1241
Mongols shatter Hungarians at Mohi
Two days after Legnica, Batu and Subutai annihilated the Hungarian army of Bela IV on the Sajo River. The king fled to the Adriatic. Mongol outriders reached the suburbs of Vienna. Europe expected the end of the world and was inexplicably spared by a death two thousand miles away. Bela rebuilt his shattered kingdom with stone castles and German colonists, determined never to be caught unprepared again.
Ogedei Khan dies in Mongolia
Drinking himself to death in his campaign ger, the second Mongol great khan ended the western invasion by his demise. Batu's commanders turned their ponies home for the kurultai that would elect his successor. Christendom credited God; Mongolia credited fermented mare's milk. Had Ogedei lived another year, Subutai's army would likely have ridden through Vienna and into the Rhine valley.
Mongols crush Polish-German host at Legnica
In a field in Silesia, a Mongol tumen under Baidar and Kadan destroyed the combined army of Henry the Pious of Poland and the Teutonic Knights. Henry's head was paraded on a spear before the walls of Legnica. The knights' severed right ears filled nine great sacks. News of the disaster raced west through Christendom, and monasteries from Prague to Paris began praying for deliverance.
Hanseatic League begins to take shape
German merchant towns along the Baltic, led by Lubeck, negotiated mutual trading privileges and common defense agreements that would slowly crystallize into the Hanseatic League. Their cog ships carried salted herring, furs, and amber from Novgorod to Bruges, weaving northern Europe's economy into a single commercial web. At its height the League would encompass nearly two hundred towns and command its own navy.