Timeline 1115-1130 (Interference)

== 1116-1120 ==
1115-1116
Southern Europe:
Dalmatia rises against the new Hungarian rulers and newly accepts Venetian overlordship, ending a most delicate juncture for the Most Serene Republic.
1115-1131
British Isles:
Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, better known as king Turlough O’Connor of Connacht (western Ireland), revolts against Norwegian overlordship, breaks and conquers nearby Munster (SW Ireland), but the Emerald Island remains divided between warring factions.
1116
Southern Europe:
Brescia recognizes the authority of the king of Lombardy, Amedeo II. The Lombard royal army and the Brescian communal militia again defeat Canossa forces at Ghedi and come to besiege Mantua, extorting the acknowledgment of Brescia as a Lombard Comune. Anselm of Canossa is later murdered at Modena on instigation of the local Church (:eek: !), and Sigembert takes over the Canossa clan as the senior member of the family.
Byzantine Empire:
The Danishmendiyyas try a massive invasion of Anatolia combined with a revolt of the former Rum-Seljuks (thence on known as Batitourkoi or Western Turks): John, son and heir of the aged Alexius I Comnenus, routs the Batiturk rebels at the battle of Philomelion, then defeats the Danishmendiyyas at Sebastopolis (*OTL Sulusaray), where the last credible claimant to the Rum-Seljuk throne, Malik Shah I, dies in battle. A peace accord is subsequently signed between Byzantium and Danishmendiyya Ahlat/Armenia; the Crusader Duchy of Caesarea/Mazhak is recognized as an independent buffer, paying tribute to both. The Ortoqid Turks exploit the chaos to conquer or gobble up the Crusader or Armenian statelets along the upper Euphrates.
1117
Southern Europe:
The Milanese militia besieges Lodi, but king Amedeo II of Lombardy intervenes in favor of the weaker side from his capital in Pavia, imposing a truce. His brother Guidone of Susa-Ivrea establishes a matrimonial alliance with the Canossas by marrying his sister-in-law into that family. 
Emperor John III of the Western “Roman” Empire dies in Palermo, succeeded by his younger brother Augustin I. The empire is further weakened as local curiones (*barons, from Greek kyrios, lord) take over most local power on both sides of the Sicily and Messina Straits, while the Italian sea-trading republics assume de facto domination of the navy.
Central-Eastern Europe:
A sizable part of the Kipchak/Cumans, under the leadership of Khan Otrok, resettles between the Volga and Don rivers, destroying the Alan fortress of Sarkel at the Don's mouth
1118
British Isles:
The Irish kingdom of Munster, under Connacht aggression, splinters into the two realms of Desmond (southern) and Thomond (northern), under an increasingly weaker Norwegian suzerainty
Southern Europe:
Paschal II, Pope and king of Italy/Spoleto, dies, succeeded by Gelasius II (Giovanni Coniulo), his chancellor.
Byzantine Empire:
Alexius I Comnenus dies of old age, revered almost as a saint by the populace. His son John II takes over, and soon quietly puts apart his theoretical and never crowned co-basileus, 21-year-old Belisarius Diogenes (second son of the late Leo VI), who is made instead duke of Morea/Peloponnesus. Thus the Comnenoi come to rule alone the Byzantine Empire
Central-Eastern Europe, Caucasus:
Peace is made between the Alans and the eastern Kipchak/Cumans of Otrok Khan. The latter ally himself to king David the Builder of Iberia/Georgia (in turn, already bond by crossed marriages and distant kinship to the Alan ruler Aton Bagratuni) and help him wrest part the Luristan (*OTL northern Armenia) from the war-weary Danishmendiyyas, making it into the border pricipality of Matznaberd.
North Africa:
A small Crusader army marches through the Sinai up to the eastern reaches of the Nile delta, finding little opposition from the Fatimids, but being forced back by an epidemic among its men.
Middle East:
Hughes de Payns and other eight French-speaking knights from France and Luxemburg found in Jerusalem the military-monastic order of the Knights Templar to defend Christian pilgrims, gaining immediate recognition from king Arrigo. 
Vain Crusader siege of Aleppo.
Middle East, Central Asia:
Upon the death of sultan Ghiyas ud-Din Mahmud I Tapar, the still mighty Seljuk Empire is divided into two halves. Iraq, western Persia/Iran and Azerbaijan are inherited by the young Mahmud II, which moves his capital in Baghdad, while central and eastern Persia/Iran and part of Central Asia remain under the sway of his powerful relative Mu'izz ad-Din Ahmed Sanjar, ruling from Merv (Khorassan).
