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Baldwin Of Marash
Baldwin of Marash (died 1146) was a Crusader baron in Northern Syria. The chronicler Gregory the Priest says that Baldwin was the brother of Prince Raymond of Antioch and therefore the son of Duke William IX of Aquitaine. Baldwin was the chief vassal of Joscelin II, Count of Edessa. He controlled the city of Marash (modern Kahramanmaraş) and the strategic fortress of Kaysun. Baldwin’s fiefdom was in the northern border region of the Crusader states where the population was largely Armenian Christians. In 1135, Leo I, Prince of Armenia seized Sarventikar from Baldwin of Marash. Sarventikar was a fortress on the slopes of the Amanus Mountains. In 1136 Raymond of Antioch attacked Leo I’s Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia. Baldwin of Marash marched with the Antiochenes. However Baldwin’s overlord, Count Joscelin II of Edessa, Leo’s nephew, helped the Armenians defeat the Antiochene army. After the battle, Baldwin convinced Leo to meet him. At the meeting Baldwin seized him and ...
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Crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were intended to recover Jerusalem and its surrounding area from Islamic rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which resulted in the recovery of Jerusalem in 1099, dozens of Crusades were fought, providing a focal point of European history for centuries. In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for Byzantine emperor AlexiosI against the Seljuk Turks and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in western Europe, there was an enthusiastic response. The first Crusaders had a variety of motivations, including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage. Later crusades were ...
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Sarventikar
Sarvandikar ( hy, Սարվանդիքար), also spelled ''Sarvanda k'ar'' ( tr, Savranda). It was the Frankish castle of ''Savranda'' and is officially known today as Savranda Kalesi. The site is a medieval castle in the former Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, located in Turkey's Osmaniye Province approximately 115 kilometers east of Adana. Etymology Sarvandik'ar or Sarvandakar ( hy, Սարվանդաքար) in old Armenian language means "Rocky plateau". Turkish settlers called this fortress Savranda. Architecture and history Savranda was built to guard the southern end of the Amanus Pass (or Syrian Gates). The fortress has two separate baileys that are heavily fortified with towers and sturdy curtain walls along the eastern and southern flanks, and protected at the north and west by steep rocky cliffs. Although there were brief periods of Byzantine occupation, the castle is primarily an Armenian construction which was commissioned by its Frankish lords. The first detailed ...
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Basil The Doctor
Basil the Doctor ( hy, Barsegh, italics=yes or ''Barsel'') was an Armenian priest and poet. As the chaplain and confessor of Baldwin, Frankish lord of Marash, he wrote a funeral oration on the latter's death at the battle for Edessa in 1146. Basil's lengthy funeral oration or eulogy provides us with more information about Baldwin than any other lord of Marash. Basil describes Baldwin as fluent in Armenian. He describes his virtues in hyperbolic terms: "a handsome young man, a brave and mighty warrior, an ingenious, wise, and prudent prince whose life was so short, this gallant and charming man." He calls him a captive who cannot be redeemed. He also presents his life as a warning to other Frankish leaders, for Baldwin was "unrepentant, arrogant and wicked". This part of the oration is given in the first person, that is, in Baldwin's voice. He is reproached (or rather reproaches himself) for injustice, luxury, power lust, greed and violence. Despite all the flaws Basil lists—and ...
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Siege Of Edessa (1146)
The siege of Edessa in October–November 1146 marked the permanent end of the rule of the Frankish Counts of Edessa in the city on the eve of the Second Crusade. It was the second siege the city had suffered in as many years, the first siege of Edessa having ended in December 1144. In 1146, Joscelyn II of Edessa and Baldwin of Marash recaptured the city by stealth but could not take or even properly besiege the citadel. After a brief counter-siege, Zangid governor Nūr al-Dīn took the city. The population was massacred and the walls razed. This victory was pivotal in the rise of Nūr al-Dīn and the decline of the Christian city of Edessa. Sources The second battle for Edessa is covered in many sources. From a Frankish perspective, there is William II of Tyre; from the Syriac perspective, Michael the Syrian, Bar Hebraeus and the anonymous '' Chronicle of 1234''; for the Muslims, Ibn al-Ḳalānisī of Damascus, Ḳamāl al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿAdīm of Aleppo, Ibn al-Athīr, A ...
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Sortie
A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ..., ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. In aviation In military aviation, a sortie is a combat mission of an individual aircraft, starting when the aircraft takes off. For example, one mission involving six aircraft would tally six sorties. The sortie rate is the number of sorties that a given unit can support in a given time. In siege warfare In siege warfare, the word ''sortie'' refers specifically to a sudden issuing of troops against the enemy from a defensive position—that is, an attack launched against the besieger ...
