1103

File:Bohemond I of Antioch (by Blondel).jpg

Bohemond I of Antioch (c. 1054–1111)

Year 1103 (MCIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.

Events

By place

Levant

• Spring – Bohemond I, Norman prince of Antioch, is released from Seljuk imprisonment at Niksar, after a ransom is paid of 100,000 gold pieces. During his absence, Tancred (Bohemond's nephew) attacks the Byzantines, and re-captures the cities of Tarsus, Adana and Mamistra in Cilicia. Tancred is deprived of his lordship by Bohemond's return, and is rewarded with a small fief within the Principality of Antioch.<ref>Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 31–32. Template:ISBN.</ref>
• The Crusaders under Raymond IV invade the Beqaa Valley and capture Tortosa to isolate Tripoli. Raymond expands towards the Orontes River, and begins to build a castle on the Mons Peregrinus which helps in the Siege of Tripoli (see 1102). Emperor Alexios I supports the Crusaders by sending a Byzantine fleet (ten ships) to blockade the port of Tripoli.<ref>Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, pp. 47–48. Template:ISBN.</ref>
• Summer – The Crusaders led by Bohemond I and Joscelin of Courtenay raid the territory of Aleppo to gain supplies. They capture the town of Muslimiyah, and extract a large tribute. Sultan Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan, the Seljuk ruler of Aleppo, agrees to pay 7,000 gold pieces and ten horses to the Crusaders while Bohemond agrees to release all Seljuk prisoners captured at Muslimiyah.<ref>Steven Runciman (1951). A History of the Crusades. Vol II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 32. Template:ISBN.</ref>

Europe

• August 24 – King Magnus III is killed in battle with the Ulaid in Ulster. Sigurd Jorsalfare, Øystein Magnusson and Olaf Magnusson succeed him as joint kings of Norway.

Britain

• April 27 – Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, again goes into exile after a dispute with King Henry I over the appointment of bishops and abbots to important Church positions.
• August 5 – Matilda of Scotland, queen of England as wife of Henry I, gives birth to their first son William Adelin at Winchester. They already have a daughter, Princess Matilda.

China

• Li Jie, Chinese government minister, publishes his Yingzao Fashi technical treatise on Chinese architecture, during the reign of Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty.

By topic

Religion

• The Scandinavian city of Lund in the Swedish province of Scania becomes a see of the Catholic Church, namely the Archdiocese of Lund (approximate date).

Births

• February 24 – Toba, emperor of Japan (d. 1156)
• March 24 – Yue Fei, Chinese general and poet (d. 1142)
• August 5 – William Adelin, duke of Normandy (d. 1120)
• Adeliza of Louvain, queen of England (d. 1151)
• Aénor de Châtellerault, duchess of Aquitaine (d. 1130)
• Alfonso I, count of Tripoli and Toulouse (d. 1148)
• Heilika of Lengenfeld, German countess (d. 1170)
• Henry II, margrave of the Saxon Ostmark (d. 1123)
• Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, Norwegian earl (d. 1158)
• Vsevolod of Pskov, Kievan prince (approximate date)
• Wivina, French Benedictine abbess (d. 1168)

Deaths

• January 17 – Frutolf of Michelsberg, German monk
• March 18 – Sybilla of Conversano, Norman duchess
• July 10 – Eric I, king of Denmark
• August 24 – Magnus III, king of Norway (b. 1073)
• October 19 – Humbert II, count of Savoy (b. 1065)
• Al-Hakim al-Munajjim, Persian Nizari missionary
• Boedil Thurgotsdatter, Danish queen
• Ebles II, French nobleman (House of Montdidier)
• Henry I, German nobleman (House of Wettin)
• Isaac Alfasi, Algerian Talmudist and posek (b. 1013)
• Manegold of Lautenbach, German priest (b. 1030)
• Osbern FitzOsbern, bishop of Exeter (b. 1032)
• Sibylla of Burgundy, duchess of Burgundy (b. 1065)
• William Firmatus, Norman hermit and pilgrim (b. 1026)