Year 1226 (MCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe June – King Louis VIII (the Lion) leads a Crusade against the Carthars (Albigensians) and Raymond VII, count of Toulouse. The Crusaders capture the cities of Béziers, Carcassonne, Beaucaire and Marseille. Louis forces Languedoc into submission, and reasserts his authority upon the autonomous municipalities of his estates. Most cities have to accept the authority of Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Provence, but Marseille and Nice rebel. Siege of Avignon: Crusader forces under Louis VIII besiege Avignon. They dig trenches facing the city walls – which are connected on both sides of the Rhône with pontoon bridges. On August 8, Louis launches an assault led by Count Guy II of Saint-Pol, but the attackers are repulsed. After negotiations, the consuls agree to pay an indemnity of 6,000 marks. On September 9, the gates are opened and Louis enters the city without violence. November 8 – Louis VIII dies of dysentery at Château de Montpensier during his return from the Albigensian Crusade. He is succeeded by his 12-year-old son Louis IX (the Saint), who becomes king of France. His mother, Queen Blanche of Castile, rules the kingdom as regent during his minority. She has Louis crowned at Reims Cathedral on November 29, and forces the rebellious southern French nobles to swear allegiance to him. The Teutonic Knights undertake a new Crusade, attempting to subdue the pagan Prussians, who occupy a part of the Baltic coast. They are invited to Poland by High Duke Konrad I, a grandson of Bolesław III (Wrymouth). Their task is to defend Masovia against raids of the Prussians. After defeating them, the German knights set up their own state, which they named after the pagan people they have all but annihilated – Prussia. King Sancho II (the Pious) launches an offensive against the Almohad Caliphate during the Reconquista, and takes the city of Elvas. Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson is overthrown as ruler of the Kingdom of the Isles, and is replaced by his half-brother, Olaf the Black. Mongol Empire Summer – Genghis Khan starts a campaign against the Tanguts, punishing the vassal kingdom of Western Xia (or Xi Xia) for not contributing to the Mongol invasions. He assembles a large force (some 100,000 men), and lays siege to Liangzhou, second-largest city in Western Xia, which surrenders