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1308 CE

This year falls in the High and Late Middle Ages (c. 1000–1500 CE). Trade grows across Eurasia, and in the thirteenth century the Mongols build the largest connected land empire in history. The Black Death kills a large share of the people of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa from the 1340s, and the era closes with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the first European voyages to the Americas.

Within fifteen years

Ruler · High and Late Middle Ages · MaliMansa Musar. c. 1312–c. 1337Emperor of Mali from about 1312 to about 1337, whose pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 displayed wealth that astonished the Islamic world. His caravan carried so much gold that he depressed the price of gold in Egypt for years. He built mosques and schools that made Timbuktu a center of learning.

Civilization · Early modern period · Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empirec. 1299–1922The Ottoman Empire ruled the Middle East, North Africa, and southeastern Europe for six centuries. At its height under Suleiman the Magnificent it besieged Vienna. It collapsed after the First World War in 1922.

Country · MonacoMonaco1297–Monaco is a tiny principality on the French Riviera, the second smallest state in the world. The Grimaldi family seized it in 1297 and has ruled ever since. It is a constitutional monarchy famous for its casino and Grand Prix.