1187
Year 1187 ( MCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor Isaac II (Angelos) sends a Byzantine expeditionary force under Alexios Branas to suppress the Vlach-Bulgarian Rebellion – but Alexios revolts against Isaac and is proclaimed emperor in Andrianople. He musters troops and advances on Constantinople in an attempt to seize it. However, Alexios is unable to bypass the city defenses and is defeated by the imperial forces led by Conrad of Montferrat, the emperor's brother-in-law. On the battlefield, Alexios is beheaded by Conrad's supporting footsoldiers and the rebel army flees the field. * Siege of Lovech: Byzantine forces under Isaac II besiege the fortress city of Lovech in north-central Bulgaria. After a three-month siege, Isaac is forced to accept a truce by recognizing the joint-rule of Peter II and Ivan Asen I as emperor's (or ''tsar'') over the territory, leading to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saladin
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia. Alongside his uncle Shirkuh, a Kurdish mercenary commander in service of the Zengid dynasty, Saladin was sent to Fatimid Egypt in 1164, on the orders of the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din. With their original purpose being to help restore Shawar as the vizier to the teenage Fatimid caliph al-Adid, a power struggle ensued between Shirkuh and Shawar after the latter was reinstated. Saladin, meanwhile, climbed the ranks of the Fatimid government by virtue of his military successes against Crusader assaults and his personal closeness to al-Adid. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raynald Of Châtillon
Raynald of Châtillon ( 11244 July 1187), also known as Reynald, Reginald, or Renaud, was Prince of Antioch—a crusader states, crusader state in the Middle East—from 1153 to 1160 or 1161, and Lord of Oultrejordain—a Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, large fiefdom in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem—from 1175 until his death, ruling both territories ('by right of wife'). The second son of a French nobility, French noble family, he joined the Second Crusade in 1147, and settled in Jerusalem as a mercenary. Six years later, he married Constance of Antioch, Constance, Princess of Antioch, although her subjects regarded the marriage as a mesalliance. Always in need of funds, Raynald tortured Aimery of Limoges, Latin Patriarch of Antioch, who had refused to pay a subsidy to him. He launched a plundering raid in Cyprus in 1156, causing great destruction in Byzantine Empire, Byzantine territory. Four years later, Manuel I Komnenos, the List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conrad Of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat (Italian language, Italian: ''Corrado del Monferrato''; Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ''Conrà ëd Monfrà'') (c. 1146 – 28 April 1192) was a nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the ''de facto'' Kings of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem (as Conrad I) by virtue of his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death. He was also the eighth List of rulers of Montferrat, Marquess of Montferrat from 1191. Early life Conrad was the second son of Marquess William V of Montferrat, "the Elder", and his wife Judith of Babenberg. He was a first cousin of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, as well as Louis VII of France and Leopold V of Austria (Babenberg), Leopold V of Austria. Conrad was born in Montferrat, which is now a region of Piedmont, in northwest Italy; during the era in which he was born, it was a March of Montferra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ivan Asen I Of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I (; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Second Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II of Bulgaria, Peter II. Hailing from the Theme (Byzantine district), Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his exact place and date of birth are unknown. Most contemporaneous chronicles describe Asen and his brothers, Theodor (Peter) and Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan, as Vlachs but they were probably of mixed Bulgarians, Bulgarian, Cumans, Cuman and Vlach ancestry. In 1185, Asen and Theodor went to see the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos in Thrace (theme), Thrace to demand an estate in the Balkan Mountains. After the Emperor refused and humiliated them, the brothers persuaded their Bulgarian and Vlach compatriots to rise up against the Byzantine Empire. Before the end of the year, Theodor was crowned Emperor of Bulgaria, taking the name Peter. After Isaac II defeated them in early 1186, Asen and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alexios Branas
Alexios (or Alexius) Branas or Vranas () (died 1187) was a Byzantine nobleman, attempted usurper, and the last Byzantine military leader of the 12th century to gain a notable success against a foreign enemy. Background Alexios Branas was a notable Greek aristocrat, who was doubly linked to the imperial Komnenos family. He was the son of Michael Branas and of Maria Komnene, who was the great-niece of Alexios I Komnenos. He himself married Anna Vatatzaina, the niece of Manuel I Komnenos. Anna's sister, Theodora Vatatzaina, was also Manuel's lover. The Branas family had been prominent in the city and region of Adrianople since the middle of the 11th century. Another prominent family in the same city were the Vatatzes, into which Alexios Branas was married. Branas was described by a contemporary as "Small in stature, but colossal in the depth and the deviousness of his understanding and by far the best general of his time". Successful campaigns Branas was one of relatively few prom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Uprising Of Asen And Peter
