1151
Jin dynasty moves capital to Yanjing
The Jurchen rulers of North China abandoned their old Manchurian capital and moved their court permanently to Yanjing - the city that would become Beijing. The move signaled a deliberate sinicization of the dynasty and a commitment to ruling as Chinese emperors. The Jin rebuilt the city on a grand scale, constructing palaces, pleasure gardens, and imperial archives that transformed a frontier garrison town into one of Asia's great capitals.
Ala al-Din Husayn sacks Ghazni
The Ghurid sultan, burning with vengeance for his brother's murder at Ghaznavid hands, descended from his mountain stronghold with an army and set the great city of Ghazni ablaze for seven consecutive days and nights. The legendary Ghaznavid capital - once the proudest gem of the Islamic east under the patronage of Sultan Mahmud - was reduced to charred rubble and ash, earning its destroyer the terrible epithet Jahansuz, World-Burner.
Toltec capital of Tula destroyed
The Mesoamerican city of Tula, capital of the Toltec civilization that had dominated central Mexico for two centuries and whose trade networks reached from the Pueblo Southwest to the Yucatan, was sacked and burned by unknown attackers - most likely a coalition of Chichimec warrior bands from the arid northern frontier. The fall of Tula created the vast power vacuum that Aztec mythology would later brilliantly rewrite as divine destiny.
Death of Geoffrey Plantagenet
The Count of Anjou who had conquered Normandy from his wife Matilda's rival died leaving his eighteen-year-old son Henry an empire-sized inheritance. Henry already held Normandy and Anjou; within a year he would marry Eleanor of Aquitaine; within three he would be king of England. Geoffrey's effigy in Le Mans shows the broom sprig on his hat that gave the Plantagenet dynasty its name.
Second Almohad invasion of al-Andalus
Abd al-Mumin crossed to Spain in person at the head of a large Berber army, consolidating Almohad power in the southern peninsula. He suppressed local Muslim lords who had tried to carve out independent taifas, and ruled from Seville for two years before returning to Morocco. His presence enforced a unity that the Almohad governors alone could not maintain, binding al-Andalus to the Maghreb under a single caliphal authority.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1151?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1151. The most significant is Jin dynasty moves capital to Yanjing: The Jurchen rulers of North China abandoned their old Manchurian capital and moved their court permanently to Yanjing - the city that would become Beijing.
What era was 1151 part of?
1151 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1151?
The curated events from 1151 span East Asia, South Asia, North America and Europe.