The Jihad That Led to the Crusades
Its a long list. Part of the reason I posted this was to see if it would all fit so I can set a personal record for longest post ever. It worked!
Many people, not just President Obama, love to bring up the Crusades whenever Islam does something bad. Funny how they never lecture Muslims about the centuries of aggression that led up to that. We're supposed to start the clock at the beginning of the Crusades so we can make the West look bad. Those are the rules of political correctness. Also, blame the West for "invading" the ME so we can excuse the modern-day atrocities committed by numerous Muslims all over the world. Always start the clock to make the West look bad. Never the other way around.
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The Jihad That Led to the Crusades
Obama's remarks about the evil of the Crusades, needs to be factually examined in detail. Here is such a list:
0355 After removing a Roman temple from the site (possibly the Temple
of Aphrodite built by Hadrian), Constantine I has the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher constructed in Jerusalem. Built around the excavated hill
of the Crucifixion, legend has it that Constantine's mother Helena
discovered the True Cross here.
0613 - Persians capture Damascus and Antioch.
0614 - Persians sack Jerusalem. damaging the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the process.
0633 - Muslims conquer Syria and Iraq.
0634 - 0644 - Umar (c. 0591 - 0644) reigns as the second caliph.
0635 - Muslims begin the conquest of Persia and Syria.
0635 - Arab Muslims capture the city of Damascus from the Byzantines.
August 20, 0636 - Battle of Yarmuk (also: Yarmuq, Hieromyax):
Following the Muslim capture of Damascus and Edessa, Byzantine Emperor
Heraclius organizes a large army which manages to take back control of
those cities. However, Byzantine commander, Baänes is soundly defeated
by Muslim forces under Khalid ibn Walid in a battle in the valley of the
Yarmuk River outside Damascus. This leaves all of Syria open to Arab
domination.
0637 - The Arabs occupy the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. By 0651,
the entire Persian realm would come under the rule of Islam and
continued its westward expansion.
0637 - Syria is conquered by Muslim forces.
0637 - Jerusalem falls to invading Muslim forces.
0638 - Caliph Umar I enters Jerusalem.
0639 - Muslims conquer Egypt and Persia.
0641 - Islam spreads into Egypt. The Catholic Archbishop invites Muslims to help free Egypt from Roman oppressors.
0641 - Under the leadership of Abd-al-Rahman, Muslims conquer southern areas of Azerbaijan, Daghestan, Georgia, and
Armenia.
0641 - Under the leadership of Amr ibn al-As, Muslims conquer the
Byzantine city of Alexandria in Egypt. Amr forbids the looting of the
city and proclaims freedom of worship for all. According to some
accounts, he also has what was left of the Great Library burned the
following year. Al-As creates the first Muslim city in Egypt, al-Fustat,
and builds there the first mosque in Egypt.
0644 - Muslim leader Umar dies and is succeeded by Caliph Uthman, a
member of the Umayyad family that had rejected Muhammad's prophesies.
Rallies arise to support Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, as
caliph. Uthman launches invasions to the west into North Africa.
0649 - Muawiya I, a member of the Umayyad family, leads a raid
against Cyprus, sacking the capital Salamis-Constantia after a short
siege and pillaging the rest of the island.
0652 - Sicily is attacked by Muslims coming out of Tunisia (named
Ifriqiya by the Muslims, a name later given to the entire continent of
Africa).
0653 - Muawiya I leads a raid against Rhodes, taking the remaining
pieces of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the Seven Wonders of the
ancient world) and shipping it back to Syria to be sold as scrap metal.
0654 - Muawiya I conquers Cyprus and stations a large garrison there. The island would remain in Muslim hands until 0966.
0655 - Battle of the Masts: In one of the only Muslim naval victories
in the entire history of Islam, Muslim forces under the command of
Uthman bin Affan defeat Byzantine forces under Emperor Constant II. The
battle takes place off the coast of Lycia and is an important stage in
the decline of Byzantine power.
0661 - 0680 - Mu'awiya, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, becomes the caliph and moves the capital from Mecca to Damascus.
0662 - Egypt fell to the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates until 868 CE.
A year prior, the Fertile Crescent and Persia yielded to the Umayyad
and Abbasid caliphates, whose rule lasted until 1258 CE and 820 CE,
respectively.
0667 - Sicily is attacked by Muslims coming out of Tunisia.
0668 - First Siege of Constantinople: This attack lasts off and on
for seven years, with the Muslim forces generally spending the winters
on the island of Cyzicus, a few miles south of Constantinople, and only
sailing against the city during the spring and summer months. The Greeks
are able to fend off repeated attacks with a weapon desperately feared
by the Arabs: Greek Fire. It burned through ships, shields, and flesh
and it could not be put out once it started. Muawiyah has to send
emissaries to Byzantine Emperor Constans to beg him to let the survivors
return home unimpeded, a request that is granted in exchange for a
yearly tribute of 3,000 pieces of gold, fifty slaves, and fifty Arab
horses.
