Directory

1411 CE

A year defined by the First Peace of Torun ending the Polish-Teutonic war, the intensifying Ottoman civil war between rival sultans, and continued cultural flourishing across medieval kingdoms.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • The First Peace of Torun was signed on February 1, ending the war between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order, with the Order ceding Samogitia to Lithuania and paying a large indemnity.
  • King Sigismund of Hungary was elected King of the Romans by a faction of the imperial electors, strengthening his claim to lead the Holy Roman Empire despite ongoing disputes.
  • The Compromise of Caspe process began as representatives from the three constituent territories of the Crown of Aragon convened to resolve the succession crisis following King Martin I's death.
  • The Jalayirid dynasty in Baghdad faced increasing pressure from Turkmen tribal confederations, struggling to maintain control over its diminishing territories in Mesopotamia.
  • The Kingdom of Naples under King Ladislaus of Durazzo pursued an aggressive expansionist policy in central Italy, threatening the Papal States and neighboring territories.
  • Ahmad Shah I ascended to power in the Gujarat Sultanate in western India, beginning a reign that would see significant expansion and urban development.

Conflict & Security

  • The Ottoman civil war continued as Musa Celebi defeated his brother Suleiman Celebi at the Battle of Kosmidion near Constantinople, seizing control of Ottoman territories in Europe.
  • Suleiman Celebi was captured and executed following his defeat by Musa, eliminating one of the claimants in the ongoing Ottoman Interregnum.
  • Musa Celebi subsequently turned against his ally the Byzantine Empire, besieging Constantinople and raiding Byzantine territory in Thrace.
  • The Teutonic Order, weakened by its defeat at Grunwald and the terms of the Peace of Torun, struggled to maintain its military readiness and territorial authority in Prussia.
  • The Teutonic Knights faced growing unrest among their Prussian subjects, who resented the Order's taxation and governance following the military catastrophe at Grunwald.

Economy & Finance

  • The Medici bank in Florence expanded its operations under Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who developed relationships with the papacy that would prove enormously profitable.
  • English cloth exports increased as the domestic textile industry grew, gradually shifting England's economy from raw wool exports toward finished cloth production.
  • The war indemnity imposed on the Teutonic Order by the Peace of Torun strained the Order's finances, forcing increased taxation of Prussian towns and rural estates.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing continued under Emperor Yongle, employing hundreds of thousands of workers in one of the largest building projects in human history.
  • The development of double-entry bookkeeping in Italian merchant houses improved financial record-keeping and enabled more complex commercial transactions.

Science & Discovery

  • The University of St Andrews received its first papal bull of foundation from the Avignon antipope Benedict XIII, formally establishing its academic programs and degree-granting authority.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 272 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.

Culture & Society

  • Andrei Rublev, the renowned Russian icon painter, was active during this period, producing masterworks of Orthodox Christian art that influenced Russian artistic tradition for centuries.
  • The estimated global population stood at approximately 363 million, with gradual recovery continuing in regions previously devastated by the Black Death pandemic.