1240

By area

Africa

• As-Salih Ayyub becomes Sultan of Egypt after deposing his brother Al-Adil II

  Asia

• December 6 - Batu Khan and the Golden Horde sack the Ruthenian city of Kiev.
• Tuan Mash'ika, an Arab, travels and introduces Islam to Sulu.

  Europe

• July 15 - Battle of the Neva: Russian prince Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes, saving the Novgorod Republic from a full-scale enemy invasion from the North.
• The civil war era in Norway ends.
• The Flemish village Kaprijke is recognized as a city.
• Sancho II of Portugal conquers the cities of Ayamonte and Cacella from the Muslims, as part of the Reconquista.

  By topic

Religion

• June 12 - The Disputation of Paris begins at the court of Louis IX of France, where four rabbis defend the Talmud against Nicholas Donin's accusations of blasphemy.
• Saint Maurice starts to be portrayed as a Moor.

  Births

• September 29 - Margaret of England, queen consort of the Scots
• Abulafia, Maltese Jewish philosopher
• Pope Benedict XI
• Pope Clement V
• Sigerus of Brabant, French theologian
• Albert the Degenerate, landgrave of Thuringia
• Peter III of Aragon, King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona and King of Valencia, monarch

  Deaths

• January 1 - Vastupala
• April 11 - Llywelyn the Great, King of Gwynedd
• May 27 - William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey
• October 13 - Razia Sultana of Delhi
• November 16 - Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Arab philosopher