1.
Battle of Dorylaeum (1097)
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The Battle of Dorylaeum took place during the First Crusade on July 1,1097, between the crusaders and the Seljuk Turks, near the city of Dorylaeum in Anatolia. The crusaders had left Nicaea on June 26, with a deep distrust of the Byzantines, on June 29, they learnt that the Turks were planning an ambush near Dorylaeum. Contemporary figures place this number between 25, 000-30,000, more recent estimates are between 6,000 and 8,000 men, fulcher of Chartres gives the exaggerated number of 360,000. In addition to numbers of noncombatants, Bohemonds force probably numbered about 10,000. Military figures of the time often imply perhaps several men-at-arms per knight, on the evening of June 30, after a three-day march, Bohemonds army made camp in a meadow on the north bank of the river Thymbres, near the ruined town of Dorylaeum. On July 1, Bohemonds force was surrounded outside Dorylaeum by Kilij Arslan, Godfrey and Raymond had separated from the vanguard at Leuce, and the Turkish army attacked at dawn, taking Bohemonds army entirely by surprise, shooting arrows into the camp. Bohemonds knights had quickly mounted but their sporadic counterattacks were unable to deter the Turks, while this formed a battle line and sheltered the more vulnerable men-at-arms and noncombatants, it also gave the Turks free rein to maneuver on the battlefield. The Turkish mounted archers attacked in their usual style - charging in, shooting their arrows, the archers did little damage to the heavily armoured knights, but they inflicted heavy casualties on the horses and unarmoured foot soldiers. Bohemond had sent messengers to the other Crusader army and now struggled to hold on until help arrived, just after midday, Godfrey arrived with a force of 50 knights, fighting through the Turkish lines to reinforce Bohemond. Through the day small groups of reinforcements arrived, some killed by the Turks, as the Crusader losses mounted, the Turks became more aggressive and the Crusader army found itself forced from the marshy banks of the river into the shallows. Adhemars force fell on the Turkish camp, and attacked the Turks from the rear, the crusaders did indeed become rich, at least for a short time, after capturing Kilij Arslans treasury. The Turks fled and Arslan turned to other concerns in his eastern territory and they also took the male Greek children from the region extending from Dorylaeum to Iconium, some of whom were sent as slaves to Persia. On the other hand, the crusaders were allowed to march virtually unopposed through Anatolia on their way to Antioch and it took almost three months to cross Anatolia in the heat of the summer, and in October they began the siege of Antioch. John Doukas re-established Byzantine rule in Chios, Rhodes, Smyrna, Ephesus, Sardis and this success is ascribed by Alexios daughter Anna to his policy and diplomacy, but by the Latin historians of the crusade to his treachery and falseness
2.
Second Crusade
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The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe as a Catholic holy war against Islam. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi, the county had been founded during the First Crusade by King Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098. While it was the first Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall, the armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe. After crossing Byzantine territory into Anatolia, both armies were defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Louis and Conrad and the remnants of their armies reached Jerusalem, the crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It would ultimately have a key influence on the fall of Jerusalem, the only Christian success of the Second Crusade came to a combined force of 13,000 Flemish, Frisian, Norman, English, Scottish, and German crusaders in 1147. Travelling from England, by ship, to the Holy Land, after the First Crusade and the minor Crusade of 1101 there were three crusader states established in the east, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch and the County of Edessa. A fourth, the County of Tripoli, was established in 1109, Count Baldwin II and future count Joscelin of Courtenay were taken captive after their defeat at the Battle of Harran in 1104. Baldwin and Joscelin were both captured a second time in 1122, and although Edessa recovered somewhat after the Battle of Azaz in 1125, Joscelin was killed in battle in 1131. His successor Joscelin II was forced into an alliance with the Byzantine Empire, Joscelin had also quarreled with the Count of Tripoli and the Prince of Antioch, leaving Edessa with no powerful allies. Meanwhile, the Seljuq Zengi, Atabeg of Mosul, had added to his rule in 1128 Aleppo, both Zengi and King Baldwin II turned their attention towards Damascus, Baldwin was defeated outside the great city in 1129. Damascus, ruled by the Burid Dynasty, later allied with King Fulk when Zengi besieged the city in 1139 and 1140, in late 1144, Joscelin II allied with the Ortoqids and marched out of Edessa with almost his entire army to support the Ortoqid army against Aleppo. Zengi, already seeking to take advantage of Fulks death in 1143, hurried north to besiege Edessa, manasses of Hierges, Philip of Milly and others were sent from Jerusalem to assist, but arrived too late. Joscelin II continued to rule the remnants of the county from Turbessel, Zengi himself was praised throughout Islam as defender of the faith and al-Malik al-Mansur, the victorious king. He did not pursue an attack on the territory of Edessa, or the Principality of Antioch. Events in Mosul compelled him to home, and he once again set his sights on Damascus. However, he was assassinated by a slave in 1146 and was succeeded in Aleppo by his son Nur ad-Din, the news of the fall of Edessa was brought back to Europe first by pilgrims early in 1145, and then by embassies from Antioch, Jerusalem and Armenia. Bishop Hugh of Jabala reported the news to Pope Eugene III, Hugh also told the Pope of an eastern Christian king, who, it was hoped, would bring relief to the crusader states, this is the first documented mention of Prester John
3.
