A certified copy of the Magna Carta

[edit] Events

• March 4 – King John of England makes an oath to the Pope as a crusader to gain the support of Innocent III.
• June 15 – King John of England is forced to put his seal on the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricting the king's power.
• August – King John rejects the Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War.
• August 24 – Pope Innocent III declares the Magna Carta invalid.
• November – The Fourth Council of the Lateran is held.
• Beijing is captured and torched by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, initiating the Yuan Dynasty in China. Beijing burns for more than a month.
• Otto IV is deposed as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, replaced by Frederick II (King 1212–1250).
• The Dominican Order is founded, according to some sources.
• Bhiksu Ananda of Kapitanagar completes writing the holy Buddhist book Arya Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita (sutra) in gold ink in Ranjana script.
• 1215–1216 – The Macy Jug, from Iran, is made. It is now kept at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

[edit] Births

• September 23 – Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1294)
• Pope Celestine V (d. 1296)
• Pope John XXI (d. 1277)
• David VII Ulu, King of Georgia (d. 1270)

[edit] Deaths

• July 5 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
• Bertran de Born, French soldier and troubadour
• Eustace, Bishop of Ely and former Lord Chancellor of England
• Henry of Hainault, head of the Eastern Latin Empire