Game Background
From 1100ad
Game background
A.D. or AD is an abbreviated form of Anno Domini; it is translated from Medieval Latin as “In the year of Our Lord”.
1100AD is a medieval massive multiplayer online strategy game, which takes place in 12th century. The geographical location where game takes place varies from server to server, but generally, it spans from Western Europe to Middle East.
The game setting takes the player in the world of early period of high Middle Ages, where European society united under the idea of taking back the Holy Land back from the Muslims and engaged the East in a series of Crusades. During that time, the Europe was almost Christianized; the Viking era has come to an end and only several countries remained pagan (mostly the Baltic States). In these times heraldry – art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms first appeared as a happening. First European universities were built in England, France and Italy. It was a time of knighthood and chivalry; the first Christian military orders such as Knights Templars, Knights Hospitalier and Teutonic Knights appeared. In Arabic world, this time was marked by the rise of ?ashashin (order of Assassins) and King Saladin’s rule, who took back the Jerusalem from the crusaders. During this age, Crusader kingdoms became strong Christian outposts in the Middle East, religion and faith ruled people’s minds and many of great deeds of that time were done in with the name of the Lord on their mouths.
During the start of the game, 1100AD player doesn’t choose any of available historical races or factions of that time to play; he starts as a commander (lord) of his own small unique kingdom, which consists of only one single city-state. He can rename his city the way he wants, even to one of real historical places, such as London, Paris, Lisbon etc., but still he will only rule his own, none-historical kingdom. Thus, the setting only builds the atmospheric events around the player and gives him a feel of an epoch, but doesn’t interact with him directly. Player still might find items, artifacts, notes and quests that depict the events of real 12th century history. To ensure each player may feel oneself as a real lord, the ability to create his own personal coat of arms is present.
The game welcomes players who wish to portray the authentic atmosphere of that time and because of that this list of historical events that took place in 12-century is offered – it might help the player to create a better image of his kingdom and consciously enjoy his game more.
12th century events (excerpt from Wikipedia article):
– 1100: On August 5, Henry I is crowned King of England.
– 1100: On December 25, Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
– 1101–1103: David the Builder takes over Kakheti and Hereti.
– 1102: King Coloman unites Hungary and Croatia under the Hungarian Crown.
– 1103-1104: A church council is convened by King David the Builder in Urbnisi to reorganize the Georgian Orthodox Church.
– 1104: In the Battle of Ertcukhi, King David the Builder defeats an army of Seljuks.
– 1107–1111: Sigurd I of Norway becomes the first king in Europe to embark on a crusade to the Holy Land. He fought in Lisbon, on various Mediterranean isles, and helped the King of Jerusalem to take Sidon from the Muslims.
– 1108: By the Treaty of Devol, signed in September, Bohemond I of Antioch has to submit to the Byzantine Empire, becoming the vassal of Alexius I.
– 1109: On June 10, Bertrand of Toulouse captures the County of Tripoli.
– 1109: In the Battle of Naklo, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats the Pomeranians and re-establishes Polish access to the sea.
– 1109: On August 24, in the Battle of Hundsfeld, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats Emperor Henry V and stops German expansion eastward.
– 1111: On April 14, during Henry V's first expedition to Rome, he is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
– 1115: The Georgian army occupies Rustavi in the war to free Georgia from the Muslims.
– 1116: The Byzantine army defeats the Turks at Philomelion.
– 1119: Foundation of the Knights Templar.
– 1120: On January 16, the Council of Nablus, a council of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, establishes the first written laws for the kingdom.
– 1120: On November 25, William Adelin, the only legitimate son of King Henry I of England, drowns in the White Ship Disaster, leading to a succession crisis which would bring down the Norman monarchy of England.
– 1122: The Battle of Beroia results in the disappearance of the Pechenegs as an independent force.
– 1122: On September 23, the Concordat of Worms (Pactum Calixtinum) was drawn up between Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus IIbringing an end to the first phase of the power struggle between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire.
– 1122: After a four-hundred-year supremacy of Arabs, King David the Builder captures Tbilisi and declares it the capital city of Georgia.
– 1124: In April or May, David I is crowned King of the Scots.
– 1125: On June 11, in the Battle of Azaz, the Crusader States, led by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, defeat the Seljuk Turks.
– 1125: Lothair of Supplinburg, duke of Saxony, is elected Holy Roman Emperor instead of the nearest heir, Frederick of Swabia, beginning the great struggle of Guelf and Ghibelline.