0669 - The Muslim conquest reaches to Morocco in North Africa. The
region would be open to the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates
until 800 CE.
0672 - Muslims under Mauwiya I capture the island of Rhodes.
0674 - Arab conquest reaches the Indus River.
August 23, 0676 - Birth of Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) in
Herstal, Wallonia, Belgium, as the illegitimate son of Pippin II.
Serving as Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom of the Franks, Charles
would lead a force of Christians that turn back a Muslim raiding party
near Poitiers (or Tours) which, according to many historians, would
effectively halt the advance of Islam against Christianity in the West.
0677 - Muslims send a large fleet against Constantinople in an effort
to finally break the city, but they are defeated so badly through the
Byzantine use of Greek Fire that they are forced to pay an indemnity to
the Emperor.
0680 - Birth of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor, along the
Turkish-Syrian border in the Syrian province of Commagene. Leo's
tactical skills would be responsible for turning back the second Arab
Muslim siege of Constantinople in 0717, shortly after he is elected
emperor.
0688 - Emperor Justinian II and Caliph al-Malik sign a peace treaty
making Cyprus neutral territory. For the next 300 years, Cyprus is ruled
jointly by both the Byzantines and the Arabs despite the continuing
warfare between them elsewhere.
0691 - Birth of Hisham, 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It is
under Hisham that Muslim forces would make their deepest incursions into
Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of
Poitiers in 0732.
0698 - Muslims capture Carthage in North Africa.
0700 - Muslims from Pamntelleria raid the island of Sicily.
0711 - With the further conquest of Egypt, Spain and North Africa,
Islam included all of the Persian empire and most of the old Roman world
under Islamic rule. Muslims began the conquest of Sindh in Afghanistan.
April 0711 - Tariq ibn Malik, a Berber officer, crosses the strait
separating Africa and Europe with a group of Muslims and enters Spain
(al-Andalus, as the Muslims called it, a word is etymologically linked
to "Vandals"). The first stop in the Muslim conquest of Spain is at the
foot of a mountain that comes to be called Jabel Tarik, the Mountain of
Tarik. Today it is known as Gibraltar. At one time the Berbers had been
Christians but they recently converted in large numbers to Islam after
the Arab conquest of North Africa.
July 19, 0711 - Battle of Guadalete: Tariq ibn Ziyad kills King
Rodrigo (or Roderic), Visigoth ruler of Spain, at the Guadalete River in
the south of the Iberian peninsula. Tariq ibn Ziyad had landed at
Gibraltar with 7,000 Muslims at the invitation of heirs of the late
Visigoth King Witica (Witiza) who wanted to get rid of Rodrigo (this
group includes Oppas, the bishop of Toledo and primate of all Spain, who
happens to be the brother of the late king Witica). Ziyad, however,
refuses to turn control of the region back over to the heirs of Witica.
Almost the entire Iberian peninsula would come under Islamic control by
0718 CE.
0712 - Muslim governor of Northern Africa Musa ibn Nusayr follows
Tariq ibn Ziyad with an army of 18,000 as reinforcements for the
conquest of Andalusia. Musa's father had been a Catholic Yemenite
studying to be a priest in Iraq when he was captured in Iraq by Khalid,
the "Sword of Islam," and forced to choose between conversion or death.
This invasion of Iraq had been one of the last military orders given by
Muhammed before his death.
0714 - Birth of Pippin III (Pippin the Short) in Jupille (Belgium).
Son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne, in 0759 Pippin would
capture Narbonne, the last Muslim stronghold in France, and thereby
drive Islam out of France.
0715 - By this year just about all of Spain is in Muslim hands. The
Muslim conquest of Spain only took around three years but the Christian
reconquest would require around 460 years (it might have gone faster had
the various Christian kingdoms not been at each other' throats much of
the time). Musa's son, Abd el-Aziz, is left in charge and makes his
capital the city of Seville, where he married Egilona, widow of king
Rodrigo. Caliph Suleiman, a paranoid ruler, would have el-Aziz
assassinated and sends Musa into exile in his native Yemen village to
live out his days as a beggar.
0716 - Lisbon is captured by Muslims.
0717 - Cordova (Qurtuba) becomes the capital of Muslim holdings in Andalusia (Spain).
