Parents:John Wardley and Alice Eccles

Historical
1240: Mongolia, Russia - Mongol leader Batu Khan (son of Juchi, oldest son of Genghis Khan) razes Kiev, curtailing growth of Kievan Russia, and permitting Muscovite Russia to emerge as dominant force in Russian life
1240: Russia, Sweden - Alexander Nevsky, a Russian prince, repels the Swedes near St. Petersburg after Pope Gregory IX asked the Swedes to punish the Orthodox Russians for helping the Finns avoid conversion to Latin Catholicism
1241: Mongolia, Hungary - Mongols defeat Bela IV at Muhi, and occupy Hungary for a year
1243: Israel - Christians retake Jerusalem for one year
1244: Egypt, Israel - Muslim mercenaries under the direction of the Egyptian pasha Khwarzmi capture Jerusalem which starts the Sixth Crusade, Egypt controls Jerusalem until 1517 and It remained in Muslim hands until 1918
1248-1254: Egypt - Seventh Crusade (of nine), a failure, and Louis IX of France spent much of the crusade living at the court of the crusader kingdom in Acre, in the midst of this crusade was the first Shepherds Crusade in 1251
1250: Egypt - Battle of Fairskur, Egyptian forces led by the new Caliph, Turanshah, defeat the troops of the Seventh Crusade and capture Louis IX
1255: Mongolia, Iraq - Hulagu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) captures Bagdhad
1256: Mongolia, Iran - Generals of Hulagu Khan, after three year siege, destroy the castles of the Assassins and massacre the Persian Assassins
1256: Mongolia - Kublai Khan attains throne of Mongolian Empire
1258: England - English barons led by Simon de Montfor demand reforms to curtail the arbitrary powers of the king, they became known as the Provisions Of Oxford
1260: Egypt, Israel - Battle Of Ain Jalut, the Muslin Mamelukes (led by the ex-slave Baybars) and Julegu Khan stop the Mongols in Palestine, the Mongol general Ket Buqa is killed
1261: Turkey - Byzantines recapture Constantinople from Crusaders
1262: Norway, Iceland, Greenland - King Haakon IV of Norway annexes Iceland and Greenland to end a civil war in Iceland
1263: Scotland, Norway - Norsemen ejected from Scotland
1265: England - Edward I (Longshanks) defeats Barons at Evesham in the Barons War (1264-67)
1266: Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria - Venetians Niccolo Polo and brother Maffeo Polo make trade expedition to Constantinople, and then east to Bolgara and then Sarai, in the Kingdom of Barka Khan, after a year, their return blocked by war between Barka Khan and Hulagu Khan, the Polo brothers journey east to the capital Kaifeng and see Kublai Khan, three years later they returned to Venice
1267: China - Kublai Khan begins construction of new capital at Peking
1270-1270: Tunisia - French king Louis IX dies in Tunisia while on the Eighth Crusade (of nine), during his reign he Increased both the authority of the king and the judicial system
1271-1272: Egypt - Ninth Crusade (of nine), future Edward I of England undertook another expedition against Baibars/Baybars in 1271, after having accompanied Louis on the Eighth Crusade, the Ninth Crusade is a failure and ends the Crusades in the Middle East
1271: China - Kublai Khan formally creates the Yuan dynasty of China
1271: Italy, China - Marco Polo leaves for China with his father Niccolo, they arrive in the court of the Great Khan
1273: Italy - The last Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire dies and the Hapsburg Dynasty is established with the new Emperor Rudolf I of the Hapsburgs who five years later gain control over Austria, the Hapsburgs last until 1918
1274: Mongolia, Japan - Mongols unsuccessfully attempt to Invade Japan
1275: China - The Polos arrive at Cambuluc (Peking)