14th Century

Events in the 14th Century 10

• 651 – 1501 Islamic Persia — caliphates, Seljuks and Mongols Centuries of Islamic rule and a Persian cultural flowering After the conquest, Persia was ruled successively by the Arab caliphates, Persian and Turkic dynasties, the Seljuk Turks, and — devastatingly — the Mongols under Genghis Khan and Hulagu in the 13th century. Yet this era produced a brilliant Persian cultural renaissance: the poetry of Ferdowsi, Rumi, Hafez and Omar Khayyam, and advances in science and mathematics.
• 1185 – 1333 Kamakura period Rise of the samurai and the first shogunate Minamoto no Yoritomo established Japan's first shogunate at Kamakura, beginning nearly seven centuries of military rule under the samurai class while emperors reigned but no longer governed. The period saw the spread of Zen Buddhism and, famously, the repulse of two Mongol invasions aided by the "kamikaze" divine winds.
• 1206 – 1526 Delhi Sultanate Three centuries of Indo-Islamic rule in the north The Delhi Sultanate was a succession of five Muslim dynasties — Mamluk, Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi — that ruled much of northern India for over three centuries. It introduced Persian administration and Indo-Islamic architecture, and repelled the Mongols, before falling to Babur at Panipat in 1526.
• 1271 – 1368 Yuan Dynasty — Mongol rule under Kublai Khan China conquered by the Mongols — Marco Polo arrives Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, completed the Mongol conquest of China and founded the Yuan dynasty in 1271. The Mongols connected China to the largest contiguous land empire in history, facilitating trade and cultural exchange across Eurasia. Venetian merchant Marco Polo visited Kublai Khan's court around 1275 and his account introduced China's wonders to European readers. The Yuan dynasty was overthrown by Chinese peasant rebel Zhu Yuanzhang in 1368.
• 1304 – 1374 Francesco Petrarch Italian scholar and poet Petrarch is considered the father of Humanism. His poetry and rediscovery of classical texts helped spark the Renaissance intellectual movement.
• 1313 – 1375 Giovanni Boccaccio Italian writer and humanist Boccaccio wrote The Decameron, a major influence on European prose and Renaissance storytelling traditions.
• 1336 – 1573 Muromachi period Ashikaga shoguns; Zen arts and growing chaos Under the Ashikaga shogunate based in Kyoto's Muromachi district, Japan saw the flowering of Zen-influenced arts — the tea ceremony, Noh theatre, ink painting and rock gardens. But central authority weakened, and the catastrophic Onin War (1467) tipped the country into the Sengoku age of civil war.
• 1336 – 1646 Vijayanagara Empire The great Hindu empire of the south As the Sultanate pressed south, the Vijayanagara Empire rose to become the dominant Hindu power of southern India for three centuries. Its capital Hampi was one of the largest and richest cities in the world, famed for its temples and markets, until its defeat at Talikota in 1565.
• 1343 – 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer English poet Chaucer authored The Canterbury Tales, helping establish English as a major literary language.
• 1368 – 1644 Ming Dynasty — the Great Wall and Zheng He's voyages Native Chinese rule restored — isolation and grandeur The Ming dynasty restored native Han Chinese rule and presided over one of China's most prosperous and culturally rich periods. The Forbidden City was built in Beijing (1406–20), the Great Wall was rebuilt in brick and stone to its present form, and Admiral Zheng He led seven enormous naval expeditions across Southeast Asia, India and East Africa (1405–33). China then turned inward, abandoning maritime expansion and eventually falling to the Manchu Qing.