1424
Yongle Emperor Dies on Campaign
Returning from his fifth Mongol expedition, the builder of Beijing and sponsor of Zheng He collapsed in his tent on the steppe. His corpse was hidden in a tin coffin until the army reached Beijing; a palace coup was feared. The treasure voyages paused. The Confucian bureaucrats had been waiting.
Battle of Verneuil
The Duke of Bedford crushed a Franco-Scottish army in a second Agincourt, killing nearly every Scot on the field. It was the high-water mark of English France. Within five years, a peasant girl would arrive at Chinon and begin reversing every gain. The Scots bore the heaviest losses, with the Earls of Buchan and Douglas killed, ending Scotland's military intervention in the war.
Aztec Flower Wars Formalized
Under Itzcoatl and his powerful nephew Moctezuma I, the Triple Alliance institutionalized ritualized warfare with Tlaxcala and other unconquered neighboring enemies. These xochiyaoyotl, or flower wars, served as training grounds for young warriors and produced a steady supply of sacrificial captives for the temples of Tenochtitlan. The practice would prove catastrophically fatal when Tlaxcala, nursing decades of accumulated humiliation, eagerly allied with Hernan Cortes a century later.
Zizka Dies of Plague
The blind Hussite general, campaigning in Moravia, died of the plague in a wagon-camp. His followers reportedly continued using his skin as a war drum, or so the legends insisted. His successor Prokop the Bald would continue winning battles for another decade, until Hussite radicalism fractured from within. He had never lost a battle, a record unmatched by any commander of his era, and his name remains synonymous with Czech valor.
Want 1424 in context? Print the whole 15th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1424?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1424. The most significant is Yongle Emperor Dies on Campaign: Returning from his fifth Mongol expedition, the builder of Beijing and sponsor of Zheng He collapsed in his tent on the steppe.
What era was 1424 part of?
1424 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1424?
The curated events from 1424 span East Asia, Europe and North America.