0717 - Leo the Isaurian, born along the Turkish-Syrian border in the
Syrian province of Commagene, revolts against the usurper Theodosius III
and assumes the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
August 15, 0717 - Second Siege of Constantinople: Taking advantage of
the civil unrest in the Byzantine Empire, Caliph Sulieman sends 120,000
Muslims under the command of his brother, Moslemah, to launch the
second siege of Constantinople. Another force of around 100,000 Muslims
with 1,800 galleys soon arrives from Syria and Egypt to assist. Most of
these reinforcements are quickly destroyed with Greek Fire. Eventually
the Muslims outside Constantinople begin to starve and, in the winter,
they also begin to freeze to death. Even the Bulgarians, usually hostile
to the Byzantines, send a force to destroy Muslim reinforcements
marching from Adrianopolis.
August 15, 0718 - Muslims abandon their second siege of
Constantinople. Their failure here leads to the weakening of the Umayyad
government, in part because of the heavy losses. It is estimated that
of the 200,000 soldiers who besieged Constantinople, only around 30,000
made it home. Although the Byzantine Empire also sustains heavily
casualties and loses most its territory south of the Taurus Mountains,
by holding the line here they prevent a disorganized and militarily
inferior Europe from having to confront a Muslim invasion along the
shortest possible route. Instead, the Arabic invasion of Europe must
proceed along the longer path across northern Africa and into Spain, a
route which prevents quick reinforcement and ultimately proves
ineffective.
0719 - Muslims attack Septimania in southern France (so named because
it was the base of operations for Rome's Seventh Legion) and become
established in the region known as Languedoc, made famous several
hundred years later as the center of the Cathar heresy.
July 09,0721 - A Muslim army under the command of Al-Semah and that
had crossed the Pyrenees is defeated by the Franks near Toulouse.
Al-Semah is killed and his remaining forces, which had previously
conquered Narbonne, are forced back across the Pyrenees into Spain.
0722 - Battle of Covadonga: Pelayo, (0690-0737) Visigoth noble who had
been elected the first King of Asturias (0718- 0737), defeats a Muslim
army at Alcama near Covadonga. This is generally regarded as the first
real Christian victory over the Muslims in the Reconquista.
0724 - Hisham becomes the 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It is
under Hisham that Muslim forces make their deepest incursions into
Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of
Poitiers in 0732.
0724 - Under the command of Ambissa, Emir of Andalusia, Muslim forces
raid southern France and capture the cities of Carcassone and Nimes.
Primary targets in these and other raids are churches and monasteries
where the Muslims take away holy objects and enslave or kill all the
clerics.
0725 - Muslim forces occupied Nimes, France.
0730 - Muslim forces occupy the French cities of Narbonne and
Avignon.
October 10, 0732 - Battle of Tours: With perhaps 1,500 soldiers,
Charles Martel halts a Muslim force of around 40,000 to 60,000 cavalry
under Abd el-Rahman Al Ghafiqi from moving farther into Europe. Many
regard this battle as being decisive in that it saved Europe from Muslim
control. Gibbon wrote: "A victorious line of march had been prolonged
above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the
Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens
to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland; the Rhine is
not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet
might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames.
Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the
schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised
people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Muhammed." Others,
though, argue that the battle's importance has been exaggerated. The
names of Tours, Poitiers, and Charles Martel do not appear in the Arab
histories. They list the battle under the name Balat al- Shuhada, the
Highway of Martyrs, and is treated as a minor engagement.
0735 - Muslim invaders capture the city of Arles.
0737 - Charles Martel sends his brother, Childebrand, to lay siege to
Avignon and drive out the Muslim occupiers. Childebrand is successful
and, according to records, has all the Muslims in the city killed.
0739 - Already having retaken Narbonne, Beziers, Montpellier, and Nimes
during the previous couple of years, Childebrand captures Marseille, one
of the largest French cities still in Muslim hands.
June 08, 0741 - Death of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor.
Leo's tactical skills were responsible for turning back the second Arab
Muslim siege of Constantinople in 0717, shortly after he was elected
emperor.
October 22, 0741.- Death of Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) in at
Quierzy (today the Aisne county in the Picardy region of France). As
Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom of the Franks, Charles had led a
force of Christians that turned back a Muslim raiding party near
Poitiers (or Tours) which, according to many historians, effectively
halted the advance of Islam against Christianity in the West.
April 04, 0742 -Birth of Charlemagne, founder of the Frankish Empire.
0743 -Death of Hisham, 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It was
under Hisham that Muslim forces made their deepest incursions into
Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of
Poitiers in 0732.
0750- The Arabian Nights, a compilation of stories written under the
reign of the Abbasids, became representative of the lifestyle and
administration of this Persian influenced government.
0750 - 0850 -The Four Orthodox Schools of Islamic Law were established.