– 1128: On June 24, Portugal gains independence from the kingdom of Leon at the Battle of Sao Mamede; (recognised by Leon in 1143).
– 1130–1138: Papal schism, Pope Innocent II vs. Antipope Anacletus II.
– 1130: On March 26, Sigurd I of Norway dies. A golden era of 95 years comes to an end for Norway as civil wars between the members of Harald Fairhair's family line rage for the remainder of the century.
– 1130: On Christmas Day, Roger II is crowned King of Sicily, the royal title being given to him by the Antipope Anacletus II.
– 1135–1154: The Anarchy is a period of civil war in England.
– 1136: Suger begins rebuilding abbey church at St Denis north of Paris, which is regarded as the first major Gothic building.
– 1137: On July 22, the future King Louis VII of France marries Eleanor, the Duchess of Aquitaine.
– 1139: in April, the Second Lateran Council ends the papal schism.
– 1139: On July 5, in the Treaty of Mignano Pope Innocent II confirms Roger II as King of Sicily, Duke of Apulia, and Prince of Capua and invests him with his titles.
– 1139: On July 26, the Portuguese defeat the Almoravids led by Ali ibn Yusuf in the Battle of Ourique; Prince Afonso Henriques is acclaimed King of Portugal by his soldiers.
– 1143: Afonso Henriques is proclaimed King of Portugal by the cortes.
– 1143 - The Treaty of Zamora recognizes Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of Leon and Castile. Portugal also recognizes the suzerainty of the pope.
– 1144: On December 24, Edessa falls to the Atabeg Zengi.
– 1145–1148: The Second Crusade is launched in response to the fall of the County of Edessa.
– 1147: On October 25, the four-month long Siege of Lisbon successfully brings the city under definitive Portuguese control, expelling the Moorish overlords.
– 1147: A new Berber dynasty, the Almohads, led by Emir Abd al-Mu'min, takes North Africa from the Almoravides and soon invades the Iberian Peninsula. The Almohads began as a religious movement to rid Islam of impurities.
– 1147: The Wendish Crusade against the Polabian Slavs (or "Wends") in what is now northern and eastern Germany.
– 1150: Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona marries Petronilla, the Queen of Aragon.
– 1151 - The Treaty of Tudilen (or Treaty of Tudejen) is signed by Alfonso VII of Leon and Raymond Berengar IV, Count of Barcelona, recognising the Aragonese conquests south of the Jucar and the right to expand in and annex the Kingdom of Murcia.
– 1153 - The Treaty of Wallingford (Treaty of Winchester, Treaty of Westminster), effectively ends the civil war caused by a dispute between Empress Matilda and her cousin King Stephen of England over the English crown, in which Stephen recognises Matilda's son Henry of Anjou as his heir.
– 1153 - The First Treaty of Constance is signed between Emperor Frederick I and Pope Eugene III, by the terms of which, the Emperor is to prevent any action by Manuel I Comnenus to reestablish the Byzantine Empire on Italian soil and to assist the pope against his enemies in revolt in Rome.
– 1154: the Moroccan-born Muslim geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi publishes his Geography.
– 1154: On December 19, Henry II is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
– 1155: Pope Adrian IV grants overlordship of Ireland to Henry II of England in the bull Laudabiliter.
– 1156 – On June 18, the Treaty of Benevento is entered into by Pope Adrian IV and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily. After years of turbulent relations, the popes finally settled down to a peace with the Hauteville kings. The kingship of William I is recognised over all Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, as well as Capua.
– 1158 - The Treaty of Sahagun ends a state of war between Castile and Leon.
– 1161: Kilij Arslan II, Sultan of Rum, makes peace with the Byzantine Empire, recognizing the emperor's primacy.
– 1161: In the siege of Ani, Georgian troops take over control of city, only to have it sold for the second time to the Shaddadids, a Kurdish dynasty.
– 1162: Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, is born as Temujin.
– 1163: The Norwegian Law of Succession takes effect.
– 1168: King Valdemar I of Denmark conquers Arkona on the Island of Rugen, the strongest pagan fortress and temple in Northern Europe.
– 1169: On May 1, the Norman invasion of Ireland begins. Richard fitzGilbert de Clare ('Strongbow') makes an alliance with the exiled Irish chief, Dermot MacMurrough, to help him recover his kingdom of Leinster.
