Sigurd and his men arrive in autumn…

Emperor Huizong’s Treatise on Tea, written in 1107, is a key document for understanding the most sophisticated tea ceremony in Chinese history.

It stands as the monumental treatise on tea after Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea , written between about 760 and 780).

Emperor Huizong is a great connoisseur of tea, with masterful skill in the art of tea ceremony.

He often engages in tea tasting and tea competitions with his subordinates at the Song imperial court.

Emperor Huizong's favorite is An Ji Bai Cha. (He writes that what he loves is "Bai Cha." This should not be confused with the tea currently known as "White Tea," but is rather "a Green Tea which had the color of white jade".)

In the Treatise on Tea, Emperor Huizong provides the most detailed, vivid and masterful description of the Song dynasty technique of tea spotting.

The Emperor also lays down seven criteria for tea competitions.

Coloman intervenes during the civil war between Boleslaw III and his brother, Zbigniew, on the former's behalf and assists him in overcoming the latter's army in Mazovia in 1107.

Coloman also sends Hungarian reinforcements to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos against Bohemond of Antioch, who invades imperial territories in October 1107.

Boleslaw III, together with his ally King Coloman of Hungary, invades Bohemia in 1107 in order to aid Svatopluk the Lion of Bohemia in gaining the Czech throne.

The intervention in the Czech succession is meant to secure Polish interests to the south.

The expedition is a complete success.

On May 14, Svatopluk is made Prince of Bohemia, in Prague.

Boleslaw undertakes a punitive expedition against his brother Zbigniew later in 1107.

The reason for this is that Zbigniew had not followed the orders of Bolesław III and had not burned down the fort of Kurów.Another reason is that Zbigniew had not discharged his duty as a vassal and had not provided military aid to his lord, Bolesław III, for a campaign against the Pomeranians.

In the winter of 1107–1108, with the help of Kievan and Hungarian allies, Boleslaw III begins a final campaign to rid himself of Zbigniew.

His forces attack Mazovia, and quickly force Zbigniew to surrender.

Following this action, Zbigniew is banished from the country altogether.

From this point forward, Boleslaw III is the sole lord of the Polish lands, though in fact his overlordship begins in 1107 when Zbigniew pays him homage as his feudal lord.

Kilij Arslan conquers Mosul in 1107, but …

…he is defeated by Muhammad I of Great Seljuq, supported by the Artuqids and Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan of Aleppo, in battle at the Khabur river.

Having lost the battle, Kilij Arslan dies trying to escape across the river.

This clash, the last encounter of the Iran-based Great Seljuqs with the descendants of Qutalmïsh, limits the ambitions and the sphere of influence of the latter to Anatolia.

Ahmad ibn Nizam al-Mulk, the son of the famous vizier Nizam al-Mulk, goes in 1106/1107 to the court of Muhammad I to file a complaint against the rais (head) of Hamadan.

When Ahmad arrives to the court, Muhammad I appoints him as his vizier, replacing Sa'd al-Mulk Abu'l-Mahasen Abi, who had been recently executed on suspicion of heresy.

The appointment is due mainly to the reputation of his Ahmad's father.

He is then given various titles that his father had held (Qewam al-din, Sadr al-islam and Nizam al-Mulk).

Ahmad Sanjar invades the domains of the Ghurid ruler Izz al-Din Husayn in 1107 and captures him, but later releases him in return for tribute.

The major Italian republics establish merchant colonies and trade routes to the Near East with the help of the Frankish rulers in Jerusalem.

They are under the protection of their mother countries and exclude Jewish traders, who until now have been very active.

Assistance to the crusader kingdoms in the following years will also provided by Italian merchants who have established themselves in Syrian ports, and from the religious and military orders of the Knights Templars and the Knights Hospitaller, which will be created during the reign of Baldwin I.

Both will grow out of the need to protect and care for the great influx of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem in the twelfth century.

Matilda has ordered or commanded successful expeditions against Ferrara (1101), …

…Parma (1104), and …