The original Magna Carta lasted about ten weeks.

1215 · 1225 · apart: 10 years

It was sealed in June 1215, and in August Pope Innocent III declared it void. It became famous through later reissues, such as that of 1225.

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The event

• Magna Carta1215 · Runnymede. Under pressure from rebel barons, King John of England sealed Magna Carta. The charter curbed arbitrary royal power and became a cornerstone of the ideas of the rule of law and constitutional government.

13th century

More amazing facts

• 1206 · 1227 The grave of Genghis Khan, founder of the largest contiguous empire in history, has never been found.
• 1206 · 1279 At its height the Mongol Empire was almost one and a half times the size of modern Russia.
• 1206 · 1209 Cambridge University is as old as Genghis Khan's empire.
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• 1215 · 1223 Eight years after Magna Carta, the princes of Rus first met the Mongols and were crushed on the Kalka River.
• 1215 Magna Carta and the Mongol capture of Beijing happened in the same year.

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