1118-1128
Middle East:
Aleppo is de facto in the hands of the local Ortoqid-appointed governor, ibn Khashshab
1119
Western Europe:
Henry I of France and England is murdered in Rouen by his illegitimate daughter Juliane for allowing the blinding and mutilation of her two daughters :eek: following a feud between rival lords in Normandy. He is succeeded by his only legitimate son, William III le Adelin (*French corruption for “Atheling”, an Anglo-Saxon title for the heir to the English throne).
Southern Europe:
Princess regent Serena of Taranto liquidates the nearby Venetian-backed duchy of Otranto by having her cousin, duke Domenico, murdered, and his domains taken over by loyal troops. Otranto Castle falls after a protracted siege as the Venetian navy cannot break the Pisan naval blockade.
Middle East:
The Crusader forces of Antioch are routed by the Ortoqid Turks at the battle of Ager Sanguinis at Sarmada (northern Syria), an utter disaster in which Bohemund II is killed (his head will be later shown on a pike in Aleppo:eek: ). Roger the Black, a distant cousin of the deceased prince, takes over the Antiochene State as regent de jure and ruler de facto
1119-1121
British Isles:
The Norwegians try a last ditch effort to preserve their control over Ireland, but are finally ousted with the fall of Dublin to Turlough I of Connacht, who claims for himself the High Kingship as Turlough II. The Norwegian empire created by Olaf III the Brave and Magnus II Barefoot comes to a miserable end:(
1119-1123
Central-Eastern Europe:
The Poles subdue Pomerania widening their access to the Baltic
1120
Byzantine Empire:
John II Comnenus, together with duke Sigurd of Pamphilia, liquidates the die-hard faction of the Batiturks; they are deported to Europe in the thousands, where they will form the Vardariote warrior caste
ca. 1120
Western Europe:
Welcher of Malvern, after studying geography in the Levant on ancient Greek and Arab texts, establishes the latitude-longitude system for measuring the Earth, which will be gradually accepted in the centuries
Caucasus:
The Seljuks conquer Avaristan (inner Daghestan) from Alania.
SE Asia:
The Khmer ruler Suryavarman II again vassalizes the Champa kingdom (*OTL present southern Vietnam).
1120-1122
Western Europe:
The noted French philosopher Pierre Abélard is first castrated by the furious uncle of her lover, young Héloïse; he is later burnt at the stake for heresy :eek: by his enemies even before the Pope and king William III can intervene on his behalf.
Southern Europe:
Pope Gelasius II dies, and for the first time since long a bitter struggle ensues re: the election of the new Pope and king of Italy/Spoleto. The rival candidates are Lamberto da Fiagnano and the Patriarch of Aquileia, Gerard. The powerful Frangipane family, descending from the ancient Anicia gens and having its main fortress in the Coliseum (!), sides with the Aquileian candidate at first, forcing his election as Paschal III, then switches side :o after a popular revolt, fostering the deposition of the Aquileian Pope-king and the enthronement of Lamberto, the learned son of humble peasants of Romagna, who takes the name of Honorius II. This marks a comeback of the nobility on the Roman scene after decades of low-profile attitude following the massacre of most of the Roman aristocrats :D at the hand of George Maniaces.
== 1121-1125 ==
ca. 1120-1130 
Northern Europe:
The provinces of Östergötland and Västergötland secede from Sweden until Sverker I Kolsson, son of the ruler of the former land, reunifies the kingdom
1121
Northern Hesperia (*OTL America):
Bishop Eirik of Vinlandria (*OTL Newfoundland) is killed while trying to convert (Gospel in the hand, battleaxe in the other...:D ) the native Mikkmakks of Skraelingarland (*OTL Acadia). He will be later sanctified and made into St. Erik, Protomartyr of the Hesperias.
Caucasus:
King David IV the Builder, with his Alan and Kipchak/Cuman allies and some hundred crusading French knights, marks a most great Iberian/Georgian victory against the Seljuks and their Danishmendiyya clients in the huge battle of Didgori:) , liberating the Muslim held fortress of Tbilisi
North Africa:
The able Vizier al-Afdal, a just ruler, is murdered on orders from his lord, the Fatimid Caliph of Egypt al-Amir, who falsely blames the Nizari Assassins for the fact:mad: . Such is the scandal that the Mamluk slave-soldiers revolt and kill the Caliph, replacing him with his cousin, al-Hafiz, who'll prove little more than a puppet in the hands of powerful generals.
