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Siege Of Edessa (1144)
The siege of Edessa took place from 28 November to 24 December 1144, resulting in the fall of the capital of the County of Edessa to Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. This event was the catalyst for the Second Crusade. Background The County of Edessa was the first of the Crusader states to be established during and after the First Crusade. It dates from 1098 when Baldwin of Boulogne left the main army of the First Crusade and founded a principality. Edessa was the most northerly, the weakest, and the least populated. As such, it was subject to frequent attacks from the surrounding Muslim states ruled by the Artuqids, Danishmends, and Seljuk Turks. Count Baldwin II and future count Joscelin of Courtenay were taken captive after their defeat at the Battle of Harran in 1104. Joscelin was captured a second time in 1122, and although Edessa recovered somewhat after the Battle of Azaz in 1125, Joscelin was killed in battle in 1131. His successor Joscelin II was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding territories from Muslim rule. Beginning with the First Crusade, which culminated in the Siege of Jerusalem (1099), capture of Jerusalem in 1099, these expeditions spanned centuries and became a central aspect of European political, religious, and military history. In 1095, after a Byzantine request for aid,Helen J. Nicholson, ''The Crusades'', (Greenwood Publishing, 2004), 6. Pope Urban II proclaimed the first expedition at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, AlexiosI Komnenos and called for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata in Western Europe, there was an enthusiastic response. Participants came from all over Europe and had a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian culture. The founder of the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuk Beg, was a descendant of a royal Khazar chief Tuqaq who served as advisor to the King of the Khazars. in West Asia and Central Asia. The Seljuks established the Seljuk Empire (1037–1194), the Kerman Seljuk Sultanate, Sultanate of Kermân (1041–1186) and the Sultanate of Rum (1074–1308), which stretched from Iran to Anatolia and were the prime targets of the First Crusade. Early history The Seljuks originated from the Kınık (tribe), Kinik branch of the Oghuz Turks, who in the 8th century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world; north of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea in their Oghuz Yabgu State in the Kazakh Steppe of Turkestan. During the 10th century, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Of Poitiers
Raymond of Poitiers (c. 1105 – 29 June 1149) was Prince of Antioch from 1136 to 1149. He was the younger son of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his infamous liaison with Dangereuse de Chatelherault. Assuming control Following the death of Prince Bohemund II of Antioch in 1130, the principality came under the regency first of King Baldwin II (1130–31), then King Fulk (1131–35), and finally Princess Alice (1135–36), Bohemond's widow. The reigning princess was Bohemond II's daughter, Constance (born 1127). Against the wishes of Alice, a marriage was arranged for Constance with Raymond, at the time staying in England, which he left only after the death of Henry I on 1 December 1135. Upon hearing word that Raymond was going to pass through his lands in order to marry the princess of Antioch, King Roger II of Sicily ordered him arrested. By a series of subterfuges, Raymond pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond II Of Tripoli
Raymond II (; 1116 – 1152) was count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152. He succeeded his father, Pons, who was killed during a campaign that a commander from Damascus launched against Tripoli. Raymond accused the local Christians of betraying his father and invaded their villages in the Mount Lebanon area. He also had many of them tortured and executed. Raymond was captured during an invasion by Imad ad-Din Zengi, atabeg of Mosul, who gained the two important castles of Montferrand (at present-day Baarin in Syria) and Rafaniya in exchange for his release in the summer of 1137. Since his army proved unable to secure the defence of the eastern borders of his county, Raymond granted several forts to the Knights Hospitaller in 1142. The sudden death of his father's uncle, Alfonso Jordan, count of Toulouse, during the Second Crusade gave rise to gossip which suggested that Raymond had poisoned him because Alfonso Jordan had allegedly wanted to lay claim to Tripoli. Alfonso Jordan's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baldwin III Of Jerusalem
Baldwin III (1130 – 10 February 1163) was the king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Queen Melisende and King Fulk. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother Melisende, whom he eventually defeated in a civil war. During his reign Jerusalem became more closely allied with the Byzantine Empire, and the Second Crusade tried and failed to conquer Damascus. Baldwin captured the important Egyptian fortress of Ascalon, but also had to deal with the increasing power of Nur ad-Din in Syria. He died childless and was succeeded by his brother Amalric. Succession Baldwin III was born in 1130, during the reign of his maternal grandfather Baldwin II, one of the original crusaders. This made him the third generation to rule Jerusalem. Baldwin's mother Princess Melisende was heiress to her father Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. Baldwin III's father was Fulk of Anjou, the former Count of Anjou. King Baldwin II died at the age of 60 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melisende Of Jerusalem