__NOTOC__ The Uprising of Asen and Peter () was a revolt of Bulgarians and Vlachs living in Moesia and the Balkan Mountains, then the theme of Paristrion of the Byzantine Empire, caused by a tax increase. It began on 26 October 1185, the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, and ended with the restoration of Bulgaria with the creation of the Second Bulgarian Empire, ruled by the Asen dynasty. Isaac II Angelus, in order to raise money for his wedding with the daughter of King Béla III of Hungary, levied a new tax which fell heavily on the population of the Haemus Mountains. They sent two leaders ( Peter and Asen) to negotiate with the emperor at Kypsella (now İpsala) in Thrace. They asked to be added to the roll of the Byzantine army and to be granted land near Haemus to provide the monetary income needed to pay the tax. This was refused, and Peter and Asen were treated roughly. Their response was to threaten revolt. After their return, many of the protesters ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Siege Of Lovech
The siege of Lovech () took place in the spring of 1187 between the forces of Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire. The three-month siege resulted in Bulgarian victory and Byzantine defeat. Origins of the conflict In 1185, the brothers Asen and Peter led an uprising against the Byzantines to restore the Bulgarian Empire. The whole region of Moesia except for Varna was quickly liberated and the brothers started attacking the Byzantine garrisons to the south of the Balkan Mountains. The Bulgarian tactics included quick assaults and haste movement and the Byzantines were unable to charge them. In order to change that situation, the Byzantine Emperor, Isaac II Angelos, decided to move the military actions to northern Bulgaria and strike directly to the rebel's heartlands around Tarnovo. The siege In the late autumn of 1186, the Byzantine army marched northwards through Sredets (Sofia). The campaign was planned to surprise the Bulgarians. However, the harsh weather conditions and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (; September 1156 – 28 January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and co-Emperor with his son Alexios IV Angelos from 1203 to 1204. In a 1185 revolt against the Emperor Andronikos Komnenos, Isaac seized power and rose to the Byzantine throne, establishing the Angelos family as the new imperial dynasty. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a military leader in Asia Minor (c. 1122 – aft. 1185) who married Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa (c. 1125 – aft. 1195). Andronikos Doukas Angelos was the son of Constantine Angelos and Theodora Komnene (b. 15 January 1096/1097), the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan of the Komnenoi. Rising by revolt Niketas Choniates described Isaac's physical appearance: "He had a ruddy complexion and red hair, was of average height and robust in body". During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter II Of Bulgaria
Peter II, born Theodor, also known as Theodor-Peter (; died in 1197), was the first emperor or tsar of the restored Bulgarian Empire from 1185 to 1197. He hails from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, although his exact place and date of birth are unknown. He and his younger brothers, Asen and Kaloyan, were mentioned as Vlachs in most foreign contemporaneous sources but they were probably of a mixed Vlach, Bulgarian, and Cuman origin. In 1185, Theodor and Asen approached the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos in Thrace, demanding an estate in the Balkan Mountains. After the Emperor refused and humiliated them, they decided to incite a rebellion, taking advantage of the discontent that a new tax had caused among the Bulgarians and Vlachs. To convince their compatriots to join them, they had native prophets declare that Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica had abandoned the Romans in favour of the Bulgarians and Vlachs. Before the end of the year, Theodor was crowned Emperor of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Known colloquially in Syria as () and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine" ( ), Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau above sea level, Damascus experiences an arid climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada, Barada River flows through Damascus. Damascus is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. Afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al-Karak
Al-Karak (), in English sources often simply Karak, is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate. Al-Karak lies to the south of Amman on the ancient King's Highway. It is situated on a hilltop about above sea level and is surrounded on three sides by a valley. Al-Karak has a view of the Dead Sea. A city of about 32,216 people (2005) grew up around castle. The town is built on a triangular plateau with the castle at its narrow southern tip. History Iron Age to Assyrian period Al-Karak has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age, and was an important city for the Moabites. In the Bible it is called ''Kir-haresh'', ''Kir-hareseth'' or Kir of Moab, and is identified as having been subject to the Neo-Assyrian Empire; in the Books of Kings () and Book of Amos (), it is mentioned as the place where the Ara ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lovech
Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of Pleven, Troyan and Teteven. Name The name is possibly derived from the Slavic root ''lov'', "hunting" + the Slavic suffix ''-ech''. Geography Lovech is situated in the Forebalkan area of northern Bulgaria, on both sides of the river Osam, and unifies both mountainous and plain relief. The eastern part of the town is surrounded by a 250 m high plateau, where the largest park in Lovech, ''Stratesh'', is located, and the southwestern part is surrounded by the hills ''Hisarya'' and ''Bash Bunar''. In the northwest the relief gradually changes to the plains of the neighbouring Pleven Province. The average altitude of Lovech is about 200 m above mean sea level. The highest point of the town is ''Akbair Hill'' at 450 m. In Stratesh Park ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |