1356

January–December

• January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders his title as King of Scotland, to Edward III of England.
• September 19 - Hundred Years' War - Battle of Poitiers: The English, commanded by Edward, the Black Prince, defeat the French, capturing King John II of France.
• October 17 - Erik XII proclaims himself king of Sweden, in opposition to his father, King Magnus IV. Thus begins a civil war in Sweden between father and son, which will last until Erik's death in 1359.
• October 18 - The Basel earthquake affects northern Switzerland, with a maximum MSK intensity of IX–X, leaving around 1,000 dead.
• December 25 - Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.

  Date unknown

• The city of Lwów is granted Magdeburg rights by Casimir III of Poland.
• The majority of the Great Pyramid of Giza's limestone casing stones are removed by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan, to build fortresses and mosques in the nearby city of Cairo, leaving the first of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World in the step-stone condition in which it remains today.
• Burnt Candlemas: Edward III of England burns down every town and village in Lothian, Scotland.
• The Hanseatic League, a trading alliance between many cities in northern Europe, is officially founded.
• Ghazan II replaces Anushirwan, as ruler of the Ilkhanate in Persia.
• Zhu Yuanzhang, one of the leaders in the Red Turban Rebellion, captures the city of Nanjing from the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in China; from then on it becomes his base of power, and the capital of a new dynasty he will establish in 1368, the Ming dynasty.
• The Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona is probably completed this year; its main span of is the world's longest arch at this time.