Year 1169 (MCLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire Late Summer – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) sends an embassy to Egypt to demand tribute, and threatens the country with war when they refuse to pay it. The Byzantine fleet under Admiral Andronikos Kontostephanos sets out from the Hellespont; 60 war galleys are sent to Palestine. with money for "the knights of Jerusalem". Andronikos with the rest of the fleet sails to Cyprus, at which he defeats a patrolling squadron of 6 Fatimid ships. Europe Spring – Gerald the Fearless, Portuguese warrior and knight, receives the support of King Afonso I (the Great). The Almohad caliph, Abu Yaqub Yusuf, manages to broker an alliance with King Ferdinand II against Afonso. The allies manage to besiege Badajoz, and finally take both Afonso and Gerald prisoner. King Henry II of England and Louis VII sign a peace treaty which includes the betrothal of their respective heirs, the 11-year-old Richard I and the 8-year-old Alys of France (or Alice). Andrey Bogolyubsky, Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal, sacks Kiev (with help from allies) and makes Vladimir the capital of Kievan Rus'. He installs relatives on the throne at Kiev. During the Swedish power struggle, Boleslaw is killed, but his brother Kol continues as ruler of Östergötland (until 1173), in opposition to King Knut I (Eriksson) of Sweden. February 4 – 1169 Sicily earthquake: An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of around 7 strikes the eastern coast of Sicily, causing an estimated 15,000 deaths. Stephen III of Hungary concludes a concordat with Pope Alexander III, renouncing his right of investiture. England Henry II makes an effort to end the strife between him and his wife, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, in order that he may dally in western Herefordshire with his mistress, Rosamund Clifford, the daughter of Walter de Clifford. He divides the succession to his kingdom among his four sons, Henry the Young King, Richard I, Geoffrey II and John. Ireland May – Norman invasion of Ireland: Anglo-Norman mercenaries land at the request of King Diarmaid mac Murchadha (Dermot). Among those arriving is Richard de Clare (a vassal of Henry II), who has made an alliance with exiled Diarmaid mac Murchadha to help him regain the throne of Leinster. This begins the period of Anglo-Norman dominance of Ireland. Egypt Spring –