1122
Western Europe:
The Navarrese conquer Saragossa from the local margrave of Aragon, Godofrey, a vassal of the Zenete Compact; the king of Navarra, Sancho III the Great, is now the foremost ruler in Spain
Southern Europe:
Henry II of Eppenstein dies, leaving the county of Gurizberg (*OTL Gorizia) to his relative Meinhard I of Lurngau-Heimöfls, count of Pustertal (South Tyrol), and Carinthia to Henry III of Sponheim.
Byzantine Empire:
John II Comnenus trounces once and for all the Pechenegs at Strumitza; they simply disappear from history :confused: , assimilated into the western Cuman hordes or the pastoral nomadic Vlach communities of the Sklaviniai (*OTL Balkans). Also the western Cuman hordes are kept at bay and beaten back at Drystra/Silistra on the lower Danube.
Central-Eastern Europe:
Moldavia/Bessarabia becomes a point of contention between the Russian Rurikid principalities and the western Cumans, who are put under pressure. Foundation of Astrakhan (= As-Tarkhan, “Alan leader”) by Alans and eastern Kipchak/Cumans near the ruins of Itil, the late Khazar capital.
India:
The Chauhan Rajput ruler Prithvi Raj I conquers Delhi from the Tomars.
Far East:
The Jurchens/Jin defeat and the Khitan/Liao and Tangut/XiXia empire and extort tribute from them.
Central Hesperia:
The Chichimec (“barbarian”) invasion overthrows the Toltec Empire in the central Mexican plateau. The Toltecs will remain for centuries an admired model for civilization and religion, like the Romans in Europe.
1122-1126
Byzantine Empire:
War erupts between Venice and the Byzantines over the renewal of commercial rights, as basileus John II seeks the alliance of Pisa, who makes lesser demands;) . The Venetians first soundly defeat the Pisans at Saseno island (Albania), then proceed to conquer all of the Ionian islands and devastate the Aegean. The basileus, lacking a strong navy of its own:o , is forced to concede defeat and acknowledge Venetian domination over the empire's Mediterranean trade.
1123
Northern Europe:
The Duke of Saxony Otto I von Ballenstedt-Aschersleben dies. Again civil war flames up for the Saxon ducal throne, with the undaunted Lothar of Supplinburg to make once again his bid for hegemony, supported by the Wends and his Welf allies. Fredegar of Brischna (*OTL Bressanone/Brixen), king Hermann II's champion, is defeated and killed by the Welfs of Bavaria and their Bohemian allies at the battle of Regensburg. On the contrary Albert the Bear, son of Otto I, holds his own in Saxony showing great prowess and routing a Wendic invasion at Salzwedel, where the ruler of Greater Wendia,
Pribislav Henry I from the Havolan tribe, dies in battle.
King Eystein of Norway dies, and his brother Sigurd Jorsàlfar, the increasingly insane duke of Byzantine Pamphilia, should be the heir to the throne. But Norway is seized by Harald IV Gille, a Norsemen from Ireland who claims – with good reasons – to be another illegitimate son of the late Magnus II.
Iceland rejects any tie with Norway, soon followed by the jarldom of the Orkneys, who acknowledges Alban/Scottish suzerainty. Harald's “usurpation” marks the beginning of a period of factional struggles in the country.
Southern Europe:
The Hungarians, allying themselves with Byzantium and Pisa against Venice, reinvade Dalmatia and retake Spalato/Split.
Final Norman crackdown on Bari's remaining town liberty: the free republic, by now reduced to pure fiction, is abolished and the town severely punished by Roger II of Puglia and Boiano after a revolt against trade taxes.
Middle East:
A new Crusader siege of Aleppo proves a failure; viceroy Arrigo/Henry I of Jerusalem dies of fever during the campaign:( , and the Crusaders hail his son Walram (Aleramo, from the name of the founder of the Montferrat family) as the new protector of the Holy Sepulchre.
While campaigning against Byzantium the Doge of Venice, Vitale Michiel, leads his men to help the Crusaders in Syria. Some of them will later settle in Byzantine Cyprus.
Middle east, Central Asia:
Death of Farhad Khayyam (*OTL Omar Khayyam), a most famous Persian Zoroastrian (*OTL he was a Muslim) scientist and philosopher, noted for his astronomical skills and skeptical approach to religions.