0750 -The Abbasids assume control of the Islamic world (except Spain,
which falls under the control of a descendant of the Umayyad family)
and moved the capital to Baghdad in Iraq. The Abbasid Caliphate would
last until 1258.
September 0755 -Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad dynasty flees to Spain
to escape the Abbasids and would be responsible for creating the "Golden
Caliphate" in Spain.
0756 -The Emirate of Cordova is established by Umayyad refugee Abd
al-Rahman I in order to revive the defeated Umayyad caliphate which had
been destroyed in 0750 by the Abbasids. Cordova would become independent
of the Abbasid Empire and represents the first major political division
within Islam. The political and geographic isolation of the Cordova
Caliphate would make it easier for Christians to decisively conquer it
despite their failures elsewhere, although this would not be completed
until 1492.
0759 -Arabs lose the city of Narbonne, France, their furthest and
last conquest into Frankish territory. In capturing this city Pippin III
(Pippin the Short) ends the Muslim incursions in France.
0768 -Pepin's son, Carolus Magnus (Charlemagne), succeeded his father
and became one of the most important European rulers of medieval
history.
September 24, 0768 -Death of Pippin III (Pippin the Short) at Saint
Denis. Son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne, in 0759 Pippin
captured Narbonne, the last Muslim stronghold in France, and thereby
drove Islam out of France.
0778 -Charlemagne, King of the Franks and soon-to-be Holy Roman
Emperor, is invited by a group of Arab leaders in northeastern Spain to
attack Abd al-Rahman I, ruler of the Emirate of Cordova. Charlemagne
obliges them, but is forced to retreat after only getting as far as
Saragossa. It is during his march back through the Pyrenees that his
forces are set upon by Basques. Among the many who die is the war leader
Roland from Breton, killed in Roncevalles, whose memory has been
preserved in the "Chanson de Roland," an important epic poem during the
Middle Ages.
0785 -The Great Mosque in Cordoba, in Muslim controlled Spain, was built.
0787 - Danes invade England for the first time.
0788 -Death of Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Cordova. His successor is Hisham I.
0792- Hisham I, emir of Cordova, calls for a Jihad against the
infidels in Andalusia and France. Tens of thousands from as far away as
Syria heed his call and cross the Pyrennes to subjugate France. Cities
like Narbonne are destroyed, but the invasion is ultimately halted at
Carcassone.
0796 -Death of Hisham I, emir of Cordova. His successor is his son,
al-Hakam, who would keep up the jihad against the Christians but would
also be forced to contend with rebellion at home.
0799 -The Basques rise in revolt and kill the local Muslim governor of Pamplona.
0800 -North Africa falls under the rule of the Aghlabi dynasty of Tunis, which would last until 0909 CE.
0800 - 1200 -Jews experience a "golden age" of creativity and toleration in Spain under Moorish (Muslim) rule.
0800 -Ambassadors of Caliph Harunu r-Rashid give keys to the Holy
Sepulcher to the Frankish king, thus acknowledging some Frankish control
over the interests of Christians in Jerusalem.
0801 -Vikings begin selling slaves to Muslims.
0806 -Hien Tsung becomes the Emperor of China. During his reign a shortage of copper leads to the introduction of paper money.
0813 -Muslims attack the Civi Vecchia near Rome.
April 04,0814 -Death of Charlemagne, founder of the Frankish Empire.
0816 -With the support of Moors, the Basques revolt against the Franks in Glascony.
0822 -Death of Al-Hakam, emir of Cordova. He is succeeded by Abd al-Rahman II.
June 0827 -Sicily is invaded by Muslims who, this time, are looking
to take control of the island rather than simply taking away booty. They
are initially aided by Euphemius, a Byzantine naval commander who is
rebelling against the Emperor. Conquest of the island would require 75
years of hard fighting.
0831 -Muslim invaders capture the Sicilian city of Palermo and make it their capital.
0835 -Birth of Ahmad Ibn Tultun, founder of the Tulunid Dynasty in
Egypt. Originally sent there as a deputy by the Abbasid Caliphate,
Tultun will establish himself as an independent power in the region,
extending his control as far north as Syria. It is under Tultun that the
Great Mosque of Cairo is built.
0838 -Muslim raiders sack Marseille.
0841 -Muslim forces capture Bari, principle Byzantine base in southeastern Italy.
0846 -Muslim raiders sail a fleet of ships from Africa up the Tiber
river and attack outlying areas around Ostia and Rome. Some manage to
enter Rome and damage the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul. Not until
Pope Leo IV promises a yearly tribute of 25,000 silver coins do the
raiders leave. The Leonine Wall is built in order to fend off further
attacks such as this.
