At the same moment, Emir Ibn Hud al-Yamadi (confronted by increasing Christian pressure) denounces Almohad rule in Murcia (modern Spain) and acknowledges the Abbasid Caliphate as legitimate overlord, in effect declaring independence. Other notable Christian success: King Alfonso IX of León conquers Mérida. December 23 – Stephen of Anagni, Italian papal chaplain, is commissioned to collect a special tax in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to finance Gregory X's War of the Keys against Frederick II. Asia Battle of Bolnisi: Khwarazmian forces led by Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeat a coalition of Georgians, Kipchaks, Alans, Vainakhs and Laks (some 40,000 men) at Bolnisi (modern Georgia). King Sukaphaa establishes the Ahom Dynasty and becomes the first Ahom ruler in Assam (until 1268). By topic Cities and Towns The Transylvanian town of Reghin is first mentioned, in a charter of King Andrew II of Hungary. Markets The city of Tournai emits its first recorded life annuity, thus confirming a trend of consolidation of public debts started ten years earlier, in Reims. The first evidence is uncovered of the use of the Knights Templar as cashiers by King Henry III of England, to safely transfer important sums to the continent, using letters of exchange. This shows that large transfers could take place across Europe, even before the emergence of important networks of Italian merchant-bankers. Religion July 16 – Saint Francis of Assisi is canonized by Gregory IX. Births April 25 – Conrad IV (or Conrad II), king of Germany (d. 1254) Alfonso of Brienne, Norman nobleman and knight (d. 1270) Bartolo da San Gimignano, Italian Franciscan priest (d. 1300) Eleanor de Braose, Cambro-Norman noblewoman (d. 1251) Ibn Daqiq al-'Id, Egyptian scholar, jurist and writer (d. 1302) Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi, Egyptian scholar and jurist (d. 1285) Takatsukasa Kanehira, Japanese nobleman (kugyō) (d. 1294) Wang Yun, Chinese politician, poet and writer (d. 1304) Deaths January 13 – Yvette of Huy, Belgian anchoress (b. 1158) January 31 – Guy de Montfort, French nobleman and knight February 17 – Henry I, German nobleman and knight (b. 1155) February 18 – Vladislaus II, margrave of Moravia (b. 1207) April 25 – Isabella II, queen and regent of Jerusalem (b. 1212) June 18 – Mathilde of Bourbon, French noblewoman (b. 1165) July 9 – Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1150) August 8 – Rujing, Japanese Sōtō Zen patriarch (b. 1163) September 24 – Stefan the First-Crowned, king of