1124
Southern Europe:
The Synod of San Gall (*OTL Sankt Gallen) defines the respective rights of the Papacy and the temporal sovereigns in the field of the bishops' investitures, especially when bishops hold also temporal authority. This, of course, does not apply in the kingdom of Italy/Spoleto, where the Pope is also king.
Emperor John IV institutes the Strait Levy to allow passage of the Messina Strait; only Western imperial and Genoese ships are exempted.
The Hungarians, bribed by Venice, change side :o in the Venetian-Byzantine war and raze the border fortress of Belgrade, enforcing their domination over the Mačva region (northern Serbia).
Byzantine Empire:
The Venetians conquer the Byzantine islands of Chios and Samos (Aegean Sea).
Caucasus:
The Iberians/Georgians take the capital of Danishmendiyya Ahlat/Armenia, Ani; the Danishmendid emir, Gumushtegin, moves his capital in Melitene (*OTL Malatya) and pays tribute, detaching his state from the Seljuks.
Middle East:
The Crusaders, in alliance with the local Maronite Christians and Muwahiddin (*OTL Druzes), conquer Tyre and the Bekaa Valley (inner Lebanon), who are given to the county of Tripoli, and the Golan region east of the Sea of Galilee, which instead goes to the kingdom of Jerusalem. After the death of emir Balak the Ortoqid state is divided in two halves, at Marida/Mardin and Hisn Kayfa.
Far East:
The western part of the weakened Khitan/Liao Empire secedes, forming the powerful Karakhitai (Black Khitan) khanate between Mongolia and Pamir, with capital in Balasagun (*in OTL Kirghizistan).
1124-1127
Northern Europe:
Hermann II of Germany dies as the country is still rocked by civil war. The electoral mechanism to appoint a new king fails to materialize :o due to the war, and Hermann III rules de facto, without official sanction. King William I of Luxembourg runs in help of his relative in Germany, but is killed in the battle of Schweinfurt along with Hermann III and his brother Henry; the remaining members of the Luxembourgians of Germany take refuge in Luxembourg proper. The timely death of Henry the Black, duke of Bavaria, and the young age of his sons, save duke Albert the Bear of Saxony and another noted ally of the former king, duke Frederick II of Swabia, weakening the winning side. In the end Papal mediation manages to assemble all the Electors in Frankfurt to choose a king. The Electors put aside the young Henry the Proud of Bavaria, who is 18, and elect by a large majority the exiled Lothar of Supplinburg, who has no sons, as the new king of Germany. The electoral duchy of Franconia, until then in personal union with the German crown, is entrusted to Lothar as a repayment for the continued rule of Albert in Saxony.
1124-1138
North Africa:
Zenete Mauretania (*OTL Morocco) is rocked by the Cathar War launched by the followers of the Heresiarch Stephen of Gadir (*OTL Agadir), the Gadirotes. Despite cruel persecutions and Papal excommunication, The Gadirote Cathar insurgents gradually manage to gain control of most of the country during a most violent religious war.
1125
British Isles, Western Europe:
William III Adelin is crowned in Rouen as Catholic Emperor of Greater Normandy (Magna Normannia) by Pope Honorius II, who also makes him the ultimate feudal suzerain of all Crusader lands in the Levant. In exchange, further riches and privileges are granted to the Roman Church.
Southern Europe:
Coming back from France, Pope Honorius II crowns the senior member of the Canossas, Roland, with the title of king of Tuscany and Transbardonia (*Emilia, north of Monte Bardone, that is Cisa Pass along the pilgrims' way to Rome). It is established that future kings will be elected insiede the Canossa family with a facultative approval from the Church and the Communal authorities of major towns – Mantua, Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Florence. The move is not well received in Lombardy, but it is also felt as long due.
The Milanese Communal militia, once again harassing their neighbours, is defeated by the count of Seprio, Vilfredo, and his allies from Como, at the battle of Lomazzo. Guidone, rival brother of king Amedeo II, usurps the family holdings of the Biandrate county, then is countered and beaten back at Valenza by marquis Ranieri II of Montferrat, allied to the Lombard king.
Byzantine Empire:
The Venetians conquer the port of Modone/Methoni (Morea/Peloponnesus).
Middle East:
The Crusaders regain momentum by soundly defeating the Ortoqid forces in the battle of Azaz, after which they retake part of the Euphrates valley; Aleppo again resists Crusader pressure.
