Tortosa. After a 7-month siege the garrison surrenders. King Afonso I (the Great) of Portugal takes Abrantes from the Almoravids. Ramon Berenguer IV conquers the lower Ebro plain (between 1148–1149). England October – Queen Matilda returns to Normandy, partially due to her difficulties with the Catholic Church. Without the support of Robert of Gloucester her personal fight for the English throne is over. Seljuk Empire Battle of Ghazni: Ghurid forces under Sayf al-Din Suri defeat the Ghaznavid sultan Bahram-Shah and capture the capital Ghazni. Bahram-Shah is forced to flee to India. Africa Taking advantage of internal strife and a famine episode, George of Antioch takes Mahdia (June 22), Susa (July 1) and Sfax (July 12) in Tunisia, in the name of Roger II. Following the uprising of other cities in the region of Meknes (modern Morocco) under al-Massati, the population of Ceuta rebels against the Almohads. By topic Literature Anna Komnene writes the Alexiad, a biography of her father, the late Emperor Alexios I (Komnenos). Religion Hildegard of Bingen founds a new monastery at Rupertsberg in the Rhine Valley near Bingen am Rhein. Technology An Italian silk industry is started at Palermo by Roger II, who takes numbers of silk workers back from Greece. Births Béla III, king of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1196) Bohemond III (the Child), prince of Antioch (d. 1201) Galgano Guidotti, Italian knight and saint (d. 1181) Isabelle de Meulan, French noblewoman (d. 1220) Muhammad II, ruler of the Nizari Ismaili State (d. 1210) Ōe no Hiromoto, Japanese nobleman (d. 1225) Philippa of Antioch, princess of Antioch (d. 1178) Qiu Chuji, Chinese Taoist religious leader (d. 1227) Ugo Canefri, Italian knight and health worker (d. 1233) Urraca of Portugal, queen consort of León (d. 1211) Deaths January 3 – Anselm of St. Saba, English bishop January 6 Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1100) William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey (b. 1119) January 24 – Ascelin (or Anselm), English bishop April 16 Robert de Bethune, bishop of Hereford Roger de Clinton, bishop of Coventry August 21 – William II, count of Nevers (b. 1089) September 17 – Conan III, duke of Brittany (b. 1095) September 30 – Magnús Einarsson, Icelandic bishop November 2 – Malachy, Irish archbishop (b. 1094) Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, Andalusian scholar (b. 1076) Alberic of Ostia, French cardinal-bishop (b. 1080) Alfonso I (Jordan), count of Toulouse (b. 1103) Amadeus