Sultanate of Rum
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The name Rûm reflects the Arabic name of Anatolia, الرُّومُ ar-Rūm, a loan from Greek Ρωμιοί Romans. The Sultanate of Rum seceded from the Great Seljuk Empire under Suleiman ibn Qutulmish in 1077, following the Battle of Manzikert, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. It reached the height of its power during the late 12th and early 13th century, in the east, the sultanate absorbed other Turkish states and reached Lake Van. Trade from Iran and Central Asia across Anatolia was developed by a system of caravanserai, especially strong trade ties with the Genoese formed during this period. The increased wealth allowed the sultanate to absorb other Turkish states that had established in eastern Anatolia. The Seljuq sultans bore the brunt of the Crusades, and eventually succumbed to the Mongol invasion in 1243, for the remainder of the 13th century, the Seljuqs acted as vassals of the Ilkhanate. Their power disintegrated during the half of the 13th century. The last of the Seljuq vassals of the Ilkhanate, Mesud II, was murdered in 1308, the dissolution of the Seljuq state left behind a number of Anatolian beyliks, among them that of the Ottoman dynasty, which eventually became the Ottoman Empire. In 1075, he captured the Byzantine cities of Nicaea and Nicomedia, two years later, he declared himself sultan of an independent Seljuq state and established his capital at İznik. Suleyman was killed in Antioch in 1086 by Tutush I, the Seljuk ruler of Syria, when Malik Shah died in 1092, Kilij Arslan was released and immediately established himself in his fathers territories. Kilij Arslan was defeated by soldiers of the First Crusade and driven back into south-central Anatolia, in 1107, he ventured east and captured Mosul but died the same year fighting Malik Shahs son, Mehmed Tapar. Meanwhile, another Rum Seljuq, Malik Shah, captured Konya, in 1116 Kilij Arslans son, Mesud I, took the city with the help of the Danishmends. Upon Mesuds death in 1156, the sultanate controlled nearly all of central Anatolia, Mesuds son, Kilij Arslan II, captured the remaining territories around Sivas and Malatya from the last of the Danishmends. At the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176, Kilij Arslan II also defeated a Byzantine army led by Manuel I Komnenos, despite a temporary occupation of Konya in 1190 by the Holy Roman Empires forces of the Third Crusade, the sultanate was quick to recover and consolidate its power. During the last years of Kilij Arslan IIs reign, the experienced a civil war with Kaykhusraw I fighting to retain control. Suleiman II was routed by Kingdom of Georgia in Battle of Basian and he was succeeded by his son Kilij Arslan III, whose reign was unpopular. Kaykhusraw I seized Konya in 1205 reestablishing his reign, under his rule and those of his two successors, Kaykaus I and Kayqubad I, Seljuq power in Anatolia reached its apogee. Kaykhusraws most important achievement was the capture of the harbour of Attalia on the Mediterranean coast in 1207 and his son Kaykaus captured Sinop and made the Empire of Trebizond his vassal in 1214
4.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
5.
Conrad III of Germany
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Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Duke Frederick I of Swabia and Agnes, the origin of the House of Hohenstaufen in the Duchy of Swabia has not been conclusively established. Conrads father took advantage of the conflict between King Henry IV of Germany and the Swabian duke Rudolf of Rheinfelden during the Investiture Controversy and he died in 1105, leaving two sons, Conrad and his elder brother Frederick II, who inherited the Swabian ducal title. Their mother entered into a marriage with Babenberg margrave Leopold III of Austria. In 1105 Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor since 1084, was overthrown by his son Henry V, Emperor since 1111, Henry V preparing for his second campaign to Italy upon the death of Margravine Matilda of Tuscany, in 1116 appointed Conrad a Duke of Franconia. Conrad was marked out to act as regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, at the death of Henry V in 1125, Conrad unsuccessfully supported Frederick II for the kingship of Germany. Frederick was placed under a ban and Conrad was deprived of Franconia, with the support of the imperial cities, Swabia, and the Duchy of Austria, Conrad was elected anti-king at Nuremberg in December 1127. Conrad quickly crossed the Alps to be crowned King of Italy by Anselm V, Archbishop of Milan. Over the next two years, he failed to achieve anything in Italy, however, and returned to Germany in 1130, after Nuremberg and Speyer, two strong cities in his support, fell to Lothair in 1129. Conrad continued in Lothairs opposition, but he and Frederick were forced to acknowledge Lothair as emperor in 1135, after this they were pardoned and could take again possession of their lands. After Lothairs death, Conrad was elected king at Coblenz on 7 March 1138, Conrad was crowned at Aachen six days later and was acknowledged in Bamberg by several princes of southern Germany. Henry, however, retained the loyalty of his subjects, the civil war that broke out is considered the first act of the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines, which later extended southwards to Italy. After Henrys death, the war was continued by his son Henry the Lion, supported by the Saxons, Conrad, after a long siege, defeated the latter at Weinsberg in December 1140, and in May 1142 a peace agreement was reached in Frankfurt. In the same year, Conrad entered Bohemia to reinstate his brother-in-law Vladislav II as prince, the attempt to do the same with another brother-in-law, the Polish prince Ladislaus the Exile, failed. Bavaria, Saxony, and the regions of Germany were in revolt. In 1146, Conrad heard Bernard of Clairvaux preach the Second Crusade at Speyer, before leaving, he had the nobles elect and crown his son Henry Berengar king. The succession secured in the event of his death, Conrad set out and his army of 20,000 men went overland, via Hungary, causing disruptions in the Byzantine territories through which they passed. They arrived at Constantinople by September 1147, ahead of the French army, rather than taking the coastal road around Anatolia through Christian-held territory, by which he sent most of his noncombatants, Conrad took his army across Anatolia
6.
