1185

Events in 1185 3

• 794 – 1185 Heian period The golden age of classical Japanese culture When Emperor Kanmu moved the capital to Heian-kyo (Kyoto), he began nearly four centuries of peace and refinement remembered as the classical age of Japanese civilisation. The Fujiwara regents dominated the court, and aristocratic culture flowered — producing Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, often called the world's first novel.
• 1109 – 1185 Afonso Henriques The Conqueror The first King of Portugal who declared independence from the Kingdom of León and fought the Moors.
• 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.