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Saladin's Conquest of Jerusalem (1187 CE)
Jerusalem, a holy city for the adherents of all three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) was conquered by the armies of the First Crusade in 1099 CE. The Muslims failed to halt their advance, as they were themselves...
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Richard I of England
Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart (Cœur de Lion), reigned as king of England from 1189 to 1199 CE. The son of Henry II of England (r. 1154-1189 CE) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (c. 1122-1204 CE), Richard was known for...
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Edessa
Edessa (modern Urfa), located today in south-east Turkey but once part of upper Mesopotamia on the frontier of the Syrian desert, was an important city throughout antiquity and the Middle Ages. A city within the Seleucid Empire, then capital...
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1204: The Sack of Constantinople
In 1204 CE the unthinkable happened and Constantinople, after nine centuries of withstanding all comers, was brutally sacked. Even more startling was the fact that the perpetrators were not any of the traditional enemies of the Byzantine...
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The Capture of Jerusalem, 1099 CE
The capture of Jerusalem from Muslim control was the primary goal of the First Crusade (1095-1102 CE), a combined military campaign organised by western rulers, the Pope, and the Byzantine Empire. After a brief siege, the city was captured...
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The Siege of Antioch, 1097-98 CE
The siege of Antioch in 1097-1098 CE occurred during the First Crusade (1095-1102 CE) when the western Crusader knights were on their way to retake Jerusalem. The great metropolis of Antioch in northern Syria was heavily fortified, and it...
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The Siege of Damascus, 1148 CE
The siege of Damascus in 1148 CE was the final act of the Second Crusade (1147-1149 CE). Lasting a mere four days from 24 to 28 July, the siege by a combined western European army was not successful, and the Crusade petered out with its leaders...
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Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire officially lasted from 962 to 1806. It was one of Europe’s largest medieval and early modern states, but its power base was unstable and continually shifting. The Holy Roman Empire was not a unitary state, but a confederation...
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Louis IX and Capetian Politics at Paris' Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was originally consecrated as a private royal chapel in 1248 during the reign of King Louis IX of France (r. 1226-1270), who was known in life as rex christianissimus ('most Christian king') and canonized in death...
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Battle of Marj Ayyun
The Battle of Marj Ayyun (10 June 1179, also given as the Battle on the Litani) was a military engagement between Baldwin IV, King of Jerusalem (r. 1174-1185) and Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1174-1193). Saladin decisively won the...