0849 -Battle of Ostia: Aghlabid monarch Muhammad sends a fleet of
ships from Sardinia to attack Rome. As the fleet prepares to land
troops, the combination of a large storm and an alliance of Christian
forces were able to destroy the Muslims ships.
0850 -The Acropolis of Zimbabwe was built in Rhodesia.
0850 -Perfectus, a Christian priest in Muslim Cordova, is executed
after he refuses to retract numerous insults he made about the Prophet
Muhammed. Numerous other priests, monks, and laity would follow as
Christians became caught up in a zest for martyrdom.
0851- Abd al-Rahman II has eleven young Christians executed in the
city of Cordova after they deliberately seek out martyrdom by insulting
the Prophet Muhammed.
0852 -Death of Abd al-Rahman II, emir of Cordova.
0858- Muslim raiders attack Constantinople.
0859 -Muslim invaders capture the Sicilian city of Castrogiovanni (Enna), slaughtering several thousand inhabitants.
0863 -Under Cyril (0826 - 0869) and Methodius (c. 0815 - 0885) the
conversion of Moravia begins. The two brothers were sent by the
patriarch of Constantinople to Moravia, where the ruler, Rostilav,
decreed in 863 that any preaching done had to be in the language of the
people. As a result, Cyril and Methodius developed the first usable
alphabet for the Slavic tongue - thus, the Cyrillic alphabet.
0866 Emperor Louis II travels from Germany to southern Italy to battle the Muslim raiders causing trouble there.
0868 -The Sattarid dynasty, whose rule would continue until 0930 CE,
extended Muslim control throughout most of Persia. In Egypt, the
Abbasid and Umayyad caliphates ended and the Egyptian-based Tulunid
dynasty took over (lasting until 904 CE).
0869 -Arabs capture the island of Malta.
0870- After a month-long siege, the Sicilian city of Syracuse is captured by Muslim invaders.
0871 -King Alfred the Great of England created a system of government
and education which allowed for the unification of smaller Anglo-Saxon
states in the ninth and tenth centuries.
0874 -Iceland is colonized by Vikings from Norway.
0876 -Muslims pillage Campagna in Italy.
0879 -The Seljuk Empire unites Mesopotamia and a large portion of Persia.
0880 - Under Emperor Basil, the Byzantines recapture lands occupied by Arabs in Italy.
0884- Death of Ahmad Ibn Tultun, founder of the Tulunid Dynasty in
Egypt. Originally sent there as a deputy by the Abbasid Caliphate,
Tultun established himself as an independent power in the region,
extending his control as far north as Syria. It is under Tultun that the
Great Mosque of Cairo is built.
0884 -Muslims invading Italy burn the monastery of Monte Cassino to the ground.
0898 -Birth of Abd al-Rahman III, generally regarded as the greatest
of the Umayyad caliphs in Andalusia. Under his rule, Cordova would
become one of the most powerful centers of Islamic learning and power.
0900 -The Fatimids of Egypt conquered north Africa and included the territory as an extension of Egypt until 0972 CE.
0900 -Mayans emigrate to the Yucatan Peninsula.
0902 -The Muslim conquest of Sicily is completed when the last
Christian stronghold, the city of Taorminia, is captured. Muslim rule of
Sicily would last for 264 years.
0905-The Tulunid Dynasty in Egypt is destroyed by an Abbasid army
sent to reestablish control over the region of Egypt and Syria.
0909 -Sicily came under the control of the Fatimids' rule of North
Africa and Egypt until 1071 CE. From 0878 until 0909 CE, their rule of
Sicily was uncertain.
0909 -The Fatimid Dynasty assumes control of Egypt. Claiming descent
from Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammed, and Ali bin Abi Talib,
the Fatimids would rule Egypt until being overthrown by the Auyybids and
Saladin in 1171.
0911 -Muslims control all the passes in the Alps between France and Italy, cutting off passage between the two countries.
0912- Abd al-Rahman III becomes the Umayyad Caliph in Andalusia.
0916 -A combined force of Greek and German emperors and Italian
city-states defeat Muslim invaders at Garigliano, putting Muslim raids
in Italy to an end.
0920 -Muslim forces cross the Pyrenees, enter Gascony, and reach as far as the gates of Toulouse.
0929 -Abd al-Rahman III transforms the Emirate of Cordova into and
independent caliphate no longer under even theoretical control from
Baghdad.
0935 - 0969 -The rule of Egypt was under the Ikhidid dynasty.
0936 -The Althing, the oldest body of representative government in Europe, is established in Iceland by the Vikings.
0939 -Madrid is recaptured from Muslim forces.
0940 -Hugh, count of Provence, gives his protection to Moors in St.
