View source for 1185

=== By place ===

==== Byzantine Empire ====
* [[August]] &ndash; King [[William II of Sicily]] ("the Good") lands in [[Epirus]] with a Siculo-Norman expeditionary force of 200 ships and 80,000 men (including 5,000 knights) and marches as far as the Byzantine city of [[Thessaloniki]], which he [[Sack of Thessalonica (1185)|takes and pillages]], massacring some 7,000 Greek citizens.<ref name="norman adversaries">{{cite book|last=Abels|first=Richard Philip|title=The Normans and their adversaries at war|year=2001|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|location=Woodbridge|isbn=0-85115-847-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOic9EEo3PIC&q=The+occasion+of+the+coming+of+the+Normans+to+southern+Italy |author2=Bernard S. Bachrach|page=100}}</ref>
* [[September 11]]–[[September 12|12]] &ndash; [[Isaac II Angelos]] leads a revolt in [[Constantinople]] and deposes Emperor [[Andronikos I Komnenos]]. Andronikos tries in vain to flee across [[Asia]] but is captured and killed by an angry mob. Isaac is proclaimed emperor, ending the [[Komnenos|Komnenos Dynasty]].<ref>[[Steven Runciman]] (1952). ''A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem'', pp. 349–350. {{ISBN|978-0-241-29876-3}}.</ref>
* [[November 7]] &ndash; [[Battle of Demetritzes]]: A reinforced Byzantine army under [[Alexios Branas]] decisively defeats William II, ending his invasion of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Thessaloniki is recaptured, and the [[Normans]] are pushed back to [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]]. Many Norman ships are lost to storms.
* [[Uprising of Asen and Peter]]: [[Peter II of Bulgaria|Peter]] and [[Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria|Ivan Asen]] lead a revolt of the [[Vlachs]] and [[Bulgarians|Bulgars]] against the Byzantine Empire, eventually establishing the [[Second Bulgarian Empire]].

==== Levant ====
* [[March 16]]  &ndash; The 23-year-old [[Baldwin IV of Jerusalem]] ("the Leper King") dies of [[leprosy]] after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his 8-year-old nephew, [[Baldwin V of Jerusalem|Baldwin V]], as the sole ruler of [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] under the regency of Count [[Raymond III, Count of Tripoli|Raymond of Tripoli]]. The child-king becomes a pawn in the politics of the kingdom, between his mother [[Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem|Sibylla of Jerusalem]] (sister of Baldwin IV) and her younger half-sister [[Isabella I of Jerusalem|Isabella I]].<ref>Steven Runciman (1952). ''A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem'', p. 362. {{ISBN|978-0-241-29876-3}}.</ref> 
* [[Saladin]] agrees to a 4-year truce due to severe drought and [[famine]] which has struck [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. The treaty is signed by Count [[Raymond III, Count of Tripoli|Raymond of Tripoli]] and important nobles from Jerusalem. Commerce is renewed between the [[Crusader states|Crusader States]] and their Muslim neighbors. A flow of corn from the east saves the Crusaders and the population from starvation.<ref>Steven Runciman (1952). ''A History of The Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem'', pp. 362–363. {{ISBN|978-0-241-29876-3}}.</ref>

==== British Isles ====
* [[April 25]] &ndash; [[John's first expedition to Ireland]]: King [[Henry II of England]] knights his son and heir, the 18-year-old [[John, King of England|Prince John]], newly created Lord of Ireland, and sends him to Ireland, accompanied by 300 knights and a team of administrators to enforce English control. Landing at Waterford, he treats the local Irish rulers with contempt, making fun of their unfashionable long beards. Also failing to make allies amongst the Anglo-Norman settlers, the English army is unable to subdue the Irish fighters in unfamiliar conditions and the expedition soon becomes a complete disaster. In December, John returns to [[Kingdom of England|England]] in defeat. Nonetheless, Henry gets him named 'King of Ireland' by [[Pope Urban III]] and procures a golden crown with peacock feathers.<ref>{{cite book|title=King John|first=W. Lewis|last=Warren|publisher=University of California Press|year=1961|page=35}}</ref>
* [[April 15]] &ndash; [[1185 East Midlands earthquake]] occurs. It is the first [[earthquake]] in England for which there are reliable reports indicating the damage, which includes destruction of [[Lincoln Cathedral]].<ref name=Musson1994>{{cite web |url=http://www.emidius.eu/AHEAD/main/info/?en=10950 |title= Earthquake Catalogue of Great Britain and surroundings |page=36 |last1=Musson |first1=RMW |date=2014 |website=European Archive of Historical Earthquake Data |publisher=[[British Geological Survey]] |access-date=20 March 2015}}</ref>

==== Europe ====
* July &ndash; [[Philip II of France#Wars with his vassals|Treaty of Boves]]: King [[Philip II of France]] signs a treaty to ensure his authority over his vassals, with [[Amiens|Amiénois]], [[Artois]] and other places in northern [[France in the Middle Ages|France]] passing to him. Philip is given the nickname "Augustus" by the monk [[Rigord]] for augmenting French lands.<ref>Baldwin, John W. (1991). ''The Government of Philip Augustus: Foundations of French Royal Power in the Middle Ages'', p. 3. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0520073916}}.</ref>
* [[August 15]] &ndash; The cave monastery of [[Vardzia]] is consecrated by Queen [[Tamar of Georgia]]. She marries [[Yury Bogolyubsky]], Grand Prince of [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]].
* September &ndash; [[Henry the Lion]], duke of [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]], returns to [[Kingdom of Germany|Germany]] after being banished for three years by [[Frederick Barbarossa]], Holy Roman Emperor.<ref>Williams, Hywell (2005). ''Cassell's Chronology of World History'', p. 128. {{ISBN|0-304-35730-8}}.</ref>
* [[December 6]] &ndash; King [[Afonso I of Portugal]] ("the Great") dies after a 36-year reign. He is succeeded by his son [[Sancho I of Portugal|Sancho I]] ("the Populator") as ruler of [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]].
* [[Igor Svyatoslavich]]'s failed campaign against the [[Cumans]], later immortalized in ''[[The Tale of Igor's Campaign]]'', takes place this year.

==== Africa ====
* The Almohad forces under Caliph [[Yaqub al-Mansur]] reconquer [[Béjaïa]] and [[Algiers]], that have been taken by the [[Banu Ghaniya]], descendants of the [[Almoravid dynasty|Almoravids]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Picard|first=Christophe|title=La mer et les musulmans d'Occident VIIIe-XIIIe siècle|year=1997|publisher=Presses Universitaires de France|location=Paris}}</ref>

==== Asia ====
* [[March 22]] &ndash; [[Battle of Yashima]]: Japanese forces (with some 140 ships, 1,000 cavalry and 30,000 horses) under [[Minamoto no Yoshitsune]] defeat the [[Taira clan]] just off [[Shikoku]] in the [[Seto Inland Sea]]. 
* [[April 25]] &ndash; [[Battle of Dan-no-ura|Battle of Dan-no-Ura]]: The Japanese fleet (some 300 ships) led by Minamoto no Yoshitsune defeats the fleet of the Taira clan in the [[Kanmon Straits|Shimonoseki Strait]].
* December &ndash; Retired [[Emperor Go-Shirakawa]] grants [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] the authority to form the first ''[[Shogun#Shogunate|bakufu]]'' (shogunate) in [[Japan]], ending the [[Genpei War]].