Both got what they wanted. The canonization was a masterpiece of political theology, transforming a dead emperor into a heavenly patron whose intercession could be invoked by both church and state.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1134?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1134. The most significant is Angkor Wat nears completion: After a quarter century of labor by tens of thousands of workers quarrying and carving sandstone, Suryavarman II's temple-mountain approached its final…
What era was 1134 part of?
1134 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1134?
The curated events from 1134 span Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe.