1158

By place

Byzantine Empire

• Autumn - Emperor Manuel I sets out from Constantinople at the head of a expeditionary army. He marches to Cillicia; and while the main army follows the coast road eastwards – Manuel hurries ahead with a force of only 500 cavalry. He manages to surprise King Thoros II, who has participated in the attack on Cyprus. Thoros flees into the mountains and Cilicia is occupied by the Byzantines.

  Europe

• January 11 - Vladislav II becomes king of Bohemia. He is crowned by Emperor Frederick I with a diadem. Vladislaus is also invested with Upper Lusatia, and accompanies Frederick to Milan to suppress the rebellion in Lombardy.
• The Diet of Roncaglia is convoked by Frederick I. He mobilises an army of 100,000 men and leaves in June for a second Italian expedition – accompanied by Henry the Lion and his Saxon forces. He crosses the Alps and lays siege to Milan. German forces capture the city from the rebels after a short siege.
• Raymond of Fitero, Spanish monk and abbot, pledges to defend the fortress of Calatrava from incoming Muslim raiders. It is the founding moment of the Order of Calatrava, the spearhead of the Iberian armies during the Reconquista.
• August 31 - King Sancho III dies after a 1-year reign. He is succeeded by his 2-year-old son Alfonso VIII as ruler of Castile. The noble houses of Lara and Castro claim the regency, as the boy's uncle, Ferdinand II.
• Portuguese forces led by King Afonso I conquer Pamela, Alcácer do Sal and Sesimbra from the diminished Almoravids.

  England

• Summer - King Henry II travels to France to meet King Louis VII and propose a marriage between his three-year-old son Henry and Louis' daughter Margaret. She is shipped to England, as the future wife and queen. The Vexin region is promised to Margaret as dowry and is put under the care of the Knights Templar, until her future husband is old enough to take control of it.
• Welsh forces under Ifor Bach attack Cardiff Castle and kidnap William Fitz Robert, Norman lord of Glamorgan, along with his family.

  Asia

• September 5 - Emperor Go-Shirakawa abdicates the throne after a 3-year reign. He is succeeded by his 15-year-old son Nijō as the 77th emperor of Japan. Go-Shirakawa retains power, and gives Kiyomori Taira a higher position to lead a samurai-dominated government.

  By topic

Economy

• The English Pound Sterling is introduced.

  Education

• The University of Bologna is granted its first privileges by Frederick I.

  Religion

• The Diocese of Derry is founded in Ireland.