Summer – Henry VI takes cruel measures to put down Jordan Lupin's insurrection in Sicily and southern Italy, which has been provoked by the oppression of his German officials.
September 28 – Henry VI dies of malaria at Messina (also possibly poisoned),[2] while preparing an expedition against the Byzantine usurper Alexios III (Angelos).
Autumn – A German civil war begins upon the sudden death of Henry VI. Henry's brother, Philip of Swabia, takes over the family lands and claims his inheritance.[3]
Summer – Gruffydd ap Rhys II is captured and handed over to Gwenwynwyn, who transfers him to the English. Gruffydd is imprisoned at Corfe Castle and Maelgwn ap Rhys claims the throne.
Levant
September 10 – Henry I (or Henry II), king of Jerusalem, dies from falling out a first-floor window at his palace in Acre. His widow, Isabella I, becomes regent while the kingdom is thrown into consternation.[7]
September 22 – About 16,000 German crusaders reach Acre, starting the crusade of 1197. Emperor Henry VI, who planned to join the forces later on, was forced to stay behind in Sicily due to illness. On September 28 he dies at Messina. Meanwhile the crusaders manage to reconquer Sidon and Beirut but return to Germany after receiving the news of the emperor's death.
Asia
Genghis Khan (or Temüjin), with help from the Keraites, defeats the Jurchens of the Jin Dynasty. The Jin bestowed Genghis' blood brotherToghrul with the honorable title of Ong Khan, and Genghis receives the lesser title of j'aut quri. During the winter, Toghrul returns and re-establishes himself as leader of the Keraites.[8]
^David, Charles Wendell (1939). "Narratio de Itinere Navali Peregrinorum Hierosolymam Tendentium et Silviam Capientium, A.D. 1189". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 81 (5): 591–676 (at 660). JSTOR985010.
^"Henry VI died in Messina, poisoned, so it was believed, by his own entourage because of his Italian policy." P. 41 in Kenneth Varty (editor), Reynard the Fox: Social Engagement and Cultural Metamorphoses in the Beast Epic from the Middle Ages to the Present (Berghahn Books, 2000). ISBN1-57181-737-9.
^Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526. I.B. Tauris Publishers. pp. 86–87. ISBN1-86064-061-3.
^Unité mixte de recherche 5648--Histoire et archéologie des mondes chrétiens et musulmans médiévaux. Pays d'Islam et monde latin, Xe-XIIIe siècle: textes et documents. Lyon: Presses Universitaires de Lyon.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Sulev Vahtre (2007). Eesti ajalugu: kronoloogia, 2007. Printed by "Olion". Pg 21.
^Steven Runciman (1952). A History of The Crusades. Vol III: The Kingdom of Acre, p. 78. ISBN978-0-241-29877-0.
^Biran, Michal (2012). Genghis Khan, p. 35. London: Oneworld Publications. ISBN978-1-78074-204-5.
