1162

By place

Europe

• March 6 - German forces led by Emperor Frederick I capture Milan, much of the city is destroyed three weeks later on the emperor's orders. The fortifications are demolished, and the churches are destroyed. The population is dispersed and the commune abolished. The fate of Milan leads to the submission of Brescia, Piacenza, and many other northern Italian cities.
• July 7 - Norwegian forces under the pretender Magnus V defeat the 15-year-old King Haakon II, who is killed in battle in Romsdal after a 5-year reign.
• July 15 - Ladislaus II, duke of Bosnia, is declared king of Hungary and Croatia. He is crowned by Archbishop Mikó and grants one-third of the kingdom to his brother, Stephen IV.

  England

• June 3 - King Henry II has his chancellor Thomas Becket elected to succeed the late Theobald of Bec as archbishop of Canterbury. He accepts the pallium send by Pope Alexander III.

  Africa

• The Almohad emir, Abd al-Mu'min, prepares a gigantic fleet of some four hundred ships to invade Al-Andalus. He dies the following year, before the fleet is completed.

  China

• July 24 - Emperor Gao Zong becomes embroiled in war again as hostilities resume with the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty after 21 years of peace. Another peace treaty is signed, Gao abdicates the throne in favor of his adopted son Xiao Zong. The smaller Southern Song empire becomes richer than the Song Dynasty.

  By topic

Religion

• The Beisi Pagoda is completed during the Song Dynasty.