January - The Mongol Army under Jochi captures the city of Gurganj (now Kunya-Urgench), and massacres the inhabitants, reported by contemporary scholars as being over a million killed, although probably only a fifth or a tenth of that in reality.
February - Merv is sacked by the Mongols under Tolui at the orders of Genghis Khan. Contemporary scholars report over a million people are systematically killed in the aftermath.
A large and highly efficient Mongol army, dispatched under Subutai by Genghis Khan to Georgia, defeats two Georgian armies around Tbilisi, but lacks the will or equipment to besiege the city.
Sultan Kamil, Saladin's nephew and successor, offers Palestine to the Crusaders in return for Damietta, which the Crusaders eventually give up in exchange for a safe retreat from the Nile Delta.