Far East:
The Jurchens/Jin conquer Beijing, ending the Khitan/Liao dynastical rule in the north of China, and vassalize Korea. Soon after giving back most of northern China to their Song allies the Jurchens/Jin reinvade the country arriving to the walls of the Song capital, Kaifeng.
ca. 1125
Southern Europe:
Dalmatia is de facto divided into three spheres of influence. In the north the Venetian are suzerains of Zara/Zadar, descending south Hungary holds Spalato/Split and Duklja/Zeta (later Melanoria, *OTL Montenegrin) exacts tributes from Ragusa/Dubrovnik.
== 1126-1130 ==
1125-1130
Northern Europe:
Magnus Nilsson nicknamed the Strong is elected king by the Geats, but refused by all other Swedes. In the end he is driven out of the country by king Sverker I of Sweden.
ca. 1125-1150
Northern Hesperia:
The native peoples of NE northern Hesperia (*OTL America) are halved in numbers by fierce epidemics brought in by Norse and Red Screamers (*OTL Beothuks) colonists and tradesmen from Vinlandria (*OTL Newfoundland) and Skraelingarland (*OTL Acadia). Some of the native Maliseeths, Abenakis and Mikkmakks absorb the tenets of Christianity together with crypto-pagan Norse customs. Writing is introduced among the natives through rune-carving:cool: , and rapidly adapted to their Algonquian languages; the use of iron and metals also spreads.
1126
Western Europe:
King William VI (*OTL duke William IX) of Aquitaine/Occitania dies, one the foremost poets of his age and patron of the great Trobadoric literary school of the Occitanian-speaking lands.
Byzantine Empire:
The Peace of the Blachernae brings Venice to great power status. Basileus John II concedes defeat, giving back the Venetians their former commercial privileges. Venice gives back the Ionian islands save Corfu, but gains full possession of the port of Modone/Methoni in the Morea/Peloponnesus and of the Aegean islands of Chios and Samos. Besides that, the Duchy of Morea is made fully independent from Constantinople under Belisarius Diogenes, now a useful pawn for further meddling, just in case:rolleyes: .
Far East:
The Tanguts of the XiXia Empire wrench Xijian (*OTL Lanzhou, Gansu, NW China) from Tibetan hands. The Karakhitais subdue Turfan (eastern Turkestan).
1126-1133
British isles:
Leinster (eastern Ireland) is wrecked by the war between the High King, Turlough II O'Connor of Connacht, and the local ruler Diarmait McMurchada. Slaughter ensues, culminating in the burning of the Abbey of Kildare and the rape of its abbess :eek: by Diarmait, and pitched battles fought with abundant use of Welsh, Norman and Norwegian mercenaries. In the end Diarmait regains the throne of Leinster, and Ireland remains a divided land; in Dublin the Norseman Thorkell again imposes Scandinavian power.
1127
Northern Europe:
King Lothar I of Germany arranges the marriage of his daughter Gertrude to Henry the Proud, the Welf duke of Bavaria. Though the German crown is elective, this step makes the Bavarian ruler the heir apparent to the throne. The dukes of Swabia and Saxony, Frederick II von Hohenstaufen and Albert the Bear von Ballenstedt, react by establishing a matrimonial alliance between their families to resist Welf overpower.
Southern Europe:
Prince William of Melfi dies childless, and his lands are bitterly contested between princess Serena of Taranto and count Roger II of Puglia and Boiano; the decisive Battle of the Broken Spears gives Roger the complete domination of Norman southern Italy, as Serena, besieged in Taranto, has to flee by sea to the Antiochene court of Roger the Black, a distant relative of her defunct husband Bohemund II. Roger quickly has her and her princely pretences end in an unmarked grave:D .
Far East:
The Jin/Jurchens reinvade China, conquer its capital Kaifeng and capture the Song emperor Qinzong with his father Huizong, who abdicated a few months before. The Jin capital is moved in Beijing, while the Chinese imperial prince Gaozong, Qinzong's half-brother, establishes a southern Song court in Nanking.
1127-1128
Middle East:
Imad ad-din Zengi, governor of Mosul, relative and atabeg (tutor) of the Seljuk sultan of Baghdad Mahmud II, establishes the Zengid dynasty, an offspring of the Seljuks, by conquering Aleppo from the Ortoqids.
1128
British Isles:
The kingdom of Breifne is established in NW Ireland under Tigernan Mor macAeda of the O’Rourke clan.
Western Europe:
Count Afonso III of Portugal liquidates his rebel brother Gerardo, allied with the Zenete overlords of southern Spain, then goes on to conquer Lisbon and self-appoints himself duke.
