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12th century

(11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries)

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200.

Events

• Song dynasty loses power over Northern China
• The Kamakura Shogunate deprives the Emperor of Japan from political power.
• First, Second, and Third Crusades of western European kingdoms against Islam
• Pope Adrian IV granted overlordship of Ireland to Henry II of England.
• Suger rebuilds the abbey church at St Denis north of Paris, seen as first Gothic building
• Portugal gained independence from the kingdom of León in 1128 (recognised by Leon in 1143).
• Nalanda, the great Indian Buddhist educational centre, was destroyed.
• Thomas Becket murdered in 1170.

Significant people

• Pierre Abélard, one of the first scholastic philosophers
• Bernard of Clairvaux, French abbot influential in church politics
• Saladin, ruler of Egypt and Syria who resisted the Crusaders
• Hugh of St. Victor, French scholar
• Richard of St. Victor, theologian
• Alfonso I Henriques, first King of Portugal
• Maimonides, leading Jewish philosopher
• Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury
• Minamoto no Yoritomo, first shogun of Japan

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Decades and years

1090s	1090	1091	1092	1093	1094	1095	1096	1097	1098	1099
1100s	1100	1101	1102	1103	1104	1105	1106	1107	1108	1109
1110s	1110	1111	1112	1113	1114	1115	1116	1117	1118	1119
1120s	1120	1121	1122	1123	1124	1125	1126	1127	1128	1129
1130s	1130	1131	1132	1133	1134	1135	1136	1137	1138	1139
1140s	1140	1141	1142	1143	1144	1145	1146	1147	1148	1149
1150s	1150	1151	1152	1153	1154	1155	1156	1157	1158	1159
1160s	1160	1161	1162	1163	1164	1165	1166	1167	1168	1169
1170s	1170	1171	1172	1173	1174	1175	1176	1177	1178	1179
1180s	1180	1181	1182	1183	1184	1185	1186	1187	1188	1189
1190s	1190	1191	1192	1193	1194	1195	1196	1197	1198	1199
1200s	1200	1201	1202	1203	1204	1205	1206	1207	1208	1209