1281

For broader historical context, see 1280s and 13th century.

Years: 1278 1279 1280 - 1281 - 1282 1283 1284
Decades: 1250s 1260s 1270s - 1280s - 1290s 1300s 1310s
Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century 1281 state leaders

Events

Pope Martin IV authorizes the Ninth Crusade against the newly re-established Byzantine Empire in Constantinople; French and Venetian expeditions set out toward Constantinople but are forced to turn back in the following year.

October 29 - Mamluk sultan Qalawun defeats an invasion of Syria by Mongol Ilkhan Abaqa Khan at the 2nd Battle of Homs.
Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire, becomes bey of the Sögüt tribe in central Anatolia; in 1299 he will declare independence from the Seljuk Turks, marking the birth of the Ottoman Empire.
An offensive by the Byzantine Empire significantly reduces the size of the Kingdom of Albania, as it recaptures land seized from the Despotate of Epirus by Charles I of Sicily ten years earlier.

August 15 - The second Mongol invasion of Japan is foiled at the Battle of Kouan (or Battle of Kyushu) as a large typhoon — famously called a kamikaze, or divine wind — destroys much of the combined Chinese and Korean fleet and forces, numbering over 140,000 men and 4,000 ships.
Kublai Khan orders the burning of sacred Taoist texts, resulting in the reduction in number of volumes of the Dao Zheng (Taoist Canon) from 4,565 to 1,120.
The Mon kingdom of Haripunchai falls as its capital Lamphun (in present-day Thailand) is captured by King Mengrai's Lannathai kingdom.