– 1170: The Treaty of Sahagun is signed by Alfonso VIII of Castile and Afonso I of Portugal. Based on the terms of the accord, Alfonso VIII agrees to give Afonso I three hostages in order to be used as tribute payments owed by Ibn Mardanis of Valencia and Murcia.
– 1170: On December 29, Thomas Becket is murdered.
– 1171: Saladin deposes the last Fatimid Caliph Al-'A?id, initiating the Ayyubid dynasty.
– 1171: On November 11, Henry II of England lands in Ireland to assert his claim as Lord of Ireland.
– 1174: On July 12, William I of Scotland is captured by the English in the Battle of Alnwick. He accepts the feudal lordship of the English crown and does ceremonial allegiance at York.
– 1175 - The Treaty of Windsor is signed by King Henry II of England and the High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor.
– 1176: On May 29, Frederick Barbarossa's forces were defeated in the Battle of Legnano by the Lombard League which resulted in the emperor's acknowledgement of the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States and Alexander acknowledging the emperor's overlordship of the imperial Church.
– 1176: On September 17, The Battle of Myriokephalon (Myriocephalum; Turkish: Miryakefalon Savas?) is fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phrygia. It was a serious reversal for the Byzantine forces and was to be the final, unsuccessful, effort by the Byzantines to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Seljuk Turks.
– 1177 - The Treaty or Peace of Venice is signed by the Papacy and its allies and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily also takes part in negotiations and the treaty thereby determines the political course of all Italy for the next several years.
– 1179 - The Treaty of Cazola (Cazorla) is signed by Alfonso II of Aragon and Alfonso VIII of Castile, dividing Andalusia into separate zones of conquest for the two kingdoms, so that the work of the Reconquista would not be stymied by internecine feuding.
– 1182: revolt of the people of Constantinople against the Latins, whom they massacre, proclaiming Andronicus I Comnenus co-emperor.
– 1183: On January 25, the final Peace of Constance between Frederick Barbarossa, the pope, and the Lombard towns is signed, confirming the Peace of Venice of 1177.
– 1183: On September 24, Andronicus I Comnenus has his nephew Alexius II Comnenus strangled.
– 1184: On March 24, Queen Tamar, King of Georgia, accedes to the throne as sole ruler after reigning with her father, George III, for six years.
– 1185: Andronicus I Comnenus is deposed and, on September 12, executed as a result of the Norman massacre of the Greeks of Thessalonika.
– 1185: The cathedral school (Katedralskolan) in Lund, Sweden, is founded. The school is the oldest in northern Europe, and one of the oldest in Europe.
– 1186: On January 27, the future Emperor Henry VI marries Constance of Sicily, the heiress to the Sicilian throne.
– 1187: On July 4, in the Battle of Hattin, Saladin defeats the King of Jerusalem.
– 1187: In August, the Swedish royal and commercial center Sigtuna is attacked by Baltic-Finnish raiders from Couronia and Estonia.
– 1189: On September 3, Richard is crowned King of England in Westminster.
– 1189–1192: The Third Crusade is an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin.
– 1190: On June 10, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa drowns in the River Salef, leaving the Crusader army under the command of the rivals Philip II of France and Richard I of England, which ultimately led to the dissolution of the army.
– 1191: On September 7, Saladin is defeated by Richard I of England at the Battle of Arsuf.
– 1192: In April, Conrad of Montferrat is elected King of Jerusalem as Conrad I, then assassinated a few days later (April 28), before the coronation, by two Hashshashin.
– 1192: In the Battle of Jaffa, King Richard the Lionheart defeats Saladin.
– 1192 – In June, the Treaty of Ramla is signed by Saladin and Richard the Lionheart. Under the terms of the agreement, Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control. However, the city would be open to Christian pilgrimages. The Latin Kingdom is reduced to a geopolitical coastal strip that extended from Tyre to Jaffa.
– 1193: Prithvi raj Chauhan, First Muslim Empire Established in India by mohommad Ghori by defeating Prithviraj chauhan
– 1193: the first known merchant guild.
– 1195: On June 16, struggle of Shamqori. Georgian forces annihilate the army of Abu Baqar.
– 1198: The brethren of the Crusader hospital in Acre are raised to a military order of knights, the Teutonic Knights, formally known as the Order of the Knights of the Hospital of St. Mary of the Teutons in Jerusalem.
– 1199: Pope Innocent III writes to Kaloyan, inviting him to unite the Bulgarian Church with the Roman Catholic Church.
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