1204

Year 1204 (MCCIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.

Year 1204 Overview

The year 1204 (MCCIV) was a significant leap year in the Julian calendar, commencing on a Thursday. This year marked pivotal events that reshaped regions, particularly in Europe and the Byzantine Empire.

Key Events

  • January 27–28 – The Byzantine emperor Alexios IV Angelos is overthrown during a revolution.
  • February 5 – Alexios V Doukas is crowned the new Byzantine emperor.
  • April 12 – The Sack of Constantinople occurs as Crusaders storm the city, initiating a period of extensive pillaging. The Republic of Venice captures antique statues, which will later be known as the Horses of Saint Mark.
  • May 16 – Baldwin of Flanders is crowned as emperor of the Latin Empire following his election by Crusader leaders.
  • The escape of Theodore I Laskaris to Nicaea leads to the establishment of the Empire of Nicaea, alongside other Byzantine successor states in Epirus and Trebizond.
  • Boniface I, Marquis of Montferrat, founds the Kingdom of Thessalonica.
  • The writings of French theologian Amalric of Bena face condemnation from the University of Paris and Pope Innocent III.
  • Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria receives recognition as king by Pope Innocent III, following the establishment of the Bulgarian Uniate church.
  • Valdemar II of Denmark gains recognition as king in Norway.
  • Philip II of France captures Angers and Normandy.
  • The Cistercian convent of Port-Royal-des-Champs is founded.
  • The district of Cham comes under the jurisdiction of Bavaria.
  • Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia, submits to Philip of Swabia.
  • Beaulieu Abbey is founded as a significant religious establishment.
  • The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey decide to remain aligned with the English crown following a plebiscite of wealthy landowners after Normandy was recaptured by Philip II of France.

Births

  • April 14 – Birth of Henry I, future king of Castile (d. 1217)
  • Birth of Haakon IV of Norway (d. 1263)
  • Birth of Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1247)
  • Birth of Maria of Courtenay, Empress regent of Nicaea (d. 1228)
  • Birth of Alice of Schaerbeek (d. 1250)

Deaths

  • January 1 – Death of King Haakon III of Norway
  • January – Death of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine emperor
  • February 8 – Death of Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor
  • April 1 – Death of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sovereign Duchess Regnant of Aquitaine and queen of France and England
  • August 11 – Death of King Guttorm of Norway
  • August 14 – Death of Minamoto no Yoriie, Japanese shōgun (b. 1182)
  • September 30 or November 30 – Death of Emeric, King of Hungary (b. 1174)
  • c. October 21 – Death of Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English nobleman
  • November – Death of Ban Kulin, ruler of Bosnia (b. 1163)
  • December 12 (or 13) – Death of Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (b. 1135)
  • December 22 – Death of Fujiwara no Shunzei, Japanese waka poet (b. 1114)
  • Date unknown – Death of Suleiman II, Sultan of Rûm
  • Probable – Death of Amalric of Bena, French theologian