Category Archives: Muslim Empire (old series)

In 1100, Bohemund Prince of Antioch was called on to fulfill his feudal vows and help protect a northern part of Armenian Cilicia. A tribe of Turks called the Danishmends (after their leader, whose name “Danishmend” in Persian means “wise … Continue reading →

With Jerusalem conquered and slowly being cleaned up from the stench and disease of rotting body parts, the big question was who should become its ruler. The Princes’ Crusade set out with a number of ambitious aristocrats, but by three … Continue reading →

The Crusaders besieged Jerusalem on June 7, 1099, exactly a year after their siege of Antioch. Between Antioch and Jerusalem, they had passed by Fatimid-ruled cities but these governors had permitted them to go without opposition. The Fatimids abandoned Jaffa … Continue reading →

With Armenian Cilician somewhat relieved of Turkish presence, the region of Armenian Edessa established as a Norman-ruled Christian “county”, and Bohemund acting as Prince of Antioch, the next step had to be Jerusalem. Many of the knights had sworn not … Continue reading →

When the Princes’ Crusade arrived in Armenian Cilicia, the Armenian Prince of Cilicia welcomed them with enthusiasm. Until a few decades earlier, Armenia’s capital city was Ani, now a ruin near the borders of Turkey, Georgia and Armenia. Ani was … Continue reading →

Names and borders in the area now known as Turkey have changed so many times that it’s difficult at first to understand the region that the Crusaders were approaching. The few educated priests among them probably knew the New Testament … Continue reading →

When the Byzantines and Crusaders besieged Nicaea, the Seljuk Turks saw that they were a serious invasion force. Kilij Arslan was fighting another tribe of invading Turks to the east. He had only just declared independence for “Rum,” that is, … Continue reading →

Around the same time that Peter the Hermit and Walter Sans Avoir were arriving in Constantinople, four official organized armies left Europe. As these armies traveled, the disorganized Peoples’ Crusade met thorough defeat in Anatolia. Only a few weeks after … Continue reading →

Muslim regions were no longer unified in any real way, by the time the real Crusaders arrived. I’ve previously explained the three most significant blows to Muslim unity: Fatimid evangelism, North African puritanism, and the rapid conquest of Turks from … Continue reading →