a pardon and recovers his estates. Pisans in the service of the Holy See (Diocese of Rome) sack the city of Amalfi. A Moorish fleet raids the Catalan port-town of Elna (Southern France). England December 1 – King Henry I dies at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy after a 35-year reign. He is succeeded by his nephew Stephen of Blois (grandson of William the Conqueror), who asserts his claim to the throne in opposition to claims by Henry's daughter Matilda (prolonged in a civil war known as The Anarchy). December 26 – Stephen of Blois is crowned at Westminster Abbey in London by Archbishop William de Corbeil. Matilda (pregnant with child) and her husband Geoffrey V (the Fair) leave for their own safety to Normandy, where she plans how to overthrow Stephen and claim the English throne for her own. Middle East August 29 – Caliph Al-Mustarshid is assassinated at Baghdad after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Al-Rashid Billah as ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate (until 1138). North Africa Summer – A Sicilian expeditionary force led by Roger II embarks from Messina and takes the island of Djerba (modern Tunisia). The Hammadid Emirate (modern Algeria) launches an assault against the city of Mahdia (modern Tunisia). Asia Jin–Song War: Song forces under Yue Fei begin a counteroffensive against the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty in northern China. He defeats Jin forces, by entangling his paddle-wheel ships at the Huai River. June 4 – Emperor Hui Zong dies in exile in Heilongjiang (Manchuria), having been held prisoner with his son Qin Zong since their capture in 1127. By topic Religion January – Byland Abbey is founded in England by the Congregation of Savigny. Buildwas Abbey is founded in England by Roger de Clinton, bishop of Coventry. Births Abu Yaqub Yusuf, caliph of the Almohad Caliphate (d. 1184) Adachi Morinaga, Japanese warrior monk (d. 1200) Albert of Chiatina, Italian archpriest and saint (d. 1202) André of Brienne, French nobleman (approximate date) Bogumilus, archbishop of Gniezno (approximate date) Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, Arabic Hanafi jurist (d. 1197) Conrad of Hohenstaufen, German nobleman (d. 1195) Fernando Afonso, Portuguese Grand Master (d. 1207) Gertrude of Flanders, countess of Savoy (d. 1186) Hafsa bint al-Hajj al-Rukuniyya, Andalusian poet (d. 1190) Henry Fitz Eylwin, 1st Lord Mayor of London (d. 1212) Herman IV, margrave of Baden and Verona (d. 1190) Hugh de Willoughby, English nobleman (d. 1205) Inge I