Mesud I
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Mesud I, Masud I or Masud I (Modern Turkish, I. Rükneddin Mesud or Rukn al-Dīn Masūd was the sultan of the Seljuks of Rum from 1116 until his death in 1156. Following the defeat and death of his father Kilij Arslan I by Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan of Aleppo at the battle of Khabur river in 1107, with the help of the Danishmends, Masud captured Konya and defeated Malikshah in 1116, later blinding and eventually murdering him. Masud would later turn on the Danishmends and conquer their lands, in 1130, he started construction of the Alâeddin Mosque in Konya, which was later completed in 1221. Masud, towards the end of his reign, fought against the armies of the Second Crusade, there were actually two armies, one led German emperor Conrad III and the other led by the French king Louis VII. Masud defeated both of them, the first army in Dorylaeum near modern Eskişehir in 1147 and the army in Laodicea near modern Denizli in 1148. When he died, Masud was succeeded by his son Kilij Arslan II, one of Masuds daughters married John Tzelepes Komnenos, a member of the royal house of Byzantium who had converted to Islam
7.
Battle of Constantinople (1147)
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The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos was deeply concerned by the presence of a large and unruly army in the immediate vicinity of his capital and of the unfriendly attitude of its leaders. A similarly sized French crusader army was also approaching Constantinople, following earlier armed clashes with the crusaders, and perceived insults from Conrad, Manuel arrayed some of his forces outside the walls of Constantinople. A part of the German army then attacked and was heavily defeated, following this defeat the crusaders agreed to be quickly ferried across the Bosporus to Asia Minor. Though limited in its importance, the battle is significant in being a rare instance where Byzantine tactical dispositions are described in detail in the primary sources of the period. The Second Crusade was instigated by Pope Eugenius III in response to the fall of the County of Edessa to the forces of the Muslim leader Zengi, the county had been founded during the First Crusade. This crusade was the first to be led by kings, namely Conrad III of Germany, the armies of the two kings marched separately across Europe. After crossing into Byzantine territory in the Balkans, both made their way towards the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. The crusader armies intended to take the overland route across Asia Minor to reach the Holy Land. A Byzantine force under the experienced general Prosouch, who was of Turkish origin, a minor clash between the Byzantine force and the crusaders occurred near Adrianople, with the Byzantines repulsing an attack by Conrads nephew, the future emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The crusaders also suffered a disaster, when part of their encampment was swept away by a flash flood with considerable loss of life. Manuel wished to induce the crusaders to cross to Asia Minor by the Hellespont, however, they ignored the advice of Manuels ambassador and pushed towards Constantinople, arriving on 10 September. Manuel had extensively repaired and strengthened the walls of his capital as a safeguard against any crusader aggression, the Germans encamped around the suburban palace of Philopation, but so pillaged it that it became quickly uninhabitable. They then moved to another palace, Pikridion. The crusader force, which may have been suffering from a lack of food, made depredations on, and acts of violence against, Manuel was determined to get the Germans across the Bosporus as quickly as possible and mobilised part of his military forces to induce them to move. The Byzantine force was placed under the command of two generals, Prosouch and Basil Tzikandyles and they were instructed to make a stand confronting the Germans, and by their presence provoke an attack. The Byzantine army was smaller than that of the crusaders but, as the contemporary Byzantine historian John Kinnamos states, Prosouch and Tzikandyles had earlier been sent to observe the German army at a place called Longoi. They had reported to the emperor Manuel that, although the Germans were individually impressive and well armoured, their cavalry was not swift, the array of the Byzantine army, unusually, is described in some detail by Kinnamos. To the fore, far forward, were four units of the most unwarlike, common part of the army, behind these were drawn up the heaviest and most well-armoured cavalry, the kataphraktoi, the elite of the army
