Overview

1118 (MCXVIII) was a year in the 12th century of the Julian calendar. It is remembered for several important successions and military developments across Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. The year falls within the aftermath of the First Crusade and amid the ongoing power struggles of medieval Christendom and the Islamic polities of Iberia and the Levant.

Major events and political changes

Several high-profile deaths and successions shaped 1118. In the Byzantine world, the long reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos came to an end, and he was followed by his son John II Komnenos, beginning a new phase in the Komnenian dynasty. In the Kingdom of Jerusalem the death of Baldwin I opened the way for Baldwin II, then Count of Edessa, to assume the kingship, affecting Crusader politics in the Levant. The papacy also changed hands, with Pope Paschal II succeeded by Pope Gelasius II amid continuing tensions with secular rulers.

Military and regional developments

On the Iberian Peninsula, the Christian kingdoms continued their campaigns against Muslim-ruled territories. Notably, the capture of the city of Zaragoza by Alfonso I of Aragon marked a significant advance in the Reconquista, shifting control of an important urban centre. In the Crusader states, military and organisational developments continued: a small knightly brotherhood that would become the Knights Templar is traditionally dated to around 1118–1119, forming to protect pilgrims and Christian holdings in the Holy Land.

Notable births and deaths

  • Deaths (commonly dated to 1118): Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos; Baldwin I of Jerusalem; Pope Paschal II. These losses prompted rapid successions at several key courts.
  • Births (traditionally placed in or near 1118): members of ruling dynasties who later played roles in mid-12th-century politics; some chronologies give the birth of Manuel I Komnenos to this year.

Significance and legacy

The events of 1118 illustrate how individual deaths and successions could quickly alter medieval political landscapes. The change of emperors in Constantinople reinforced the Komnenian recovery begun under Alexios I, while leadership shifts in the Crusader states and the papacy affected relations between Latin Christendom and neighboring powers. The Reconquista gains in Iberia and early formations of military orders also foreshadowed developments that would shape the mid-12th century.