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Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the most important military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 1118 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, with their headquarters located there on the Temple Mount, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. Officially endorsed by the Catholic Church by such decrees as the papal bull '' Omne datum optimum'' of Pope Innocent II, the Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. The Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades. They were prominent in Christian finance; non-combatant members of the order, who made up as much as 90% of their members, managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom. They developed innovative fina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Montgisard
The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubid Dynasty on 25 November 1177 at Montgisard, in the Levant between Ramla and Yibna. The 16-year-old Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, severely afflicted by leprosy, led outnumbered Christian forces against Saladin's troops in what became one of the most notable engagements of the Crusades. The Muslim Army was quickly routed and pursued for twelve miles. Saladin fled back to Cairo, reaching the city on 8 December, with only a tenth of his army. Muslim historians considered Saladin's defeat to be so severe that it was only redeemed by his victory ten years later at the battles of Cresson and Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187. Saladin did defeat Baldwin IV in the Battle of Marj Ayyun and the Siege of Jacob’s Ford in 1179, only to be defeated by Baldwin again at the Battle of Belvoir Castle in 1182 and the Siege of Kerak in 1183. Background In 1177, King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crusades
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] |
Battle Of Cresson
The Battle of Cresson was a small battle between Frankish and Ayyubid forces on 1 May 1187 at the "Spring of the Cresson." While the exact location of the spring is unknown, it is located in the environs of Nazareth. The conflict was a prelude to the decisive defeat of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin two months later. Location The exact location of the spring is still disputed. Primary sources place the spring near Nazareth. Israeli archaeologist Rafi (Rafael Y.) Lewis believes the springs of Cresson may be near the springs of Sepphoris, due to a 2021 discovery of Frankish arrowheads near the site. British archaeologist Denys Pringle suggests that the spring may refer to 'Ain ad-Daya: a spring that is closer to the Nazareth-Tiberias road, approximately four kilometres west of Kafr Sabt. Background Dynastic instability and internal divisions permeated the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the years leading up to and after the death of Baldwin IV. Baldwin, who suffered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Safed (1266)
The siege of Safed (13 June – 23 July 1266) was part of the campaign of the Mamlūk sultan Baybars I to reduce the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The castle of Safed belonged to the Knights Templar and put up strong resistance. Direct assault, mining and psychological warfare were all employed to force the garrison to surrender. It was ultimately tricked into surrendering through treachery and the Templars were massacred. Baybars repaired and garrisoned the castle. The main sources for the siege from the Muslim perspective are Ibn ʿAbd al-Ẓāhir's biography of Baybars, Badr al-Dīn al-ʿAynī's ''String of Pearls'' and to a lesser extent Ibn al-Furāt's ''History of Dynasties and Kingdoms''. From the Christian perspective, there are the '' Gestes des Chiprois'', '' Estoire d'Eracles'', ''Annales de Terre Sainte'' and '' Maius chronicon Lemovicense''. Preparations According to '' De constructione castri Saphet'', an account of the construction of the castle of Safed probably wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Order (religious Society)
A military order () is a Christianity, Christian religious society of Knight, knights. The original military orders were the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of Santiago, Order of Saint James, the Order of Calatrava, and the Teutonic Order, Teutonic Knights. They arose in the Middle Ages in association with the Crusades - in the Holy Land, the Baltic states, Baltics, and the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian peninsula; their members being initially dedicated to the protection of Christians , Christian pilgrims, and eventually to the defence of the Crusader states and the conquest of non-Christian or even non-Western Christianity , Catholic lands. They are the predecessors of Order of chivalry, chivalric orders. Most members of military orders were Laity, laymen who took religious vows, such as of Evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to Monasticism, monastic ideals. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Ascalon
The siege of Ascalon took place from 25 January to 22 August 1153, in the time period between the Second Crusade, Second and Third Crusades, and resulted in the capture of the Fatimid Egyptian fortress by the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Ascalon was an important castle that was used by the Fatimids to launch raids into the Crusader kingdom's territory, and by 1153 it was the last coastal city in Palestine (region), Palestine that was not controlled by the Crusaders. The siege lasted for several months without much progress, despite the usage of siege engines and catapults by the Crusader army. On 16 August, the Fatimids set fire to the siege tower, but the wind blew the flames back at the castle wall and caused part of it to collapse. A group of Knights Templar entered the breach, led by their grand master, Bernard de Tremelay. The other Crusaders did not follow them into the city and all forty Templars were killed. Three days later, a larger attack was launched by the Crusaders and the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 until the Siege of Acre (1291), fall of Acre in 1291. Its history is divided into two periods with a brief interruption in its existence, beginning with its collapse after the Siege of Jerusalem (1187), siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and its restoration after the Third Crusade in 1192. The original Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted from 1099 to 1187 before being almost entirely overrun by the Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubid Sultanate under Saladin. Following the Third Crusade, it was re-established in Acre, Israel, Acre in 1192. The re-established state is commonly known as the "Second Kingdom of Jerusalem" or, alternatively, as the "Kingdom of Acre" after its new capital city. Acre remained the capital for the rest of its existence, even during the tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Marj Ayyun