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Nur Ad-Din, Atabeg Of Aleppo
Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī (; February 1118 – 15 May 1174), commonly known as Nur ad-Din (lit. "Light of the Faith" in Arabic), was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syrian province (''Shām'') of the Seljuk Empire. He reigned from 1146 to 1174. He is regarded as an important figure of the Second Crusade. War against Crusaders Nur ad-Din was the second son of Imad ad-Din Zengi, the Turkish ''atabeg'' of Aleppo and Mosul, who was a devoted enemy of the crusader presence in Syria. After the assassination of his father in 1146, Nur ad-Din and his older brother Saif ad-Din Ghazi I divided the kingdom between themselves, with Nur ad-Din governing Aleppo and Saif ad-Din Ghazi establishing himself in Mosul. The border between the two new kingdoms was formed by al-Khabur River. Almost as soon as he began his rule, Nur ad-Din attacked the Principality of Antioch, seizing several castles in the north of Syria, while at the same time he defeated an attempt by Josce ...
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Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, and continued as capital of the Roman province of Osroene. In Late Antiquity, it became a prominent center of Christian learning and seat of the Catechetical School of Edessa. During the Crusades, it was the capital of the County of Edessa. The city was situated on the banks of the Daysan River (; ), a tributary of the Khabur, and was defended by Şanlıurfa Castle, the high central citadel. Ancient Edessa is the predecessor of modern Urfa ( tr, Şanlıurfa; ku, Riha; ar, الرُّهَا, ar-Ruhā; hy, Ուռհա, Urha), in the Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Modern names of the city are likely derived from Urhay or Orhay ( syc, ܐܘܪܗܝ, ʾŪrhāy / ʾŌrhāy), the site's Syriac name before the re-foundation of the settle ...
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Danishmends
The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia, they extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103. In early 12th century, Danishmends were rivals of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, which controlled much of the territory surrounding the Danishmend lands, and they fought extensively against the Crusaders. The dynasty was established by Danishmend Gazi for whom historical information is rather scarce and was generally written long after his death. His title or name, ''Dānishmand'' () means "wise man" or "one who searches for knowledge" in Persian. Origins The Turkoman Danishmendid dynasty was founded by Danishmend Gazi. Sources about Danishmend Gazi's origins however, are ste ...
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Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilicia plain. The region includes the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, along with parts of Hatay and Antalya. Geography Cilicia is extended along the Mediterranean coast east from Pamphylia to the Nur Mountains, which separates it from Syria. North and east of Cilicia lie the rugged Taurus Mountains that separate it from the high central plateau of Anatolia, which are pierced by a narrow gorge called in antiquity the Cilician Gates. Ancient Cilicia was naturally divided into Cilicia Trachea and Cilicia Pedias by the Limonlu River. Salamis, the city on the east coast of Cyprus, was included in its administrative jurisd ...
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Amanus Mountains
The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south-central Turkey, which starts south of the Taurus Mountains (and is linked with it), south of the Ceyhan river (old name: Pyramus), runs roughly parallel to the Gulf of İskenderun (old name: Gulf of Issus) (İskenderun was called Alexandria of Cilicia) and ends in the Mediterranean coast between the Gulf of İskenderun and the Orontes ( Asi) river mouth. The range has about 100 miles (200 kilometers) in length and reaches a maximum elevation of and divides the coastal region of Cilicia from Antioch and inland Syria making a natural border between Asia Minor (Anatolia), in the southeast region, and the rest of Southwest Asia. The highest peak is Bozdağ Dağı. A major pass through the mountains known as the Belen Pass (Syrian Gates) ...
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Leo I, Prince Of Armenia
Leo I ( hy, Լևոն Ա), also Levon I or Leon I, (unknown – Constantinople, February 14, 1140) was the fifth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains” (1129/1130-1137). He learned to exploit the open, yet restrained, hostilities between the Byzantine Empire and the Crusader principalities of Edessa and Antioch. Most of his successes benefited from Byzantium’s pre-occupation with the threats of Zengi (the ''atabeg'' of Mosul) from Aleppo and the lack of effective Frankish rule, especially in the Principality of Antioch. He expanded his rule over the Cilician plains and even to the Mediterranean shores. In his time, relations between the Armenians and the Franks (the Crusaders), two former allies, were not always as courteous as before: a major cause of dissension between them was the ownership of the strongholds of the southern Amanus, and on the neighboring coasts of the Gulf of Alexandretta. Leo was captured after being invited to a meeting by the Byzant ...
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Syria (region)
Syria ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔒂𔒠 ''Sura/i''; gr, Συρία) or Sham ( ar, ٱلشَّام, ash-Shām) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Other synonyms are Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. In modern times, the term "Syria" alone is used to refer to the Arab Republic of Syria.  The term is originally derived from Assyria, an ancient civilization centered in northern Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. During the Hellenistic period, the term Syria was applied to the entire Levant as Coele-Syria. Under Roman rule, the term was used to refer to the province of Syria, later divided into Syria Phoenicia and Coele Syria, and to the province of Syria Palaestina. Under the Byzantines, the provinces of Syria Prima and Syria Secunda emerged out of Coele Syria. After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, the term was superseded by the A ...
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