Melisende ( 1105 – 11 September 1161) was the queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1152. She was the first female ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the first woman to hold a public office in the crusader kingdom. She was already legendary in her lifetime for her generous support of the various Christian communities in her kingdom. Contemporary chronicler William of Tyre praised her wisdom and abilities, while modern historians differ in their assessment. Melisende was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II and Queen Morphia. In the late 1120s, when it became clear that her father would likely not have a son, she was declared heir presumptive to the throne and married Fulk of Anjou. Baldwin II died on 21 August 1131, having conferred the kingdom on Melisende, Fulk, and their son Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Baldwin III. Melisende and Fulk were coronation, crowned on 14 September. Early in their joint reign, Fulk attempted to rule without Melisende. Barons led by Melisende's ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel I Comnenus
Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire experienced a resurgence of military and economic power and enjoyed a cultural revival. Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the great power of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with Pope Adrian IV and the resurgent West. He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor to attempt reconquests in the western Mediterranean. The passage of the potentially dangerous Second Crusade through his empire was adroitly managed. Manuel established a Byzantine protectorate ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulk Of Jerusalem
Fulk of Anjou (, or ''Foulques''; – 13 November 1143), also known as Fulk the Younger, was the king of Jerusalem from 1131 until 1143 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Melisende. Previously, he was the count of Anjou as Fulk V from 1109 to 1129. He had also been the count of Maine from 1110 to 1126 alongside his first wife, Countess Erembourg. His direct descendants were the rulers of the Angevin Empire and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Early life Fulk was born at Angers, between 1089 and 1092, the son of Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Bertrade de Montfort. In 1092, Bertrade deserted her husband, and bigamously married King Philip I of France. Fulk was thus raised at least partly at the French court. By 1106 Fulk's father had been forced to yield control of the county to his eldest son, Fulk's half-brother Geoffrey IV. But Geoffrey was killed that year by a crossbow bolt outside the castle of Candé, in theory returning his father to power and making Fulk the next ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John II Comnenus
John II Komnenos or Comnenus (; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina and the second emperor to rule during the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire. As he was born to a reigning emperor, he had the status of a . John was a pious and dedicated monarch who was determined to undo the damage his empire had suffered following the Battle of Manzikert, half a century earlier. John has been assessed as the greatest of the Komnenian emperors. This view became entrenched due to its espousal by George Ostrogorsky in his influential book ''History of the Byzantine State'', where John is described as a ruler who, "... combined clever prudence with purposeful energy ... and ashigh principled beyond his day." In the course of the quarter-century of his reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th centuryAD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Romanization (cultural), Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine the Great, Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I, Theodosius I () made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joscelin II Of Edessa
Joscelin II (died 1159) was the fourth and last ruling count of Edessa. He was son of his predecessor, Joscelin I, and Beatrice, daughter of Constantine I of Armenia. Biography Youth In 1122, Joscelin I was captured by Belek Ghazi. The next year, he was joined in captivity by Baldwin II of Jerusalem. Joscelin I was rescued in 1123 by Armenian soldiers, and he worked with Baldwin's wife Morphia to secure the king's release. The young Joscelin II and Baldwin's daughter Ioveta were ransomed for Baldwin's release in 1124. Joscelin II and Ioveta were released in 1125 in exchange for 80,000 dinars, spoils from Baldwin's victory over al-Bursuqi at the battle of Azaz. In 1131, his father Joscelin I was wounded in battle with the Danishmends, and Edessa passed to Joscelin II. Joscelin II refused to march the small Edessan army out to meet the Danishmends, so Joscelin I, in his last act, forced the Danishmends to retreat, dying soon after. Count of Edessa Joscelin II ruled the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Azaz (1125)
The Battle of Azaz was a major battle fought between king Baldwin II's crusader forces and the Muslims, led by Aq-Sunqur al-Bursuqi, the Seljuq atabeg of Mosul on 11 June 1125. Being one of the bloodiest confrontations before the Second Crusade, the battle resulted in a decisive victory for the Crusaders, causing disturbances of power in the Levant and weakened Seljuk domination in the area. Contemporary chronicler Matthew of Edessa even states that the remnants of al-Bursuqi's army were chased all the way to Aleppo. The battle effectively lifted the siege of the town of Azaz and prevented it from falling to Turkoman hands. (One authority says the battle was fought on June 13.) Background Joscelin I of Edessa had captured Azaz in northern Syria from the atabeg of Aleppo in 1118. The next year the Crusaders under Roger of Salerno were severely defeated at the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem was captured while patrolling in Edessa in 1123. Prelude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
