13th century. The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 through December 31, 1300 in accordance with the Julian calendar. After its conquests in Asia the Mongol Empire stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Europe, while the Muslim Delhi Sultanate conquered large parts of the Indian subcontinent.

The 13th century BC was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC. c. 1300–1046 BC: In China, the Shang dynasty flourishes as it settles its capital, Yin, near Anyang. Chinese settlers swarm in compact groups to create new clearing areas towards the Yangtze basin in the south, the Shanxi terraces in the northwest and the Wei River valley.

But kings and popes were far from the only influential figures in thirteenth-century life: merchants and scholars, though they had little in common, threatened to tear down the power of both church and state. By the time of the Fourth Crusade (1202–04), Europeans had begun to lose faith in the whole crusading enterprise.

• 1209--Francis of Assisi establishes Franciscans (canonized 1228). • 1220--Dominican Friars established as a teaching order, later entrusted by the Pope with the Inquisition. Some became missionaries to Central Asia, Persian Gulf, India, and China. • Salisbury Cathedral built within one lifetime (1220-1258), a rarity for medieval cathedrals!