Emperor Manuel I Komnenos is never honored by the papacy with the title of Augustus, despite his friendliness towards the Roman Church and his cordial relations with all the Popes.

Having sought to revive the Roman Empire throughout his reign, Manuel has negotiated with Pope Alexander III for reunification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches and in hope of receiving the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

Although he has twice (in 1167 and 1169) sent an embassy Alexander offering to reunite the Greek and Latin churches, the latter has refused, under pretext of the troubles that would follow that union.

Ultimately, a deal proves elusive, and the two churches will remain divided.

Stefan Nemanja becomes grand zupan (clan leader) of the Serbian state of Raska under the suzerainty of Constantinople in 1168-69.

Fontainebleau: A Royal Residence by 1169 CE

By 1169, Fontainebleau, located forty miles (sixty-four kilometers) southeast of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, had become a residence of the French kings. Its primary appeal was the surrounding forest, which provided excellent hunting grounds, a favored pastime of medieval monarchs.

Early Use as a Royal Hunting Lodge

• Fontainebleau’s dense woodlands made it an ideal retreat for Capetian kings, who frequently indulged in hunting as both recreation and military training.
• The earliest recorded reference to the site as a royal residence dates to 1169, during the reign of Louis VII, though it was likely used before this time.

The Foundations of a Future Palace

• While Fontainebleau was initially a modest hunting lodge, its proximity to Paris ensured it would play a growing role in royal affairs.
• It would later be expanded and transformed into a grand château, particularly under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties, becoming one of the most important royal residences of France.

Legacy

• Fontainebleau’s history as a royal retreat began in the 12th century, but it would go on to serve as a key residence for French monarchs, including Francis I, Henry IV, and Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Over the centuries, it would be greatly enlarged and remodeled, evolving into the magnificent Château de Fontainebleau known today.
• The hunting traditions established in the 12th century continued for centuries, reinforcing Fontainebleau’s status as a royal retreat and cultural landmark.

By 1169, Fontainebleau was already entwined with the French monarchy, a status it would maintain for centuries to come.

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of around 7 strikes the eastern coast of Sicily on February 4, 1169, causing an estimated fifteen thousand deaths and severely damaging the towns of Catania, ...

…Lentini and …

...Modica.

Matthew of Ajello, from prison, had organized the rebellion in Palermo and, seeing his opportunity, strikes.

The chancellor-archbishop is forced to take refuge in the campanile, where he holds out until offered terms.

In return for his safety, he agrees to embark at once for the Holy Land.

He is deposed as archbishop and Walter of the Mill is elected to replace him.

Gilbert of Gravina and his family are forced to do the same and they all leave for the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Stephen, arriving in Jerusalem the summer of 1169, will soon fall ill and die.

There is some delay when the imperial fleet and the army finally arrive in Egypt in 1169.

Inadequate provisions and seasonal rains force both armies to retreat again, each side blaming the other.

In any case, the venture fails, and Shirkuh enters Cairo, subjugating Egypt and thus presenting a broad and competent Muslim front against the crusaders.

Shirkuh has Shawar executed and is named the new vizier, but his reign lasts only two months.

Already an obese man, he dies on May 23 of "indigestion".

His nephew, Saladin, now Nur ad-Din's deputy is left to overcome the remaining opposition and master Egypt.

He is at the age of thirty-one appointed both commander of the Syrian troops in Egypt and vizier of the Fatimid caliphate.

His relatively quick rise to power must be attributed not only to the clannish nepotism of his Kurdish family but also to his own emerging talents.

As vizier of Egypt, he receives the title malik, “king”, although he is generally known as the sultan.

Saladin, although himself an orthodox Muslim, initially does not proclaim the Sunni faith amid a people still devoted to the tenets and practice of the Shi'a sect, but he will soon find himself able to do so; and thus the spiritual supremacy of the Abbasids will again prevail, not only in Syria, but throughout Egypt and all its dependencies.

Fitz-Stephen, on returning to Wales, had helped Diarmait Mac Murchada to organize a mercenary army of Norman and Welsh soldiers, including Richard de Clare, second Earl of Pembroke, alias Strongbow.

The first Norman knight to land in Ireland had been Richard fitz Godbert de Roche in 1167, but it is not until May 1, 1169, that Robert leads the vanguard of Diarmait Mac Murchada's Cambro-Norman auxiliaries to Ireland, thereby precipitating the Norman invasion of Ireland.

The main invasion party lands near Bannow strand, County Wexford with a force of thirty knights, sixty man-at-arms and three hundred archers.

The next day, Maurice de Prendergast lands at the same bay with ten knights and sixty archers.

This force merges with about five hundred soldiers commanded by Diarmait.

In return for capturing Wexford, MacMurrough grants Fitz-Stephen a share in two cantreds, Bargy and Forth which comprises all the land between Bannow and the town of Wexford.

The cantreds are to be held jointly with Maurice FitzGerald, Lord of Lanstephan, his half-brother.

The Siege of Wexford lasts only two days.

The first attack is repulsed at the loss of eighteen Normans and three defenders.

These are believed to have been the only deaths during the siege.

Fitz-Stephen then orders his men to burn all the ships in the town's harbor.

The next morning, the attack on Wexford begins again.

Shortly afterward, the defenders send envoys to Diarmait.

The defenders agree to surrender and renew their allegiance to Diarmait.

It is claimed that they were persuaded to surrender by two bishops who were in the town at the time.

He is accompanied at the siege by Robert de Barry, the eldest son of his half-sister Angharad de Windsor. (Nest then, is the mother of Robert, Maurice and Angharad.)

Within a short time, Leinster has been conquered, and the Viking-established towns of Wexford, …

…Waterford and …