The Battle of Marj Ayyun was a military confrontation fought at Marj Ayyun near the Litani River (modern-day Lebanon) in June 1179 between the Kingdom of Jerusalem under Baldwin IV and the Ayyubid armies under the leadership of Saladin. It ended in a decisive victory for the Muslims and is considered the first in the long series of Islamic victories under Saladin against the Christians. However, the Christian King, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, who was crippled by leprosy, was saved by his bodyguard and narrowly escaped capture. Background In 1177, Saladin's Ayyubid army invaded the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem from Egypt. In that year King Baldwin IV surprised and defeated the Saracen host at the Battle of Montgisard. In 1179, Saladin again invaded the Crusader states, from the direction of Damascus. He based his army at Banias and sent raiding forces to despoil villages and crops near Sidon and the coastal areas. Farmers and townspeople impoverished by Saracen raiders wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Legnica
The Battle of Legnica (), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz () or Battle of Wahlstatt (), was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces at the village of Legnickie Pole (''Wahlstatt''), approximately southeast of the city of Legnica in the Duchy of Silesia on 9 April 1241. A combined force of Poles and Moravians under the command of Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility and a few knights from military orders sent by Pope Gregory IX, attempted to halt the Mongol invasion of Poland. The battle took place two days before the Mongol victory over the Hungarians at the much larger Battle of Mohi. Historical disputations As with many historical battles, the exact details of force composition, tactics, and the actual course of the battle are lacking and sometimes contradictory. The general historical view is that it was a crushing defeat for the Polish and Moravian forces where they suffered heavy casualties. One of the Mong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on 4 July 1187, between the Crusader states of the Levant and the forces of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin. It is also known as the Battle of the Horns of Hattin, due to the shape of the nearby extinct volcano of that name. The Muslim armies under Saladin captured or killed the vast majority of the Crusader forces, removing their capability to wage war. As a direct result of the battle, Muslims once again became the eminent military power in the Holy Land, re-capturing Jerusalem and most of the other Crusader-held cities and castles. These Christian defeats prompted the Third Crusade, which began two years after the Battle of Hattin. Location The battle took place near Tiberias in present-day Israel. The battlefield, near the village of Hittin, had as its chief geographic feature a double hill (the " Horns of Hattin") beside a pass through the northern mountains between Tiberias and the road from Acre to the east. The Roman road, known to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Mansurah (1250)
The Battle of Mansurah was fought from 8 to 11 February 1250, between Crusaders led by Louis IX, King of France, and Ayyubid forces led by Sultana Shajar al-Durr, vizier Fakhr ad-Din ibn as-Shaikh, Faris ad-Din Aktai, Baibars al-Bunduqdari and Qutuz. It was fought in present-day Mansoura, Egypt. The Crusader force was enticed into entering the town where it was set upon by the Muslim force. The Crusaders withdrew in disorder to their encampment where they were besieged by the Muslims. The Crusaders broke-out and withdrew to Damietta in early April. Background By the mid-13th century, the Crusaders became convinced that Egypt, the heart of Islam's forces and arsenal, was an obstacle to their ambition to capture Jerusalem, which they had lost for the second time in 1244. In 1245, during the First Council of Lyon, Pope Innocent IV gave his full support to the Seventh Crusade being prepared by Louis IX, King of France. The goals of the Seventh Crusade were to destroy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Damascus (1148)
The siege of Damascus took place between 24 and 28 July 1148, during the Second Crusade. It ended in a crusader defeat and led to the disintegration of the crusade. The two main Christian forces that marched to the Holy Land in response to Pope Eugene III and Bernard of Clairvaux's call for the Second Crusade were led by Kings Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany. Both faced disastrous marches across Anatolia in the months that followed, with most of their armies being destroyed. The original focus of the crusade was Edessa (Urfa), but in Jerusalem, the preferred target of King Baldwin III and the Knights Templar was Damascus. At the Council of Acre, magnates from France, Germany, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem decided to divert the crusade to Damascus. The crusaders decided to attack Damascus from the west, where orchards of Ghouta would provide them with a constant food supply. Having arrived outside the walls of the city, they immediately put it to siege, using wood fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