Tropez if they agree to keep the Alpine passes closed to his rival,
Berenger.
c. 0950 Catholicism becomes prevalent and dominant religion throughout Europe.
0950 According to traditional historiography, Europe enters Dark Ages.
0953- Emperor Otto I sends representatives to Cordova to ask Caliph
Abd al-Rahman III to call off some Muslim raiders who had set themselves
up in Alpine passes and are attacking merchant caravans going in and
out of Italy.
0961 -Death of Abd al-Rahman III, generally regarded as the greatest
of the Umayyad caliphs in Andalusia. Under his rule, Cordova became one
of the most powerful centers of Islamic learning and power. He is
succeeded by Abdullah, a caliph who would kill many of his rivals (even
family members) and had captured Christians decapitated if they refuse
to convert to Islam.
0961- Under the command of general Nicephorus Phokas, the Byzantines
recapture Crete from Muslim rebels who had earlier fled Cordova.
0965 -Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Phokas reconquers Cyprus from the Muslims.
0965 -Grenoble is recaptured from the Muslims.
0969 -The Fatimid dynasty (Shi'ite) takes Egypt from the Ikshidids and assumes the title of caliphate in Egypt until 1171 CE.
0969 -Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas reconquers Antioch (modern Antakya, capital of the province Hatay) from the Arabs.
0972 -The Fatimids of Egypt conquer north Africa.
0972 -The Muslims in the Sisteron district of France surrender to Christian forces and their leader asks to be baptized.
0981- Eric the Red is exiled from Iceland and settles in a new land he called Greenland in order to attract settlers.
0981 -Ramiro III, king of Leon, is defeated by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi
Aamir (Almanzor) at Rueda and is forced to begin paying tribute to the
Caliph of Cordova.
0985 -Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir sacks Barcelona
0994 -The monastery of Monte Cassino is destroyed a second time by Arabs.
0995 -Japanese literary and artistic golden age begins under Emperor Fujiwara Michinaga (ruled 0995 - 1028).
July 03,0997 -Under the leadership of Almanzor, Muslim forces march
out of the city of Cordova and head north to capture Christian lands.
August 11, 0997 -Muslim forces under Almanzor arrive at the city of
Compostela. The city had been evacuated and Almanzor burns it to the
ground.
0998 -Venice conquers the Adriatic port of Zara. The Venetians would
eventually lose the city to the Hungarians and, in 1202, they offer a
deal to soldiers of the Fourth Crusade: capture the city again for them
in exchange for passage to Egypt.
c. 1000-Chinese perfect the production and use of gunpowder.
1000 -The Seljuk (Saljuq) Turkish Empire is founded by an Oghuz
Turkish bey (chieftain) named Seljuk. Originally from the steppe country
around the Caspian Sea, the Seljuks are the ancestors of the Western
Turks, present- day inhabitants of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and
Azerbaijan.
August 08, 1002 -Death of Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, ruler of Al-Andalus, on the way back from raiding the Rioja region.
1004 -Arab raiders sack the Italian city of Pisa.
1007 -Birth of Isaac I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor. Founder of the
dynasty of the Comneni, Isaac's government reforms may have helped the
Byzantine Empire last longer.
1009 -The Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is destroyed by Muslim armies.
1009 -Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze sect and
sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, orders the Holy Sepulcher and all
Christian buildings in Jerusalem be destroyed. In Europe a rumor
develops that a "Prince of Babylon" had ordered the destruction of the
Holy Sepulcher at the instigation of the Jews. Attacks on Jewish
communities in cities like Rouen, Orelans, and Mainz ensue and this
rumor helps lay the basis for massacres of Jewish communities by
Crusaders marching to the Holy Land.
1009 -Sulaimann, grandson of Abd al-Rahman III, returns over 200
captured fortresses to the Castilians in return for massive shipments of
food for his army.
1012 -Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze sect and
sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, orders the destruction of all Christian
and Jewish houses of worship in his lands.
1012 -Berber forces capture Cordova and order that half the population be executed.
1013 -Jews are expelled from the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordova, then ruled by Sulaimann.
1015 -Arab Muslim forces conquer Sardinia.
1016 -The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is partially destroyed by earthquakes.
1020 -Merchants from Amalfi and Salerno are granted permission by the
Egyptian Caliph to build a hospice in Jerusalem. Out of this would
eventually grow The Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem (also known as: Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and most
commonly as Knights Hospitaller).
1021 -Caliph al-Hakim proclaimed himself to be divine and founded the Druze sect.
1022 -Several Cathar heretics are discovered in Toulouse and put to death.
1023 -Muslims expel the Berber rulers from Cordova and install Abd er-Rahman V as caliph.
