1168

King Valdemar I (1131–1182)

Events

Summer – King Amalric I of Jerusalem and Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos negotiate an alliance against Fatimid-Egypt. Archbishop William of Tyre is among the ambassadors sent to Constantinople to finalize the treaty.
Autumn – William IV, Count of Nevers, arrives in Palestine with a contingent of elite knights. In Jerusalem he is present during a council with Amalric and other nobles to decide on an expedition to Egypt.
October 20 – Amalric I invades Egypt again from Ascalon, sacking Bilbeis and threatening Cairo. In November, a Crusader fleet sails up the Nile and arrives in Lake Manzala, sacking the town of Tanis.<ref name=Runciman1168>Runciman, Steven (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 309–311. Template:ISBN.</ref>
Nur al-Din, Zangid ruler (atabeg) of Aleppo, sends an expedition under General Shirkuh to Egypt on request of the Fatimid caliph Al-Adid. He offers him a third of the land, and fiefs for his generals.<ref name=Runciman1168/>

December 22 – Afraid that the Egyptian capital Fustat (modern-day Old Cairo) will be captured by Crusader forces, its Fatimid vizier, Shawar, orders the city set afire. The capital burns for 54 days.

March 27 – Patrick of Salisbury, Angevin governor of Poitou, is killed in an ambush at Poitiers by French forces under Guy of Lusignan. He is escorting Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine on a journey near the border of Aquitaine. Patrick's nephew, William Marshal, is part of the royal escort and is taken prisoner. Later he is ransomed and becomes a member of Eleanor's household.<ref>Asbridge, Thomas (2015). The Greatest Knight: The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, Power Behind Five English Thrones, p. 87. London: Simon & Schuster.</ref>
King Valdemar I ("the Great") of Denmark conquers the Wendish capital at Arkona on the island of Rügen (modern Germany). The Wends become Christians and subject to Danish suzerainty.
Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, marries the 12-year-old Matilda (or Maud), daughter of King Henry II of England.<ref>Hywell Williams (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History, p. 126. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Template:ISBN.</ref>
The newly born Commune of Rome conquers and destroys the rival neighboring city of Albano (modern Italy).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Stephen du Perche, Sicilian chancellor, is accused of plotting to claim the throne and is forced to flee.

April 9 – Emperor Rokujō of Japan is deposed by his grandfather, retired-Emperor Go-Shirakawa, after an 8-month reign. He is succeeded by his 6-year-old uncle, Takakura, as the 80th emperor.
Yuanqu County (also known as Wanting County) in China is destroyed by a flood of the Yellow River.

September 20 – Antipope Paschal III dies at Rome after a 4-year reign. Giovanni di Struma is elected as his successor and will reign as Antipope Callixtus III with support from Emperor Frederick I.

April 22 – Abubakar ibn Gussom, Arab poet (d. 1242)
August 31 – Emperor Zhangzong of Jin, Chinese ruler (d. 1208)
November 19 – Emperor Ningzong, Chinese ruler (d. 1224)
Ibn Muti al-Zawawi, Arab jurist and philologian (d. 1231)
Robert of Braybrooke, English High Sheriff (d. 1210)
Robert of Courtenay, Lord of Champignelles, French nobleman and knight (d. 1239)
Temüge (or Otgon), brother of Genghis Khan (d. 1246)
William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby (approximate date)