1221
Mongols destroy Merv and Nishapur
The oasis cities of Khorasan were systematically exterminated.
Genghis Khan defeats Jalal al-Din at the Indus
The last Khwarazmian prince, cornered on the Indus's banks, fought a desperate battle and then spurred his horse over a cliff into the river.
Dominic de Guzman dies in Bologna
The Castilian priest who had founded the Order of Preachers died in the Italian city that would become the order's intellectual headquarters.
Fibonacci's sequence enters European mathematics
Scholars across Italy began studying the rabbit-breeding problem from Leonardo of Pisa's Liber Abaci, in which each generation's count followed a pattern…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1221?
Saeculum lists 4 events from 1221. The most significant is Mongols destroy Merv and Nishapur: The oasis cities of Khorasan were systematically exterminated.
What era was 1221 part of?
1221 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1221?
The events from 1221 span Central Asia, South Asia and Europe.