Southern Europe:
Obizzo I degli Obertenghi, a distant relative of the German Welfs, assumes the title of margrave of Este (southern Veneto).
Central-Eastern Europe:
In a botched attempt to regain a minimum of unity, the Germans try to subdue Bohemia but suffer a humiliating defeat at Pilsen. Albert the Bear, duke of Saxony, is taken prisoner, but soon freed by king Sobeslav I of Bohemia on tributes and a pledge to hamper any further attack against his lands.
De facto, that means an alliance.
Middle East:
The Nizari Assassins of Syria, fallen out of favor after the death of emir Toghtegin of Damascus, find new strongholds in the mountains of Mediterranean Syria, due south of Antioch. Pope Honorius II recognizes and confirms the Order of the Knights Templar.
1129
Byzantine Empire, Southern Europe:
The Vardariotes (*Turkic deportees from southern Anatolia) stage a revolt in Macedonia against basileus John II Comnenus, which is soon exploited by Belisarius Diogenes of Morea/Peloponnesus to claim the imperial throne of Constantinople. The basileus at first suffers defeat at the battle of Sdravitsa/Draviskos, then turns the table by falsely claiming :rolleyes: :cool: that the fallen Vardariote leader, Adilmegistus, had been killed by an envious Belisarius. The defeated usurper has to flee in a hurry to his domains, under the protection of the Venetian fleet, who helps him build powerful fortifications through the Isthmus of Corinth. Raška/Kosovo occupies all the remaining Serbian holdings of the empire save Naissos/Niš.
Middle East:
A Crusader army attacks Damascus but is repulsed by emir Buri.
1129-1131
Northern Europe:
Knut Lavard, sub-king of Danish southern Jutland (Schleswig/Slesvig), wrests Mecklenburg (western Pomerania) from Greater Wendia. He is subsequently liquidated by an unholy alliance between his uncle, king Niels of Denmark, and duke Albert the Bear of Saxony, and Danish influence on Greater Wendia wanes, replaced by German meddling.
1130
Southern Europe:
Pope Honorius II dies. Innocent II (Gregorio Papareschi) is hurriedly chosen as successor, then another dubious meeting of rival cardinals appoints Anacletus II (Pietro Pierleoni) as his rival. Both are Romans from influent families, which further complicates the issue, and both stay in the city:D , which is torn apart by factional struggles. Anacletus then leaves Rome for Naples, and when the Western “Roman” emperor, John IV, fails to acknowledge him as the legitimate Pope and king of Italy/Spoleto, he turns to the Norman Roger II de Hauteville, crowning him king of Lesser Normandy (Normannia Minor) at Benevento.
Middle East:
Roger I the Black of Antioch is defeated and killed in battle by the Danishmendiyya Turks of Ahlat/Armenia along the Euphrates river, and again Antioch remains without a ruler. Anacletus II, under pressure from his Norman host, Roger II of Lesser Normandy (southern Italy), makes Roger's 10-years old second son Tancredi, already in the Levant to study and practice with the Templars, the new prince of Antioch.
India:
Taila II of the later Kadambas of Karnataka (Tungabhadra river area) is defeated, captured and slain by Vishnuvardhana, the Hoysala ruler.
ca. 1130
Southern Europe:
The Comune of Genoa begins its slow expansion towars the Western (Ponente) Riviera.
The Genoese find out that Pisan ships make use of mercenaries from the Ligurian coast who can reproduce the Genoese speech :D :D :D to pass the Messina Strait under false flag and avoid paying the Strait Levy. They counteract by recruiting mountain dwellers from the NW Apennines who still speak ancient Ligurian (*this largely pre-Indoeuropean language did not disappear during the Roman era: that's the first PoD of this entire timeline...) and protect the language, until then considered a barbarian speech, by city statute.
Black Africa:
Islam, in the Caliphist creed (*maintaining there has to be no Wali or "Sunni Pope", only a Caliph concentrating both political and religious authority), begins to spread from Songhay in the Mali region, in opposition to the Christianized Zenetes who fiercely raid for slaves; the weak Christianization brought by the Ghana Empire in its last centuries proves to have shallow roots.
Far East:
The Mongol tribal confederacy emerges in northern Mongolia, which will take name from it.
The Karakhitais subdue eastern Turkestan, vassalizing the eastern Karakhanids of Kashgar.
SE Asia:
The Khmer king Suryavarman II builds the ceremonial complex of Angkor Wat and conquers Haripunjaya (northern Siam).