1215
Year 1215 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.Events
- March 4 - King John of England makes an oath to Pope Innocent III as a crusader, to gain his support.
- May 31 - Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: after the long Battle of Zhongdu, Genghis Khan's Mongols capture and torch Beijing.
- June 15 - King John of England is forced, by rebellious barons of England at Runnymede, to put the Great Seal of the Realm on a set of articles confirming their rights and those of the towns and Church, and confirming the status of trial by jury, which on June 19 is confirmed as Magna Carta.
- August - King John of England rejects Magna Carta, leading to the First Barons' War.
- August 24 - Pope Innocent III declares Magna Carta invalid.
- November 11 - The Fourth Council of the Lateran gathers in Rome under Pope Innocent III, who adopts the title "Vicar of Christ".
- December - First Barons' War: Alexander II of Scotland invades northern England.
- Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated and forced to abdicate as Emperor and King of Burgundy, replaced by Frederick II.
- The Dominican Order is founded, according to some sources.
- Bhiksu Ananda of Kapitanagar completes writing the holy Buddhist book Arya Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita, in gold ink in Ranjana script.
- 1215-1216 - The Macy Jug, from Iran, is made. It is now kept at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Kalinga Magha, from Kalinga Province in India, lands in Sri Lanka with a force of 24,000 men, to capture the city of Polonnaruwa and depose its king, Parakrama Pandya.
Births
- September 23 - Kublai Khan, 6th Khagan of the Mongol Empire and Genghis Khan's grandson, founder of the Yuan dynasty
- date unknown
- *Pope Celestine V
- *David VII Ulu, King of Georgia
- approximately – Douceline of Digne, French beguin
- possible – Pope John XXI
Deaths
- February 3 - Eustace, Bishop of Ely and former Lord Chancellor of England
- July 2 - Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest
- September 1 - Otto, bishop of Utrecht
- December 21 - Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma'ilism
- date unknown - Bertran de Born, French soldier and troubadour
- * Esclarmonde of Foix, French Cathar
- approximately – Margaret of Beverley, Christian pilgrim