1025 -The power of the Byzantine Empire begins to decline.
1026 -Richard II of Normandy leads a group of several hundred armed
men on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the belief that the Day of
Judgment had arrived. Turkish control of the region hampers their goals,
however.
1027 -The Frankish protectorate over Christian interests in Jerusalem
is replaced by a Byzantine protectorate. Byzantine leaders begin the
reconstruction of the Holy Sepulcher.
1029- Alp Arslan, "The Lion Hero," is born. Arslan is the son of
Togrul Beg, conqueror of Baghdad who made himself ruler of the
Caliphate, and great-grandson of Seljuk, founder of the Seljuk Turkish
empire.
1031 -The Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba falls.
1031 -The emir of Aleppo has the Krak des Chevaliers contructed.
1033 -Castile is retaken from the Arabs.
1035 -The Byzantines make a landing in Sicily, but don't try to recapture the island from the Muslims.
1038 -The Seljuk Turks become established in Persia.
1042- The rise of the Seljuk Turks begins.
1045 - 1099 -1099 Life of Ruy Diaz de Vivar, known as El Cid (Arabic
for "lord"), national hero of Spain. El Cid would become famous for his
efforts to drive the Moors out of Spain. May 18, 1048 - Persian poet
Umar Khayyam is born. His poem The Rubaiyat became popular in the West
because of its use by Victorian Edward Fitzgerald.
1050 - 1200 -The first agricultural revolution of Medieval Europe
begins in 1050 CE with a shift to the northern lands for cultivation, a
period of improved climate from 700 CE to 1200 CE in western Europe, and
the widespread use and perfection of new farming devices. Technological
innovations include the use of the heavy plow, the three-field system
of crop rotation, the use of mills for processing cloth, brewing beer,
crushing pulp for paper manufacture, and the widespread use of iron and
horses. With an increase in agricultural advancements, Western towns and
trade grow exponentially and Western Europe returns to a money economy.
1050 -Duke Bohemond I (Bohemond Of Taranto, French Bohémond De
Tarente), prince of Otranto (1089-1111) is born. One of the leaders of
the First Crusade, Bohemond would be largely responsible for the capture
of Antioch and he secures the title Prince of Antioch (1098 - 1101,
1103 - 04).
1050 -Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos restores the complex of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
1054 -A famine in Egypt forces al Mustansir, 8th Fatimid caliph, to
seek food and other commercial assistance from Italy and the Byzantine
Empire.
July 16,-1054 Great Schism: The Western Christian Church, in an
effort to further enhance its power, had tried to impose Latin rites on
Greek churches in southern Italy in 1052; as a consequence, Latin
churches in Constantinople were closed. In the end, this leads to the
excommunication of Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople (who
in turn excommunicates Pope Leo IX). Although generally regarded as a
minor event at the time, today it is treated as the final event that
sealed the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity.
1055 -Seljuk Turks capture Baghdad.
1056 -The Almoravid (al-Murabitun) Dynasty begins its rise to power.
Taking the name "those who line up in defense of the faith," this is a
group of fanatical Berber Muslims who would rule North Africa and Spain
until 1147.
1061 -Roger Guiscard lands at Sicily with a large Norman force and
captures the city of Masara. The Norman reconquest of Sicily would
require another 30 years.
1063 -Alp Arslan succeeds his father, Togrul Beg, as ruler of the Baghdad Caliphate and the Seljuk Turks.
1064 -The Seljuk Turks conquer Christian Armenia.
September 29, 1066 -William the Conqueror invades England and claims
the English throne at the Battle of Hastings. Because William is both
the King of England and the Duke of Normandy, The Norman Conquest fuses
French and English cultures. The language of England evolves into Middle
English with an English syntax and grammar and a heavily French
vocabulary.
1067 -Romanus IV Diogenes becomes the Byzantine Emperor.
1068 -Alp Arslan invades the Byzantine Empire and is repulsed by
Romanus IV Diogenes over the course of three campaigns. Not until 1070,
though, would the Turks be driven back across the Euphrates river.
1070 -Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem from the Fatimids. Seljuk rule
is not quite as tolerant as that of the Fatimids and Christian pilgrims
begin returning to Europe with tales of persecution and oppression.
1070 -Brother Gerard, a leader of the Benedictine monks and nuns who
run the hospices in Jerusalem. beings to organize The Order of Knights
of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (also known as: Knights of
Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and most commonly as Knights Hospitaller) as a
more military force for the active protection of Christian pilgrims.
1071 -Normans conquer the last Byzantine holdings in Italy.
1071 - 1085 -Seljuk Turks conquer most of Syria and Palestine.
August 19, 1071 -
Battle of Manzikert: Alp Arslan leads an army of Seljuk Turks against
the Byzantine Empire near Lake Van. Numbering perhaps as many as 100,000
men, the Turks take the fortresses of Akhlat and Manzikert before
Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes can respond. Although Diogenes is
able to recapture Akhlat, the siege of Manzikert fails when a Turkish
relief force arrives and Andronicus Ducas, an enemy of Romanus Diogenes,
refuses to obey orders to fight. Diogenes himself is captured and
released, but he would be murdered after his return to Constantinople.
Partly because of the defeat at Manzikert and partly due to the civil
wars following the murder of Digoenes, Asia Minor would be left open to
Turkish invasion. One third of Christian Lands and 51% of Christian
Churches fall to Islam.
1072 -Tancred of Hauteville is born. A grandson of Robert Guiscard
and nephew of Bohemund of Taranto, Tancred would become a leader of the
First Crusade and eventually regent of the Principality of Antioch.
December 15, 1072 -Malik Shah I, son of Alp Arslan, succeeds his father as Seljuk Sultan.
1073 -Seljuk Turks conquer Ankara.
July 1074 -El Cid marries Jimena, niece of Alfonso IV of Castile and daughter of the Count of Oviedo.
1076 -First recorded execution in England by the ax: the Earl of Huntingdon.
1078 -Seljuk Turks capture Nicaea. It would change hands three more
times, finally coming under control of the Turks again in 1086.
1079 -Battle of Cabra: El Cid led his troops to a rout of Emir Abd Allah of Granada.
1080 -Order of the Hospital of St. John is founded in Italy. This
special order of knights was dedicated to guarding a pilgrim hospital,
or hostel, in Jerusalem.
1080 -An Armenian state is founded in Cilicia, a district on the
southeastern coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), north of Cyprus, by refugees
feeling the Seljuk invasion of their Armenian homeland. A Christian
kingdom located in the midst of hostile Muslim states and lacking good
relations with the Byzantine Empire, "Armenia Minor" would provide
important assistance to Crusaders from Europe.
1081 - 1118 -Alexius I Comnenus is Byzantine emperor.
1081 -El Cid, now a mercenary because he had been exiled by Alfonso
IV of Castile, enters the service of the Moorish king of the northeast
Spanish city of Zaragosa, al-Mu'tamin, and would remain there for his
successor, al- Mu'tamin II.
1082 -Ibn Tumart, founder of the Amohad Dynasty, is born in the Atlas mountains.
1084 -Seljuk Turks conquer Antioch, a strategically important city.
October 25, 1085 -The Moors are expelled from Toledo, Spain, by Alfonso VI.
October 23, 1086 -Battle of Zallaca (Sagrajas): Spanish forces under
Alfonso VI of Castile are defeated by the Moors and their allies, the
Almorivids (Berbers from Morocco and Algeria, led by Yusef I ibn
Tashufin), thus preserving Muslim rule in al-Andalus. The slaughter of
Spaniards was great and Yusef refused to abide by his agreement to leave
Andalusia in the hands of the Moors. His intention was actually to make
Andalusia an African colony ruled by the Almorivids in Morocco.
1087 -After his crushing defeat at Zallaqa, Alfonso VI swallows his pride and recalls El Cid from exile.
September 13, 1087- Birth of John II Comnenus, Byzantine emperor.
1088 -Patzinak Turks begin forming settlements between the Danube and the Balkans.
March 12, 1088 -Urban II is elected pope. An active supporter of the
Gregorian reforms, Urban would become responsible for launching the
First Crusade.
1089 -Byzantine forces conquer the island of Crete.
1090 -Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, King of the Almoravids, captures Granada.
1091 -The Normans recapture Sicily from the Muslims.
1091 - Cordova (Qurtuba) is captured by the Almoravids.
1092 -After the death of Seljuk Sultan (al-sultan , "the power")
Malik Shah I, the capital of the Seljuks is moved from Iconjium to
Smyrna and the empire itself dissolves into several smaller states.
May 1094-El Cid captures Valencia from the Moors, carving out his own
kingdom along the Mediterranean that is only nominally subservient to
Alfonso VI of Castile. Valencia would be both Christian and Muslim, with
adherents of both religions serving in his army.
August 1094 -The Almoravids from Morocco land near Cuarte and lay
siege to Valencia with 50,000 men. El Cid, however, breaks the siege and
forces the Amoravids to flee - the first Christian victory against the
hard-fighting Africans.
November 18, 1095 -Pope Urban II opens the Council of Clermont where
ambassadors from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, asking help
against the Muslims, were warmly received.
Political foundations laid for the first "organized" Christian response to Jihad: the First Crusade.
The Jihad That Led to the Crusades
